Many of us associate networking with a "What's in it for me mindset" that entails attending events and passing out as many cards as possible.  Advisors who successfully use networks to advance their business use a more strategic and subtler approach to expanding relationships.

A recent Harvard Business Review points to research that the most successful business people have diverse, productive networks that support them in as many as six different areas, and identifies some fundamental networking mistakes.  While primarily directed at executives in corporate settings, the principles apply to financial advisors and entrepreneurs as well.

Common mistakes include networks that:

• Don't get sufficient priority and as a result are too narrow, without sufficient depth and breadth
• Are haphazard in composition, with overlaps and duplication
• Pursue the wrong kinds of relationships with people who don't have the right skillset or mindset
• Take a short -term view in which the measure of success is how much you get rather than how much you're able to give
• Aren't systematically cultivated and as a result fail to deliver on a network's potential.

 Here are four steps to ensuring you have an effective network in place.

Step One: Analyze your current network

The authors' research suggests that the most successful people have networks that provide effective support in six different areas:

• Information
• Political support and influence
• Personal development
• Personal support and energy
• A sense of purpose and worth
• Work life balance

 Step one is to review your network and to pinpoint where you have gaps and where you need to identify resources to help you address key areas.

Step Two: De-layer your network

The next step is to identify members of your network who don't represent productive relationships.  These could be people who don't have the ability or mindset to truly help you, or  do a disproportionate amount of "taking" rather than "giving."  For a relationship to work, there has to be mutual benefit to both parties.

Or it could be people who are negative and who have a "de-energizing" impact on you;  research shows that energy-sapping interactions have as much as seven times the impact of energizing ones.  

Step Three: Diversify your network

In the third stage, put in place a conscious strategy to build out your network with the right kind of people; those who will fill gaps in your network and are energizers who will help you achieve your goals.

The article suggests a simple exercise:  Write down three key business or personal objectives that are priorities for the next 12 months and then list the specific people who can help you achieve those goals.

 Step Four: Capitalize on your network

The final step is ensuring you get full value from your network.

One advisor is particularly systematic about this.  At the start of each month, she reviews her key contact list and selects six people she's overdue to connect with.  Her goal is to set up one meeting a week with members of her network for breakfast, lunch or a coffee.  Going into those meetings, she pinpoints one issue she'd like help on, a problem she's struggling with, advice she'd like to get or a connection she's looking to make.

She also identifies how she might be able to help the person she's meeting.  When calling to set up these get-togethers, she asks her contacts about one issue they're currently grappling with or one contact they're looking to make.  In advance of sitting down, she gives that topic some thought and may ask other people about it; the first thing she does is ask her contact to elaborate on the issue and then shares her perspectives. 

People with the strongest networks are those who focus as much on what they give as what they get.  In interactions with people in your network, start by talking about their issues before turning to your agenda; that's the best way to keep your network strong and ensure that people will be keen to sit down with you.

Click below to access the full article on the four steps to an effective network.  Note that if you register for the Harvard Business Review website, you can access three articles per month at no cost.

http://hbr.org/2011/07/managing-yourself-a-smarter-way-to-network/ar/1?cm_sp=most_widget-_-hbr_articles-_-Managing%20Yourself%3A%20A%20Smarter%20Way%20to%20Network