Do you have a good signal on your network?

I’m really sorry everyone, my connection isn’t great today” Sound familiar?

When I made the move 12 months ago from a clinical physiotherapy role to one of health and care innovation, the transition had a feeling of stepping into the unknown, a place where I, myself, had a temporary loss of connection. It felt a bit like the first time I changed my mobile phone provider from Vodafone to O2. Prior to changing, I knew where to stand to get the best signal before making a call or sending a message but the new mobile network I had to learn all these little intricacies again.

I have been extremely lucky throughout my career to know some amazing people who I consider are within my network, many of whom have mentored, coached, and highlighted opportunities for me that have got me to where I am today. However, as I started to engage with people across the wider health and care innovation landscape as an engagement manager, I knew I had a challenge ahead of me in widening this network.

To kick off my new role I was encouraged to go and meet people and introduce myself. Having managed only three weeks in the new office before starting to work from home because of the Covid pandemic, 99.99% of these interactions were online or over the phone. Now, at first not everyone I met wanted to let me in to their proverbial network house, but so many were welcoming and keen to swap stories and help me on my journey in my new role. Over time, the process of making myself visible to the established, deep, diverse innovation network in Wales felt less like Tom Hanks in Castaway and more like Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan. I felt focused and driven by a cause and that cause was creating a healthier Wales.

When people ask about my new role, the first thing I say is “I have met so many new people who I would never have met before”. On reflection, I think that is my subconscious brain saying, my network is growing. For innovation to thrive, developing connections between people from diverse backgrounds and supporting them to achieve a common goal is so important, and in my mind that can only come from a network that lives and breathes.

In the past as a clinician, I felt like the term networking was totally unknown. But as I learn more about it, I have realised how it’s just about building relationships where you can add value and the other person feels valued. So really, it is not at all different from being a clinician.

Building these new relationships during a pandemic has been both challenging and invigorating. It is mind blowing to think that I have never met in person some of the people I consider within my close network. However, I really look forward to shaking many hands and connecting with them on a level only found during an in-person experience.

Harnessing the benefits of a new network where people value each other, just like anything else, it requires time and effort. Unfortunately, there’s not a one size fits all approach, but keeping things focused and up to date appears to be the name of the game.

There have been a few habits and approaches which have helped me navigate my new network landscape and also appreciate the power of my closest relationships.

1.   Ask new questions of your existing network: You may feel like you know everything about your closest network, and they have no more to give. Well, it is unlikely that is the case. Just like you, they may have new goals and have developed new relationships, so make sure you ask new questions and make your goals visible. It may result in some amazing insight and opportunities you never thought they knew about.

2.  Use Social media (but keep it focussed) The likes of Twitter and linked in have made the process of building and researching networks much easier but try not to get caught up in aimless searching. I recently created a Healthy Innovation Wales Twitter list which helps me keep track of organisations in Wales who are working towards the same population health goal as me.

3.   Learn the skills to build your best network. Kelly Hoey is a great narrator of this skill and her Build Your Dream Network podcast takes you on a journey of enlightenment with every episode. 

As we move into a new era for health, care and learning, our networks are going to be so important to the way we work and do business but also in how we approach population health. The strength of communities has been recognised in public health as a contributor to good health for quite some time, so there is no reason why we can’t apply the learnings to our own professional communities. Over the last 12 months for many, the act of building diverse networks may have unknowingly begun, with that random hello or a shift spent with a new team in person or even on MS Teams.

My challenge to you is to not forget these new networks., To share with them. Keep asking them questions, because if we are to transform the way we deliver health and care, then we will need each other, and we will need each other’s each other’s.

If time allows and you want your networking journey to feel more like Tom Hanks in Saving private Ryan and less like Tom Hanks in Castaway, take a look at your network and plan your build one person at a time.

Happy to share and listen to learn.