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Written by our CEO, Peter Rabey.

One of the common traits among leaders is that they use the power of their network to learn from others and gain new perspectives. It’s a great tactic for personal development.

If you’re a manager looking to transition from a functional manager to a business leader, then you know you will have to learn more about strategic issues, connect with people who are already doing this job and find out how they can help you achieve your personal and organisational goals. What differentiates a leader from a manager, research tells us, is the ability to figure out where to go and to enlist the people and groups necessary to get there.

A great book on this is ‘Who not how’ by Dan Sullivan with Benjamin Hardy, PhD.

If you feel your networking ability is limited due to social skills, then I would say this is all the more reason to start networking. It’s helpful to have a purpose and intention behind why you are networking to help guide your decisions. If you’re looking to grow your professional network, connect with individuals on LinkedIn, find groups and events where the people you want to learn from will be.

My top picks from the podcast this week are from Daniel Couto, Chief Operating Officer at Vedanta Biosciences, Inc.Carolyn Starrett, CEO of Flatiron Health and Miles Hunt, Director at Benula Capital.

The power of mentors – Daniel Couto

As a leader, becoming a mentor yourself provides a huge opportunity for further personal growth and development.

You can become a mentor to those within your own organisation, passing down and sharing your knowledge that you have acquired from your own mentors and experiences in a way that is current and affective. Put in the time to do this correctly, and you will see this knowledge will continue to thrive throughout your company.

Deep focus - Carolyn Starrett

A large part of leadership development comes from building awareness around where you are now, where you want to get to, and how you’re going to get there.

Mentors, advisors, and courses can provide a valuable and solid contribution towards this, but if you’re not building awareness and conducting self-inquiry into your journey so far, you may struggle to be intentional about choosing a different behaviour or strategy that may work better.

Immerse yourself into conducting deep personal reflective work to understand what’s working and what’s not, and you can unlock a potential you didn’t know existed.

Your reputation as a leader – Miles Hunt

When it comes to success, it’s not just about authenticity in leadership, it’s about doing the right things.

Mentors can be a huge driving factor behind accelerating your business, but also how to conduct yourself as a person. Reputation (both inside and outside of your network) is a far more valuable commodity than any money you might make.

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