Tip: Do you need new blood in your network?

Posted by Hailey Heimbach on Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Tip: Do you need new blood in your network?

It is not our imagination that people’s networks have contracted. “A study published in the January 2021 issue of Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, found that our social and professional networks shrunk by roughly 16% during the pandemic. That’s about 200 people, the researchers say.”

Your network might need a transfusion! Here is a place to start. Author Gwen Moran in “How to stress test your network and fix the gaps” asks a very good question: Are you connected to “up-and-coming professionals.” There are people whose career trajectory has changed substantially in the past five years and you may be missing them in your network!

Ask yourself, are there “up-and-coming professionals” in your field, or “young leaders of tomorrow” who you don’t know? Imagine your career ten years from now…would you want these exciting people in your network? The time to start adding new blood is now!

Or, if you are an up-and-coming professional, or on a leadership track who should you be meeting, who should you be mentoring, and how do you meet today’s leaders? A good suggestion is to try to sit on boards, (possibly a volunteer board) or committees in the business community.

For more ideas, check out our blog post: Does your network need a health checkup?

SHEPA LEARNING COMPANY WEEKLY POSITIVE NETWORKING® TIP​
​No. 1116, May 28, 2025​
​By Gayle Hallgren and Judy Thomson

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Categories: General

Tagged: General, Information, Chamber, Tips and Tricks