The ULI Philadelphia Women’s Leadership Initiative met on August 14th at 1 Tippling Place for another installment of its modern-day version of a book club: a podcast club. This time, the group discussed Wharton professor Adam Grant’s WorkLife podcast episode “Networking for People Who Hate Networking” (transcript here). The episode addresses how to make networking less “awkward,” “forced,” and “cringe-worthy” and more engaging, productive, and oriented around “a purpose bigger than networking.”

Using stories to illustrate research findings, Grant identifies a few main ways to widen your circle of professional connection: (1) develop an expertise, (2) shift from a transactional mindset to one of alliance and shared mission, and (3) work your way up and earn respect on the job by being adaptable and focusing on what you can give. The podcast also addresses those times when we need to reach out for help, introducing the concept of the Reciprocity Ring as well as the key distinction between asking for help versus (to be more effective) asking for advice.

To discuss the podcast, WLI attendees split into two groups. Because the mission of WLI is to promote women leaders, food industry executive Kat Cole’s story midway through the episode was of particular resonance. This led to an exchange about how women can successfully navigate instances when they’re expected to do the “office housework” more often than their male colleagues. Suggestions included delegating tactfully or following Cole’s example and being vocal with leadership about how the tasks had provided insight into the company. It came up that it’s worth acknowledging the extra work that goes into turning assignments into opportunities.

On the subject of expertise, attendees shared about how softer skills are often not valued as much in technical fields, a highly relevant point as the professional world evolves in response to changing technology. Emotional intelligence, as the ULI Philadelphia Future of Work event last February highlighted, will become more and more important to cultivate, and so it’s an area of expertise that will perhaps be more valued within professional networks as time goes on. Each of the two discussion groups also practiced the Reciprocity Ring exercise, brainstorming on subjects ranging from finding skilled team members to exploring new career directions. One group even brainstormed about engaging Adam Grant in discussion directly, since the podcast had been so enlightening.

It was a meeting of WLI that put into action the very subject of discussion: being helpful to one another and fostering meaningful connections in the process. For more information on WLI, please contact Kelly Cary, [email protected].

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This post was contributed by Elizabeth Larsson. Elizabeth is the Chief Strategist at Larsson & Scheuritzel and an active member of WLI.