Most organisations waste so much intellectual property and knowledge possessed by their people who work there. Why is this? It is simply because organisations tend to work in silos. If people build relationships more freely and this can only be done by a change in strategy by the management, then this waste of intellectual property can be reduced dramatically. In addition to wasted cerebral resource there are so many opportunities lost for multi-service firms and companies to cross sell to existing clients. The simple reason is people are comfortable promoting their own expertise but feel totally uncomfortable promoting others. They don’t really understand what other people do and in bigger organisations often wouldn’t even know who to recommend if they did.

When people hear “Networking” most immediately think of attending external activities; Chamber events, membership meetings and black tie events. Rarely do professionals consider the importance of Internal Networking with those inside their own office walls. Yet, every leader, manager and employee within an organisation represents their own network of endless relationships simply waiting to be discovered. Additionally, business developers and salespeople are increasingly understanding the power of networking, but few bother to network with the people inside their company.

So what the internal networking? Internal networking is building informal relationships between individuals within an organisation. The purpose of the relationships are for seeking help, advice and support. It is a way to increase the impact of each worker’s duties in the organisation, as well as increasing resources for the individual. The more people that the worker is able to communicate with in the organisation; the more information the worker has access to; the more influence the worker may have.

Being an internal networker means you are looking outside your immediate, day-to-day activities and thinking about how you can connect with and create value for others in your company. Many of the same principles apply for both external and internal networking, but there’s a nuance to the internal process that’s unique.

Where Do I Start? The answer is directly linked to why we network. Take a moment to FOCUS and perhaps the best way to do that is by asking yourself the following questions. “What would make my job easier?” or “How can I better support my own goals and/or the goals of my employer or company?” Reflect on some of the following answers and see if you might have similar responses:

“My job would be easier if I could…
• achieve better internal co-operation with other departments.”
• find suppliers who have excellent service standards and competitive prices.”
• be more “in the loop” relative to leading edge technology.”
• quickly source highly qualified employees.
• gain easier access to key decision makers.”

Develop Trust. Knowing is one thing, trust is something completely different. For internal networking to be successful, you must be able to answer the following questions:
• Who can I trust to help me on an important company matter?
• Who can I trust to refer an important client?
• Who can I trust to be a mentor?
• Who can I trust to succeed me when it is time to move on?

Developing trust requires time, energy and a degree of personal risk. It requires connecting with people one on one. It requires sharing one’s own background and stories and showing interest in others. It requires being vulnerable, opening up to others and being real. In today’s hyper competitive landscape, those organisations that embrace and understand the power of internal relationships unleash an incredible force to enhance teamwork, reduce turnover and most importantly expand a company’s circle of influence! Thus, companies should take time to foster internal networking. However, many do not and therefore they do not take advantage of the significant personal connections that can be made by internal networking.

Copyright 2010 by Karl Smith.This article may be copied or republished with the following credit:
“By Karl Smith, fouder of Business Networking South Africa +27 (0) 071 444 2210 karl@businessnetworkingsouthafrica.co.za “ www@businessnetworkingsouthafrica.co.za

Karl’s clients love his highly interactive, motivational, pragmatic and motivational courses and presentations. Book Karl to speak at your conference or to do in-company training today! Have a look at the topics:

• Leverage The Power of Business Networking for Professional and Personal Success
• The Power of The Brand Me Inc
• Relationships for Leadership and Management Success
• Endless Referrals: Building A Referral-Based Business
• Relationships for Stakeholder Management
• Repositioning Yourself For Personal Excellence: Fly With The Eagles
• Networking in a Culturally Diverse Organisation: Enhance Performance, Deliver Results, and Optimise Your Opportunities.
• Authentic Leadership: It is becoming increasingly obvious that new leadership is required in the 21st century to tackle the urgent challenges we face in government, business or public service.

“Very impressive , demanding and straight to the point. Focus on reality and what is to be instilled in all great managers, excellent Karl, worth the time”

My new keynote “Relationships for Leadership and Management Success” launched in Cape Town last month received accolades. Most of the feedback underlined the “passion” the audience has experienced during this presentation. Why was I able to speak with passion in offering them a step-by-step process to build profitable relationships? The answer is simple! I have burnt my fingers because of my fundamental belief that people are worthy of trust. I remain convinced that all people are worthy of trust but I learned one needs to be aware of understanding the kind of person you are dealing with and looking at their track record before you just jump into the relationship. Stephen M.R Covey calls it a balance between your ability to analyse risk -good business judgment- and good people judgment - including instinct and intuition. Allow me to focus my attention on “trust and micro-management”. I have always been an opponent to micro-management because micro-managers can only take their companies as far as they themselves take them. They run the risk of driving away their best and most talented people.

In business management, micro-management is a management style where a manager closely observes or controls the work of his or her subordinates or employees. Micro managing may make you feel in control but in reality you are only hurting yourself and the company. It only limits an employee’s ability to be innovative and creative.

Signs of micro-management: What follows are some signs that you might be a micro-manager - or have one on your hands. In general, micro-managers:
• Resist delegating;
• Immerse themselves in overseeing the projects of others;
• Start by correcting tiny details instead of looking at the big picture;
• Take back delegated work before it is finished if they find a mistake in it; and
• Discourage others from making decisions without consulting them.

When a manager, director or other executive tries to micro manage every person and every project, productivity is lost. There is simply no way around it. An effective manager is responsible for multiple projects and many people. When he tries to exert too much influence over too many things, he can’t help but to lose focus on the bigger picture. As attention becomes focused on one aspect of the business, the inter- relationships and integration of projects become lost in the fog, or worse, on-going complementary projects are changed, and forced to fit with the project the manager is detailing. The higher the level of management, the more dangerous this becomes. If a CEO or COO becomes obsessed with production issues, he may loosen his grasp on things like sales and marketing or operations. By the time he fixes the production issue the point has become moot because sales have dried up. .

So now you’ve identified micro-managerial tendencies and seen why they’re bad. What can you do if you know you’re exhibiting such behaviours - the best way to build healthier relationships with employees may be the most direct: Talk to them. It might take several conversations to convince them that you’re serious about change. Getting frank feedback from employees is the hard part. This means giving your employees the leeway, encouragement – and resources to succeed. Focus first on the ones with the most potential, and learn to delegate effectively to them. If you lack trust in your employees remember the statement - “Employees won’t start trusting you until you start trusting them”.

Why don’t you drop me a mail via karl@businessnetworkingsouthafrica.co.za to tell me about your challenge to build trust?