How can you get leadership advice from your network?

You could try a different approach to identifying your leadership goals, blending self-reflection with creative exploration. For example: -Visualize Your Leadership Journey: use visualization techniques. Imagine yourself in various leadership scenarios – addressing a boardroom, managing a crisis, or leading a team meeting. Notice the skills and qualities you exhibit in these visualizations. What does this tell you about your leadership aspirations? -Write Your Future Job Description: craft a job description for your ideal leadership position, not just in terms of responsibilities, but also in terms of the impact you want to have, the culture you wish to foster, and the challenges you're excited to tackle.

Getting leadership advice from your network involves proactive engagement and clear communication. Identify individuals in your network who hold leadership roles or have leadership experience. Reach out to them with specific questions or for general advice on leadership challenges you're facing. Offer to set up a brief meeting or call for a more in-depth discussion. Attend networking events, workshops, or webinars where you can connect with experienced leaders. Be open to feedback and willing to listen. Follow up with a thank you message, and maintain these relationships for ongoing support and mentorship in your leadership journey.

Identifying your own goals (short and/or long-term) is essential and critical. Before anyone can help point you in the right direction or path, you must be clear on your destination! Taking the time to really reflect on what is most important and fulfilling to you is the first step in realizing what you want to achieve.

Really you need first think about how much strategic is your network. If you want to get leadership advice first become a power connector to be able to give value to the people in your net...after you will get the advice you need when you focus on the right persons. Anyway you need to know specifically what kind of advice you need and why.

To get advice from leaders in your network, make sure you do plenty of research to make sure they are relevant to what you need and stay engaged on platforms like LinkedIn to stay on top of industry trends and contribute to articles. A great way to find the right people is to attend networking events, start by searching events relevant to your industry and connect with those that are attending!

In my experience, people run from the words “job search.” We all want to help, but we shy away because unless we’re a hiring manager, we can’t give you the job you want. When you reach out, ask for career advice and let any search requests grow naturally from that conversation. You want to know how to grow in your career or perhaps you want to change your pathway. Asking them to advise you - and dropping them an email when a piece of their advice has proven helpful - will take you further than you might imagine.

Sometimes we ask for advice with a certain goal in mind- but we dont realize what we need has just been spoken to us since we may be preoccupued with what we thought we needed and want to say. Listen! Listen - Listen! Sometimes mentors and industry experts actually do know best, and since they are spending the time with you - you can gain such amazing insight when you actually listen and stop thinking for a moment on what you want to say next. That insight will be wasted if not applied right away - so actually LISTEN. Take that information and run.