The 5 Types Of People You Need In Your Professional Network [Book Review]

What sort of people do you need in your professional network?

Find out as I review a book that helps you to understand your professional network through an inclusive lens.

Here are some key messages from this episode:

• The five types of people that you should consider in your professional network
• The importance of your personal narrative
• The reasons how employee resource groups can help you to leverage your professional network and much much more

Play the episode for more.

Here are some key takeaways from this episode:

Your Professional Network Influences your Career Outcomes

“An underlying assumption of the book is that your professional network is indicative of your career outcomes. This can be summed up in a term used in the book: “Your network is your net worth”

 Why you need CHAMP’s in your Professional Network

 “I want to draw attention to.. the five types of people the author recommends which are Customer, Hire, Associate, Mentor and Protege. The acronym used is CHAMP. A whole section of the book is dedicated to exploring this. And I think it’s important because it moves beyond the myth that everyone in your social network plays an identical role”

 The Importance of Your Personal Narrative

“The author led by example by sharing some really interesting personal anecdotes about coming out as a bisexual woman in the workplace and how others acted as role models. This suggests to me that even though this book appears to be about managing relationships with others. A lot of work is also required to manage our relationships with ourselves”

Here are some resources so you can go deeper: 

Network Beyond Bias: Making Diversity a Competitive Advantage for Your Career

Amy C. Waninger on LinkedIn

Lead at Any Level

Jennifer Brown: Inclusion, Allies & The Will to Change

Check out these related episodes of the show.

Why Being Told To “Get A Mentor” Is Such Bad Advice For Inclusion

Whenever you’re ready, there are a few ways I can support your Inclusion Journey: