Susan McPherson is a serial connector, seasoned communicator and the author of The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Relationships.
Networking is often considered a necessary evil for all working professionals. Even with social media platforms at our disposal, these connections often feel transactional, agenda-driven, and dehumanizing, leaving all of us feeling burnt out and stressed out. Susan shows how we can connect on a human level and build authentic relationships beyond securing a new job or a new investor for your next big idea. To build real and meaningful networking contacts, we need to go back to basics, remembering that technology is just a tool. We need to tap into our humanity and learn to be more intentional and authentic.
Key Takeaways
[4:45] Susan had good parental role models who were deeply connected to their communities.
[7:50] Susan shares why some people might have a bit of hesitation when it comes to reaching out to other people.
[11:50] There’s such a lost art to being a better listener. People are notoriously horrible listeners.
[13:20] As all of us know deep down, the amount of likes and followers is not an indicator of how connected you are to others.
[17:10] Curiosity is a hard thing to teach. Susan shares how you can develop a deeper sense of curiosity in others.
[22:25] By having a best friend at work, engagement increases drastically. However, so many people just want to do the work and go home. This is an opportunity for leadership to shine.
[25:00] Susan has been incredibly lonely during this pandemic. She shared it with her team, and it allowed for them to share their personal struggles as well.
[26:45] Susan shares how she reached out to her community in times of isolation and offers tips on how leaders can do the same.
[28:20] When it comes to connecting, people fall apart the most in the follow-up.
[31:00] There’s nothing worse than receiving a follow-up email after you meet someone, nine months later!
[34:20] Leaders are busy! Susan offers advice on how to connect with others when you’ve got so much going on.
[38:10] Susan shares a story behind the power of connecting with others.
[42:10] Listener challenge: What’s the community you want to build around yourself?
The Leadership Podcast is sponsored by W.S. Darley & Company.
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Quotable Quotes
People are worthy of curiosity. Share on X We have become dependent to the clicks and likes and the follows as a means to measure how well we were connecting with others. Share on X “Carve out 15 minutes a week to reach out to a few people you haven’t talked to in a year.” Share on XResources Mentioned
- Sponsored by: Pass-life.com. Coupon Code: Duty
- Connect with Susan: Mcpstrategies.com & Susan on LinkedIn
- Susan’s book: The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Business Relationships
- Julian Treasure on Listening
These are the books referenced in our discussion with Susan.
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