The Lawyer Life Podcast

Q/A: How to Build Stronger Networks and Mentorships Within Your Organization

• Autumn Noble • Season 2 • Episode 50

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In this episode of the Lawyer Life podcast, host Autumn Noble answers listener questions on how to build stronger networks and meaningful mentorship relationships within your organization.

You'll learn:
✨ How to start networking by showing genuine interest in colleagues across all levels
✨ Tips for identifying and approaching potential mentors organically
✨ Common mistakes to avoid when building professional relationships
✨ How to maintain mentorship connections with ongoing communication and gratitude
✨ The #1 key takeaway: Be authentic and patient — relationships take time to grow

The connections you cultivate today lay the foundation for your future success. Tune in for actionable strategies to expand your network and create powerful mentorships!

Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed the episode! Have a question you'd like answered on the podcast? Drop it in the comments below.

#NetworkingTips #MentorshipMatters #LawyerLifePodcast

Free coaching consult/coffee and more!: https://autumnnoble.as.me

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You are listening to the Lawyer Life podcast episode number 50

 

where we are answering listener questions on how to build stronger networks and mentorships within your own organization.

 

Welcome to today's episode of the Lawyer Life to elevate your career and your personal development.

 

today we're talking about the importance of networking within your existing organization and how to build meaningful mentorship relationships that can propel your growth and success.

 

I'm your host Autumn Noble and today we're doing some listener Q &A's where we are tackling all of your recent questions on mentoring and networking.

 

So let's dive into it.

 

Question number one, how can someone begin networking within their organization?

 

This is a great place to start for today's topic. Networking within your organization, it's not just about connecting with senior leaders and your bosses or your mentors. It's really about building relationships across your colleagues at all different levels from all different backgrounds. Obviously, a simple place to start is by attending all of your company events and casual meetups, whether virtually or in person.

 

That goes without saying. So if you're not already doing that, that is a great place to start and develop some of those skills that will allow you to take it to the next level. The next level may mean participating in cross-organizational or cross-department projects where you're gonna start working with and encountering people outside of your day-to-day bubble.

 

once we've gotten access to these new groups of individuals and we're ready to begin the networking process, the simplest way to go about it is to be genuinely ridiculously interested in other people's lives, their roles, and their challenges in asking questions along those lines.

 

I always tell my coaching clients, people love to talk about themselves. It's not hard to get people talking if you just continually ask them questions about themselves and listen to the answers and engage with them from there. That is all that is required in networking.

 

When you start to demonstrate a deeper or genuine curiosity in the people around you, they naturally start to form a close relationship with you, a deeper connection with you, and a different sentiment about you as a person.

 

That is the foundation of building a different kind of a network, that deeper connection and that deeper level of trust is what will allow the networking or mentorship relationship to grow from there.

 

Don't be afraid to network with people outside of your immediate team. Be present, be approachable, be willing to offer help when you can,

 

and invest in building all of the relationships that present themselves to you. And you do this simply by being present, being curious, and letting the questions flow from there.

 

If perhaps you're from a smaller organization that doesn't often hold regular get togethers or events, a simple place to start is by printing off the employee roster for everybody in the organization and work your way through it.

 

It may seem daunting at first, but truly you never know where those people on that list are going to be a year, two years, five years from now. Everybody on that list provides a wealth of potential connections, future networking support.

 

and future opportunities.

 

Question number two, how do you build a mentoring relationship within your organization?

 

It seems like today most organizations offer a structured type of a mentoring program, but today I wanna talk to you about how to really develop the mentorship relationship, whether it's within a structured program or more of an organic type of approach. Building a mentoring relationship, it's a gradual process that requires trust and mutual respect. So we start by identifying a mentor that you admire

 

or someone whose career you respect or whose expertise maybe aligns with your own career growth goals.

 

I said at the outset that this is a gradual process. So instead of jumping into a formal mentorship relationship or request, start by just connecting with the individual and engaging them in conversations informally. could be something as simple as, can I take you out for coffee? I'd like to learn more about your work or your history or how you've navigated your career.

 

engaging in this type of an informal discussion will allow you to understand at a deeper level their career and maybe why you admire them and what you can hope to learn from them.

 

So from that space, you can start to gauge whether they are a good fit for you, but also gauge their willingness in mentoring you at all.

 

Once you've crossed that bridge and identified someone that would be a good mentor for you that aligns with your career goals, I think it's really important to invite them to participate in the mentoring relationship and let them know what it is you admire about them and what you're hoping to glean from them. That type of a vulnerable and honest exchange will allow them to appreciate what you're expecting to get from them,

 

but we'll also allow them an opportunity to say yes or no. We want our mentor to be engaged and invested in the relationship. And it's a possibility that now may not be the right time for them. So we wanna have a real candid conversation where you invite them to mentor you, paint the picture of what that could look like, what you're hoping to get out of it, and then give them the opportunity to think about it and discuss it further with you.

 

assuming they're willing to mentor you, then the conversation evolves into what do we want this to look like? And you can partner with them in crafting a mentoring relationship and accountability structure that works for both of you.

 

Question number three, what are some common mistakes people make when trying to network or build mentoring relationships?

 

One of the biggest mistakes I see when people approach networking is coming to it with an attitude of what's in it for me. Networking should be a two-way street where you're genuinely interested in others and you're building authentic connections. You're not just seeking to advance your career. You're not seeking referrals. You're not trying to get something out of it. People pick up on that and it comes off kind of yucky and smarmy.

 

and it's gonna close the door on that relationship developing any further. But when you approach it from a space of, genuinely want to get to know you, I wanna understand more about your career, how did you get there, what are your challenges? Those types of questions build a stronger relationship where people wanna work with you, people wanna help you, and people want to support you because they like you as a human being and you have some connection.

 

That is the lens you want to utilize when you're approaching networking. Can I connect with this person? Do we have something in common? Do I like them? Am I genuinely interested in them? From there, the relationship will only grow versus what's in it for me, they're gonna pick up on it and slam the door in your face.

 

With that in mind, it's really important not to rush the process. We are building relationships here. That's the primary goal. Relationships take time and they take investment.

 

So even if you're approaching it from a space of, want to get to know you, I want to connect with you and understand you, if you pivot from that too quickly into asking for favors or a mentorship commitment, it can come off as being a little bit transactional. It can feel like everything preceding that moment was disingenuous.

 

So really focus on building the relationship before you ask anything of them.

 

Another really common mistake is just not following up. When you meet with someone or engage in a conversation with them, send a thank you or a follow-up note or send them something that you discussed to let them know that the connection meant something to you and you're thinking about them.

 

Not only does it show that you value the conversation that you had, but it helps keep the conversation going so it can continue to grow.

 

Lastly, a really common mistake is just not taking the initiative and expecting senior leaders or your assigned mentor to take the lead. Networking with any kind of an organization is going to require you to step outside of your comfort zone and your immediate circle and be more proactive in seeking connections. It's really about taking your power back. And if you want networking and if you want mentorship to happen, take action to make it happen for yourself.

 

instead of waiting for other people to bring it to you.

 

Question number four, how can you maintain a mentoring relationship once it's established? This is a good kind of follow up from our earlier discussion. Once you've established that mentoring relationship, you've built the relationship, you've invited them to serve as a mentor, you've told them what you're wanting to get out of it, it's about ongoing communication. Regular check-ins are really essential. And as I said earlier, once they've agreed to

 

work in a mentoring capacity with you. It should be an open dialogue about what you want the follow-ups to look like and how you want to be held accountable so you develop a structure that works for both of you.

 

Regular check-ins are essential, but given that every relationship is going to be different, you want to be flexible. It could be monthly meetings or even just a quick catch up over email.

 

Regardless of this structure, don't be afraid to ask for advice or share your successes and the progress that you've made on prior goals. That allows the mentor to feel like they're invested and see the support and success that they're helping you create. It allows you both to stay really invested in your growth and development.

 

Also, be really open to feedback from your mentorship and always express gratitude for them taking the time to meet with you. mentor is investing their time and their energy into helping you and they don't have to do that. And more often than not, they're not getting anything out of it. So make sure they know how much you appreciate what they are doing for you and the attention that they're offering to you.

 

And if over time your needs change or you feel like you've outgrown the relationship, be honest about it. Thank them for the success that they've helped you create and let them know that you're sort of moving on to a new chapter in your evolution, but expressing again, gratitude for them supporting you to that point. to grow out of mentoring relationships and by recognizing that you're really honoring

 

their time, their space, their energy, and letting them take some of that back to better both of you.

 

Question number five, what's one key takeaway for someone wanting to improve their networking and mentoring relationships?

 

This one is pretty straightforward. Be authentic and be patient. Relationships, whether they're professional or personal, they require time to build and develop and grow. So show up as yourself, invest in the other person, and let the relationship unfold naturally without trying to force it.

 

When we allow relationships to evolve organically, it will allow you to find the right connections and the right mentoring opportunities that align with your own growth. Whether you're networking with peers or seeking a mentor, it's really important just to be present and to feel genuinely engaged in the exchange and in the conversation. When you no longer feel like you're genuinely interested in this person or engaging with them,

 

It's a sign that maybe they're not the right mentor for you and that's okay. And maybe the relationship has really run its course and that's okay. so when we root all of this in authenticity, it allows us to recognize this is the right relationship, it's not the right relationship, maybe it's run its course. when that is our driving principle.

 

only successful relationships flow from that because you're constantly checking in. Is this right for me? Does this feel authentic? Does this feel genuine?

 

Okay, my friends, that wraps up our Q &A today on networking and mentoring within your organization. I hope that you found these tips useful. And remember that the relationships you build today are truly the foundation of your future success. You just never know where the people around you will end up. So don't overlook anyone, make those genuine connections and allow those seeds to grow over time.

 

If you have additional questions on building your reputation or networking at work, be sure to check out some of the other podcasts from this month where we talked about reputation building, including a meditation on how to build a strong reputation.

 

thank you as always for tuning in to the Lawyer Life podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe and leave us a rave review on your podcast listening platform. And as always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions or topics that you would like me to dive into on upcoming episodes. Until next time, take care, thanks for listening and thanks for sharing with your friends.