Benefits of Networking

What is a Network?

We can define networking as the connections between individuals with direct and indirect links, that forms a union or a group of people based on mutual interest and develop a strategic competitive advantage. The nature of networking is created from the passion of a person to obtain or fulfil their needs from another person. It’s a psychological need to connect, socialize and work with others. Networking helps to increase their own value from supporting and comforting, and it will attract others to your network (Klerk, 2010).

Networking can be defined as “behaviours that are aimed at building, maintaining, and using informal relationships that possess the (potential) benefit of facilitating work-related activities of individual by voluntarily granting access to resources and maximizing common advantages” (Wolff & Moser, 2009).

Networking is a two-way process as the way you are benefited from your network you need to provide the valuable support to those in your network as well (Albany University, 2014). According to Torres (2005), an individual’s powerful network can influence his/her career growth more than an individual’s abilities, knowledge and experience.

There many tools which can provide facilities to develop and nature a successful network. For example, LinkedIn which has 630 million registered members which include 90 million users are senior-level influencers and 63 million users are in decision making positions (Omnicore, 2019).

Benefits of Network

- Career development

Networking is a tool for career development (Forret & Dougherty, 2004). A well-developed network provide a group of individuals who can provide meaningful support for your career development by providing information regarding your career/industry exploration and learning about potential job openings (Albany University, 2014).

- Opportunities

The network helps to develop your personal and professional opportunities and contribute to organizational functioning by supporting greater organizational communication and access to resources (Gibson, et al., 2014).

 - Gain knowledge and information

The network can provide you with information regarding career-related topics which are provided from the personal experience from others can give a new way of ideas that can be used to our career. To learn about a specific industry and the business opportunities and threats within it from an individual in that industry can be more advantageous to increase our knowledge (Albany University, 2014).

 - Advice and Support

Networking will help you to get a suggestion and advice on common challenges and opportunities from experienced and expert people will be an added advantage to our career. Helping or supporting your contacts will set a strong foundation for receiving support in return (Page, 2018).

My experience in developing a network

As a banker developing a network is essential to find new business opportunities. I develop my customer network by having a good relationship with my branch existing customers and taking leads from them to find new customers and also taking leads from them too to increase my customer network like tree branches. It also gives a window to obtain information about the applicant who requests any facility from our bank.

For example, a customer came to our bank to obtain a large SME loan. When we interviewed, he seems to be a genuine person and also a well-known businessman in the area. His repayment on other bank facilities also seems to be good. However, when I inquired about him with my customers I got to know that he is in debt for a large amount from other individual loan providers and he wants this loan to settle those debts. We understood providing this facility is a huge risk for our branch and mange to avoid giving the loan. Still, he went to another bank and obtained a loan. In a few months’ time, he got bankrupt and unable to pay that loan.

To increase my network within the bank I use to participate in our banking social events, training session, working in many branches and communicating through online social networks (e.g.: Facebook and LinkedIn). This network helps to obtain advice and support in my work-related problems, and also to develop my career. For example when I got the opportunity to face the interview for the Assistant Manager Position I got plenty of advice and support from the staffs who previously attend to it, which helped me to pass the interview and become an Assistant Branch Manager.

References 

Albany University, 2014. WHAT IS NETWORKING?, Albany: University at Albany.

Forret, M. L. & Dougherty, T. W., 2004. Networking behaviours and career outcomes: differences for men and women. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(3), pp. 419-437.

Klerk, S. d., 2010. The importance we of working as a management skill. S.Afr.J.Bus.Manage, 41(1), pp. 37-49.

Omnicore, 2019. Linkedin by the Numbers: Stats, Demographics & Fun Facts. [Online] 

Available at: https://www.omnicoreagency.com/linkedin-statistics/
[Accessed 04 08 2019].

Page, M., 2018. Top 11 benefits of networking. [Online]
Available at: https://www.michaelpage.com.au/advice/career-advice/career-progression/benefits-networking
[Accessed 04 08 2019].

Torres, N. L., 2005. It’s who you know. Entrepreneur, Volume 33, pp. 128-132.

Wolff, H. G. & Moser, K., 2009. Effects of networking on career success: a longitudinal study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(1), pp. 196-206.

Skill Approach in Leadership

What is Skill approach?

A Leader has certain abilities and knowledge which can be developed to accomplish a set of goals and objectives. “Skills and ability can be learned and developed” (Northhouse, 2010)

There are two influential models; one is three skill approach of Katz, 1955 and the skill model of Mumford etal., 2000.

1) Three Skills Approach (Katz, 1955)

There are three types of Skills a leader should have Technical, Human and Conceptual skill. But it changes based on the level of management.

1.1 Technical Skill

It is the knowledge and ability in a particular area of work. Technical skills are more important in supervisory and middle management level but less important in top Management.

1.2 Human Skill

It is the ability to work with people. Effective communication, attention to the relationship with others, working together and motivating are some of the human skills needed in an organization. These skills are required in all three levels in Management.

1.3 Conceptual Skill

It is the ability of creative ideas and concepts to work with and understand complicated ideas. The conceptual skills help an organization to create the vision and implement it creatively. This skill is more important in Top and Middle management, less important for Supervisory Management.

2) Skill Model (Mumford etal., 2000)

This model has five components which are Individual Attributes, Competencies, Leadership Outcomes, Career Experience and Environmental Influence.

2.1 Individual Attributes

It includes four components

• General Cognitive ability - Intelligence and common sense
• Crystallized cognitive ability - Specialized knowledge or acquired knowledge through learning and experience
• Motivation
• Personality

2.2 Competencies

It includes three components

• Problem Solving Skills – The ability to solve a problem It can be done by understanding the problem, defining the problem, gathering information regarding the problem, formulating and generating a plan to solve the problem
• Social Judgment – The capability to understand others perspective and interact with people.
• Knowledge – The accumulation of Information

2.3 Leadership outcomes

Effective problem solving and performance are the outcomes of Leadership.

• Effective Problem Solving – It involves providing solutions that are unique, High quality and logical. If the leader has advanced  level of competency will be a more effective problem solver
• Performance – It refers the job performance. Good performance leads to better evaluation.

2.4 Career Experience

Career experience effect both Individual attributes and Competencies. The knowledge acquired through career experience can help to solve problems or interact with people. It can change the leaders’ personality.

2.5 Environmental Influence

Environmental influence are the factors lies down outside the Attributes, Competencies and experience of a leader. It is out of control of the leader. There are two types of Environmental influence Internal (for example Technology, Competency of employees, poor communication skills and etc.) and External ( for example political, social, economic and natural disasters)

Strengths in skill approach

• Skills make leadership available to everyone. Everyone has skills if they can develop it they can use it. (Northhouse, 2016)
• It is the first approach to conceptualize and create a structure of the process of leadership around skills (Northhouse, 2016)
• Provides an expensive of leadership that incorporates with a wide variety of components (eg: Problem-solving skills, social judgement skills, etc.) (Northhouse, 2016)
• Provides a structure consistent with leadership education programs. (Northhouse, 2016)

Critics in skill approach

• The breadth of the skills approach appears to extend beyond the boundaries of leadership, making it more general/ less precise. (Northhouse, 2016)(Don’t really specify how to solve problems in certain situations)
• Week in predictive value; does not explain how skills lead to effective leadership performance. (Northhouse, 2016)
• Skills model includes individual attributes that are trait-like such as cognitive ability, motivation and personality. (Northhouse, 2016)

Bibliography

Northhouse, P. G., 2010. Leadership Theory and Practice. 5 ed. s.l.:SAGE.

Northhouse, P. G., 2016. Leadership Theory and Practice. 7 ed. s.l.:SAGE.

Leadership and Management

What is Leadership?

We can’t say all the successful people are leaders. You can’t be a leader because you are rich and popular. The person who becomes popular overnight can’t be a leader. All politicians can’t be a leader because they are selected by peoples vote. All the entrepreneurs can’t be leaders since they are money makers. Leaders are more than that.

Leaders are the people who inspire, motivate and influence others or a group of people to engage for a purpose or vision that would define them. The leaders are the people thing differently from above others and change things. They are ready to take challenges and take the risk to meet their purpose even when others demotivate them.

“I learned the courage is not an absence of fear, but the triumph over it, the brave man is not who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear”. Quotes of Nelson Mandela

“You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right. If you’re not passionate enough from the start, you’ll never stick it out”. Quotes of Steve Jobs

“Great leaders don’t sacrifice the people to save the numbers they sacrifice the numbers to save the people”. Quotes of Simen Sinek

“If your action inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more you are a leader”. (Sinek, 2009)

What is Management?

Management is about the administration or controlling or directing an organization or set of people to achieve one or more objectives. It’s not about inspiring people it’s about getting things done in an organized and efficient manner.

Managerial concerns are Efficiency - greater output with less input and Effectiveness - accomplishing organizational goals.

The primary function of management is planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. (Fayal, 1916)

The Relationship and Difference between Management and Leadership.

Leadership is an important part of management which plays an important role in managerial operations. Leadership involves influence, teamwork and achieving the goal effectively the same as the management (Northhouse, 2016)

Differences.

• Leadership is about directing by creating a vision and communicating and inspiring the employees to achieve it, while the managers create the structure, gives authority and responsibility to achieve the goals.
• Leaders get their authority from his followers; Manager gets his authority by his higher position in the organization.
• Leaders follow their instinct, while the managers follow the rules and regulation of the organization.
• Leaders think by heart, for the manager is about the mind.
• Leadership is about people aspects, management is about the technical aspects.
• Leadership sees the ability of their followers, but the management sees their profile and past performance.
• Communicating with leaders are easy, but with managers is complicated.
• Leadership is proactive and management is reactive.

“All managers are not effective leaders”

References

Fayal, H., 1916. General and industrial management. London: Pitman.

Northhouse, P. G., 2016. Leadership Theory and Practice. 7th ed. s.l.:SAGE Publication.

Sinek, S., 2009. Start with Why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. s.l.:s.n.

Images

Available at : https://www.google.lk