Between the thousands of contacts we hold across Outlook, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instragram, we each host a robust database of professionals on our devices. Of course, we know from marketing it’s not having the database that matters – it’s how we use the data that allows us to create possibility and expand our reach.

Envision a pyramid split horizontally into four rungs of diminishing size. At the bottom sits your List of Contacts. Take a minute to troll through the people in your network. Ask yourself, Who do I speak to consistently? Who do I collaborate with in some form or another? Who do I often run into at industry events, conferences and workshops? Who have I met outside of the event circuit for a coffee, a meal, etc.? Using these questions as a preliminary filter, identifying the people with whom you have relationships. Now, move them out of the List of Contacts portion of the pyramid and place them on the next rung: Relationships.

Now, take a step back and assess the people with whom you’ve established relationships. Who do you meet regularly? Who do you include when you assemble a panel or organize an after-work get-together? Who do you go to for insight or advice? Who do you actively think about when making connections, or introduce to others in your network? Who do you help realize continued career success? Whose personal stories do you know? Take these people and move them into the next rung up the pyramid. They are your Cohort.

You might sit on advisory councils, planning committees, juries or nonprofit boards with your cohort. Now, within that exclusive group, look at the senior executives, the mentors and the sponsors – the more seasoned professionals who carry industry wisdom, knowledge, history and perspective that only comes from experience. These are the members of your cohort who have the careers and the leadership qualities you aspire to embody as you grow in your profession. Typically, this group consists of no more than a dozen people. These are the people who recognize your talents and want to fuel the fire to help you realize all your potential and possibility. Place them on the top of the pyramid. They represent your Personal Advisory Council. They may or may not know each other, but they all guide you in distinct and necessary ways and you in return reverse-mentor, sponsor and advocate for them in whatever capacity you might be capable of.

Assess the pyramid as a whole. With whom in your network would you like to build stronger Relationships? What relationships might you foster to grow into your thriving, collaborative Cohort? How can you contribute to the members of your Personal Advisory Council and add value to their own experiences as an industry leader?

You should be constantly enhancing the dynamics that connect the different levels of your pyramid, knowing that every time you meet someone new, you add a new dimension to all the people in the pyramid, that each of its four tiers are connected by your ongoing networking efforts.

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