In this episode of the Impostor Syndrome Files, we talk about networking. Some of us love connecting with others while others of us may be less interested in or even intimidated by networking. The good news is that, whatever your relationship to networking, there are steps you can take to make it work for you. My guest this week is Michael Morgan, author of the book, “The Power of Networking”. Here he talks about how networking, both internally and externally, has helped him to grow his career across some of the world’s largest companies. Michael offers practical tips to help you manage self-doubt and stay connected to your value when building relationships with others. We also talk about the ways in which building your network can help you to boost your confidence at work.
About My Guest
Michael Morgan obtained his BS from Penn State University and his MBA from Carnegie Mellon University. Coupled with his educational background, he has over 15 years of work experience across companies such as Amazon, Walmart, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Chevron. His ability to build and maintain his network throughout his educational and career journey has been fruitful in his success. He has a passion for teaching and inspiring others to achieve their goals, which led him to write his first book “The Power of Networking” and begin his journey as a motivational speaker. “The Power of Networking” has won the Literary Titan Book Award, Global Book Award, International Impact Award, PenCraft Book Award, and Firebird Book Award.
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Connect with Michael:
Website: https://michaelvmorgan.com/
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Transcript
Kim Meninger
Welcome, Michael. It's so great to meet you. I'm excited to have you here, and I would love to start by inviting you to introduce yourself.
Michael Morgan
Yes, absolutely. So my name is Michael Morgan. I have quite an extensive work career. I've had the opportunity to work for Amazon, Walmart, Chevron, JP Morgan, some of the biggest companies in the world, and now I am a published author. Published my first book called The Power of Networking earlier this year, motivational speaker. So I'm doing a new career journey path based off my work experiences and my knowledge and tutelage. So I'm excited to be here today.
Kim Meninger
Well, it's so great to have you, and now that you're embarking on this new phase of your career, are you still working for one of these companies too? Are you going off on your own?
Michael Morgan
Yes, I am still working. I'm working for a startup called Netscope in the cybersecurity space.
Kim Meninger
Ah, okay, okay. And so tell us a little bit about the book and kind of what, what led you down that path?
Michael Morgan
Yeah, absolutely. So as I said, I've had a pretty extensive career for all the different companies I've worked for, and throughout my career, a lot of people have reached out to me, whether it's people directly within my network have reached out and expert for tips, guidance in their career journeys, or someone that they know has reached out to me, or I've had random strangers who I don't know, who just looked up my LinkedIn profile, liked my background and wanted to reach out next questions. And after a certain point in time, I felt as though I might have a vast amount of knowledge that people are looking for. So I decided to put pen to paper and write the book. So it gets into a lot of topics. Obviously, networking is the key topic, because it's called The Power of networking. And I get into how to build relationships, how to maintain relationships, and how impactful it is for both your career and your personal life. But I get into a lot of other areas. I get into microaggressions, I get into imposter syndrome. I get into interview prepping, getting, getting ready for career conferences, how to navigate your career, how to advance in your career. So there's so many different areas that I dive into the book. So it's, it's, it's really a deep, deep read that I've got a lot of great feedback from different individuals. Different individuals who've purchased the book so far.
Kim Meninger
I love that you, you know, based on the data, right, people were coming to you. Obviously, they were getting value from what you were offering because people still kept coming. So I love that you decided, Oh, I have something to bring to the world. I'm going to write a book, right? And when did you have any self-doubt or imposter syndrome as you were thinking about writing a book or sharing it with the world?
Michael Morgan
I'd say, I'd say a little bit, because I actually, I've met a few authors, and when I, like, approached people that I knew had published a book and said, Hey, I'm thinking about writing a book. And some of them were saying, Oh, well, if I had $1 for everybody who told me they're going to write a book, I'd be rich. Because I'm sure a lot of people approached them and said the same thing. So that gave me a little bit of doubt when you hear how many people have interest in writing a book who haven't actually finished it through, but I mean through the support of my family and friends and loved ones. They all know when I put my mind to something, I'll get it done. So I was able to push through and finish the book.
Kim Meninger
That’s great. Yeah, I think a lot of people have that as like a bucket list item, right? Oh, maybe I'll write a book someday. So can you tell us a little bit about, from your perspective, networking, and what, why it's so important, and kind of, why it's so hard to do? Because I think, as humans, we're social creatures, right? We're building relationships all the time without maybe even being conscious of it. But when you, when you use the word networking, it almost changes the, the frame around it in a way that people get really intimidated by it, or they think I don't have time for this, or there's all kinds of ways in which we just we don't want to, to do that, or it feels scary to us. So, how do you think about networking, and is there a way that you reframe it for people who maybe have, like, a negative association with it?
Michael Morgan
Yeah, so when I think of networking, in my opinion, and this is what I tell everyone, I treat it as part of my job. So a lot there's a bad misconception where a lot of people think, as long as I do a good job, I will naturally just move up in a company and progress. But if you're not building the right relationships with the right people, it does like, obviously, you have to get your work done, but you still have to be able to network both horizontally, vertically. A lot of times when it's like end of the year review, most companies have end of. Review, there may be a certain amount of managers that are ranking all the employees, and your manager may not be in the room. They can advocate as much as possible, but if you don't even know who the players are in the room that are rating everyone, that's going to hurt you negatively. And it's the same thing with getting promoted there, there may be a group of 10 leaders that are reviewing 400 people in organization to determine who's going to get promoted. So if you don't know who they are, and they don't know who you are, they don't know what value you're bringing to the table, they don't know your ambitions, that you want to get to that next level, it's going to hurt you negatively. So that's why I always tell people that is very important, and not just within your company, outside of your company as well. I try to join different organizations that are industry-specific or specific to the function I'm a part of, because you never know where connection may, may open up the door for you. You never know where you can learn from somebody else's as well. So it's definitely important to network internally within your company, externally, outside your company, and those will, those connections will really help you in your career.
Kim Meninger
Yeah, I think you make some really important points too about the career advancement process. A lot of times, people think, oh, I'll just keep my head down. Do a good job, right? And I don't have time for chit-chat. Or, you know it's too hard to network because I work remotely or all the different excuses that we throw up, but you're absolutely right that these decisions about your career are being made behind closed doors among people who may or may not even know anything about you, and so to prioritize this as though it is a high, you know, high up on your list of responsibilities for any job that you hold is critical.
Michael Morgan
Yeah, absolutely.
Kim Meninger
So how do you, I mean, I'm assuming you're really busy too, and I think that's one of the things that most people think, is like, I'm too busy for this, they hear you say you have to network internally and externally, and think I'm barely getting my job done. How am I going to find time for networking? Right? Do you have thoughts on how to do this in a busy world?
Michael Morgan
Yeah, absolutely. So I mean, for me, I like to just set up recurring meetings on calendars, so I've identified some of the senior leaders within the organization. And I'll just once a month, set up a coffee chat. It could be a virtual coffee chat. Like I said, my role is fully remote. I know a lot of people are working remote, or they're working hybrid, so they don't always get that face-to-face, but I think it's very easy to set up these, these 30-minute calls every month, or every two months, every couple months, whatever cadence that you prefer. So I think that's very helpful. I also I'm a big believer you can't replace that face-to-face interaction. So my company is based in San Francisco area, and I live in Austin, but I make an effort to go to the headquarters at least once a quarter, and when I'm in headquarters, I'm obviously, I have my work schedule, I have meetings I have to attend, but I'm setting up coffee chats and lunches, dinners, happy hours, and I'm trying to get as much face time as possible, because, like I said, I don't think anything can replace that face to face interaction. I love the technology that we have today where we can leverage email and video chats and Slack, and do like different ways to communicate with people, but, whenever possible, I recommend that that face to face interaction, but I think as long as you have a structured system so, so, like I said, I have my regular meeting scheduled, but I Also this is me, personally, I keep a spreadsheet. So in a spreadsheet, I'll list, I'll track different people that I try to make sure that I have regular communication with. And I'll, I'll not take when the last time I was I spoke with them. I'll, I'll notate specific things like, what are their hobbies? Like, what who's in their family? Do they have kids? Are they married, so I'll know specific things that I can send to them, and I'll know specifically, Oh, I haven't talked to this person in three months. I haven't talked to this person in six months, and that way I can track it, and I'm a little bit more organized, so I know, okay, that is overdue. I should be reaching out to this person, and then, like I said, based on your relationship with the, with the individual, can determine the cadence that you reach out to them. Some people I speak to almost weekly, some people I speak to monthly. Some I may only speak to one or two times a year, but at least me having it a spreadsheet and tracking it that helps keep me organized where it doesn't seem like a big effort and I know exactly the last time I spoke to them. It helps me remember I should be reaching out to them again.
Kim Meninger
I think that's a great strategy. And the people listening, who are project managers and really process-oriented, right, that should appeal to them. For sure, it's like, it's, it's so much easier than having this feeling of I should be networking, but I don't have any kind of actionable. Plan around it. I think there's always that feeling that I'm not doing enough, but there's no way to measure it. And so what you're describing is a really great way to put some structure around it.
Michael Morgan
Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate that.
Kim Meninger
And I want to touch on the self-doubt part of this too because obviously when people struggle with imposter syndrome, there's that feeling of I'm not actually qualified to be here. I'm a fraud. I don't necessarily want to be out there connecting with people because I'd rather fly under the radar a little bit, right, or, or, what I hear a lot is, why would somebody want to talk to me? Right? I'm just doing my job. I don't have anything special to offer, especially if I want to reach out to people who are more senior to me, I'm just going to be wasting their time. You know what? What would be a reason to reach out to other people? Do you have thoughts on, like, what is what are you connecting with people about, and what are they responding to?
Michael Morgan
So I connected them on a few things. So I always talk about the different projects that I'm working on, different initiatives that I'm leading, because I always find it helpful to speak to other people and get different points of view, different perspectives, the way that I may be thinking about approaching a solution for an issue that I'm working on may be completely different from someone else's thought process. So I'd like to talk to them about my work deliverables, just to see their thoughts, if they're in align with, with how I'm approaching it, or if they have a different strategy that maybe I didn't think of. So, so that's, that's one aspect I'd like to discuss. I also like to discuss just career journeys in general. My career path is different than another person's career path. Everyone has a different career journey, and they're not always everyone has this mindset that it's always linear and it just goes in one straight trajectory. And it's not always perfect. Sometimes you have to take a step back to go, take two steps forward. Sometimes you have to do a lateral step. So it's always good to pick people's brain, understand what their career journey was. And maybe there's something that I want to, you know, take ideas from. But, you know, I like asking those questions, just to understand how they were able to get to where they are in their career. And then last me, I just like having that personal interaction like, like, work is what we do. It's not who we are. So I like to ask people just to get, get to know them better. Ask them what their hobbies are, guess them about their families, ask them about their, their personal lives. And I think that in in conjunction with obviously talking about work, but getting to know them as individual, I think that adds a very personal touch element that really can, can make a strong relationship with somebody.
Kim Meninger
I couldn't agree more, I have a very similar philosophical viewpoint when it comes to connecting with people that, that you have. And when I was working in a more traditional corporate environment, I was always asking people questions about anything from, hey, you had a really interesting idea in that meeting, or, you know, tell me more about your career path, as you're saying, or tell me more about your interest. And what I found was people love to talk about themselves, right? And people like to feel seen, and they want to feel like you've, you've reached out to them, especially, right? And so I think for people listening, they might be thinking, Oh, that's really scary. And people are so busy they're not going to take the time to have these conversations, but they really do.
Michael Morgan
Oh, yeah, absolutely. I tell people that all the time, like, like said, people want to have these conversations. And even for me, I like to set up, like, coffee chats, lunches. There's so many times I feel like we've gotten into this mindset where people just work through lunch. Like they either bring their lunch to the office or they'll go grab something and bring it right back to your desk and work through so when I got like, when I schedule lunch on someone's calendar, they're like, oh my god, I'm, I'm actually taking an hour break, and they get excited. Like not only did they get to talk about themselves and share what they're working on and share their career trajectory and share their personal stories of their life, but now I'm actually separating myself in the office and actually taking time for myself, which a lot of people just don't do.
Kim Meninger
You’re absolutely right. That's a really great benefit as well. And I want to go back to what you were saying for your first point too, because there were a couple of things that stood out to me as additional benefits when you were talking about talking to people about your work deliverables. Is number one, I always think when people say I don't have time to network, I always say you don't have time not to because you're making you're cleaning up the mess. On the other side, if you're not right, because there's all these miscommunications and conflict and trust issues. So what you're describing is you're really getting on the same page with people making sure that you don't have to redo something later. There's baked in efficiency to what you're describing, and it's a great self-promotion strategy because now all these people know what you're doing. It's not invisible work that gets buried, that nobody sees, right?
Michael Morgan
Yeah, absolutely. And I've heard that so many times throughout my career, where people are working on these big projects, initiatives, and no one knows they're even a part of it is, it's not until after the fact they're, they're trying to fill out their, their self-reflection of what they did for the year, and all of a sudden, you're like, Oh, you were on that. But it's like, if you don't talk about it and self-promote, then people just won't know. So it's definitely important for yourself and for your career.
Kim Meninger
And the way you're talking about it, too. It's not that, that obnoxious kind of self-promotion that we often tend to think about that people are really afraid of doing right? You're not going out there and saying, Hey everybody, look at me!
Michael Morgan
Exactly, though I was not like that.
Kim Meninger
So I appreciate that you're sharing a better way to do that. I want to ask you because you had mentioned microaggressions, and so can you say more about your experience with microaggressions and how they fit into the conversation we're having?
Michael Morgan
Yeah, absolutely. So I mean me, personally, I feel like I've had a lot of microaggressions in my personal life, in my work experience and education. For me, I'm as a black man, I think a lot of people just did not expect me to be able to get to where I am in my career and in my education. So I'll hear like, slight remarks like, Oh, you're doing well for a black man. Like, actually, I'm doing good for an individual, but, like, not black men specifically. So I don't I've dealt with that a lot of my career. I know other people have dealt with, with their, in their careers as well, whether it's microaggressions, whether it's the imposter syndrome. So I have, I have an entire chapter in my book dedicated towards it, where I talk about some of my personal stories and things that I try to do to overcome these, these situations, I try to use it as motivation. So obviously it can, it can be upsetting. It can knock you down a bit if you perceive it that way. But I want to prove people wrong where, you know people will say something or make me feel like I don't belong or I shouldn't be here, and that's, that's makes me stronger, like I'm using that as fuel. I'm going to prove you wrong. I deserve a seat at the table. There's a reason that I'm working here. There's a reason that, that I was accepted into this school. So I thought it was important, because I know a lot of people deal with it as well, and I don't want people to feel like they're alone. There are other people out there. And then one of the things that I try to do, I want to make sure that people feel comfortable when they see something, you step up and say something. So as an example, I've I'm a manager. I've managed teams before. If I'm in a room and one of my direct reports to say I have a direct report that's a woman and I see someone over-talking her or are not giving her a shot like I will make sure I will step up in the meeting say, Hey, I think Jessica has a point. Can, can? Can we let her speak? But I'm also having side conversations with her too, because I want her to have the confidence to, to be able I'm not always going to be in the room with her in every meeting, so if, if and when I'm in the room, I will definitely step up, and I will make sure that she's not being distracted for being a woman or, or any type of whether somebody is because of their, their race, whether they're black, Hispanic, whether it's their sexuality. If I see something, I will own it. But I'm also trying to build people up because I'm not always going to be in the room, and if I'm not in the room, either, you need to feel comfortable stepping up and saying something in the meeting. Or, I know some people don't feel as comfortable in a meeting setting, saying something at least like outside of a meeting, you can reach out to the person and talk about how you felt in that situation. Or even if you don't feel comfortable, reach out to your manager, reach out to your skip level, and I can have those conversations with that person, but you can't just not say anything to anybody because that's, that's what's really going to make it bad, and it's going to continue to build up until a point where you just feel broken down at a certain point. So I try to try to have those conversations with people.
Kim Meninger
Well, and I really appreciate the lens of empowerment that you bring to it, right? Because I think especially when we talk about imposter syndrome, if you're already feeling like you're not good enough in some way, and then someone makes a comment that reinforces that, that could be it, if you let it right, just a way of reinforcing a narrative that you're not, you don't belong here, right? As opposed to you. You have said that you actively use that as a form of motivations, like, Oh, I'm gonna show you right, that I belong here. Do you feel like you got to that point over time? Like, did you were you always? Was that always your mindset? Or did you a reach point where you where it was having a more negative effect on your confidence, and then you decided you were going to use it as a form of motivation?
Michael Morgan
Well, I felt like I've, I've had that mindset since I was young. Uh, even growing up, my parents would always tell me, I, I probably have to work twice as hard as everybody else to get to the same place. So I already had that mindset where I may be beaten down just because of the, my skin color, my race, and I may not be treated the same way, but I've always had that mentality where I'm just going to work harder than everybody in the room and improve my worth so.
Kim Meninger
Yeah because that's what I'm hoping for, for everybody listening who has had those experiences and hasn't gotten to the point that you're at yet, right? To think about how to not let it undermine your confidence even more because there's, there are sort of pieces to it, right? There's the accountability piece that you're describing for the person who is delivering that message. But then there's also, how do we keep our own our own confidence and self-esteem intact when we're navigating people who show up that way? Right?
Michael Morgan
Yeah, and one of the things I like to tell people is, well, when you're at a company or you're at a school, you were hired for a reason, you were admitted into that school for a reason. So for someone to say, “Oh, you don't belong at the table,” like, they wouldn't have hired you or accepted you into the program if you didn't belong. So I think you just need to have that mindset where there's, there's a reason that you were brought in here, there's value that you're adding, and make sure to show like voice that. So this is a lot of times where I've talked to people who say they have imposter syndrome and they don't, they don't want to speak up in meetings. And I'll let them know like, Hey, if you keep getting invited to meetings and you're not adding value, you're not speaking up, at a certain point, they're probably going to stop inviting you to the meeting. Like they're, they're inviting you to the meeting for, for a reason you have, you have a different perspective that they want you bring to the table feel confident in yourself. So that's, that's some of the mindset that I try to tell people to build up their confidence when they feel as though they have that imposter syndrome.
Kim Meninger
I really appreciate that perspective too, because I think that's important reminder and something that we're not always consciously connected to in the moment. But even if it means like, sounds so cheesy, but even having, like, a little visual reminder to yourself, like you're in your role for a reason, because, to your point, if someone invites you to a meeting, that's a conscious choice. I mean, sometimes, you know, and whole team or something will be invited, but for the most part, it's like somebody's picking the people who are going to be on the invite and they chose you for a reason, and you're there is always going to be some element of self-doubt when you're in these situations, especially if you're early in your career, or, you know, you're you feel different from other people, or any number of reasons why we might experience this. But I think part of it is, and you tell me if you feel differently, it's just having the courage to do it a few times, because the first few times are always the scariest, and we're waiting for the confidence to come, but the confidence doesn't come until after we actually do it.
Michael Morgan
Exactly. I completely agree. I think the, the first few times, it's a little uncomfortable. It's awkward. But once you, once you start and you like you said, you like you build up your confidence. It becomes easier and easier. And a lot of people you, you'd be surprised when you're working at a company or in a role for three, three months, six months a year, you probably know a lot more than you think you do. Like, a lot of people are like, Oh, I've only been in this role for six months. It's like, Yeah, but you're still you're still, you're still pretty knowledgeable, and you have certain expertise that probably other people don't have. So, so don't look at that as a limitation. You know, use you, you, you have the knowledge in order to do the job, get the job done
Kim Meninger
Absolutely and I think this comes back to networking too, because if you are having conversations with other people in the way that you were describing earlier, you're learning in different ways too about how your role connects to other people's parts of the business, right? I think if you, if you're trying to do your work in a vacuum, you are going to feel a little bit more unsure because you don't have the perspective of how the pieces fit together, right?
Michael Morgan
Yes, absolutely so. So as an example, I work in program management, but I will network with people in product management, in engineering, in legal, in finance, in HR, and a lot of these different functions that we all coordinate with one another. But the way that someone may think approach something from a product management or engineering or a legal lens is completely different from how I would approach it. So it's good to have those different perspectives points of view, so that we can collectively as organization, reach the best solutions.
Kim Meninger
Yeah. And I also just feel like from a human perspective, when you get to. People in the way that you were describing earlier too. You asked them about their families and their hobbies. They don't feel so scary anymore. [Exactly.] You don't feel like you're in a room full of intimidating people. You feel like you're in a room with other humans that you know.
Michael Morgan
Yeah, absolutely. I tell that to my team as well. There are times where I'll assign tasks to my team, and then they'll say, hey, is there any updates? Like, oh, I reached out this person, but they didn't respond. It's like, Well, did you try to get to know them? I'm like, if you build a relationship with somebody and try to actually get to know them as an individual, they're probably more willing to help you and give you the information you need, as opposed to you're just a random person. And say, Hey, can you give me this they have other stuff they're working on, too, and they prioritize other work. So that's where relationship building can really make a big impact.
Kim Meninger
Yes, and I know sometimes people feel like they're being manipulative or taking advantage of people when they think about it that way, but I don't think about it that way at all. I think it's, you know, we have to make choices about how we're spending our time. And if you have a personal relationship with somebody, you will naturally prioritize their request over someone else's.
Michael Morgan
Exactly.
Kim Meninger
Well. And a lot of what you're talking about too is this is work you've done for yourself, but you're managing other people around it too, and really sharing the wisdom with your team. And I think it's important for people who are managing teams, or who may manage teams in the future, to really think more consciously about these conversations too because if you get so laser-focused on the work, you're missing out on some of those dynamics, like you even talked about, which I so appreciate, when you said paying attention to how other people in your group meetings are being treated. And you know, if you're only focused on the outcome, you're not noticing that like are. Do you have tips for managers on how to, how to kind of bring some of the stuff that we're talking about into the relationship with your team?
Michael Morgan
Yeah, absolutely. I would say one of the biggest tips is just, I mean, I've already kind of alluded to it, but it's having those conversations with people. Because I'll be honest, early in my career, I didn't notice some of these, these situations where, I mean, I've read data recently. I think women get spoken over in meetings, I think three times as, as much as men, but it wasn't until I actually start, like, had conversation with women, and they've told me their experiences where, you know they're in meetings and, like, when they're talking, people won't even look at them while they're talking. It's just, like, disrespectful. I'm not even going to pay attention while you're talking. Or, or they'll say they'll make a comment. Nobody responds. A guy makes the same comment. Oh, this is a fantastic idea, but if, if I didn't have those conversations with people that like now, I'm more aware. Now, when I'm in meetings, I'm looking for it to make sure, if it does happen, that's where I'll step in. But if I didn't have those natural conversations with people to understand some of the things that they're doing with as a woman, as a Hispanic person, as a, as someone a part of a LGBTQ community, like having those conversations opened up my eyes where now, as a manager, and I'm managing a team and I'm in meetings now, I'm trying to be more observant, But I think generally, just having conversation with people understand what some people have experienced, and now I'm more alert, and I have more focus to make sure if I see something like that, I'm intervening and making sure that it's not happening.
Kim Meninger
And I have a tactical question for you because I think sometimes people are afraid to have these conversations. They feel like they're sensitive or they don't want to ask the wrong thing. And so are there specific questions you would recommend that a manager ask someone on their team to find out more and to get them to open up in that way?
Michael Morgan
Um, I would say, I don't. I don't ask specific questions. I just try to, I try to make sure I'm building a culture of inclusion. I want everyone to feel comfortable being themselves, being able to open up and have conversations with me. So I'll, I'll, I'll be an open book. I'll share, I'll share experiences. So as an example, I've, I've managed very diverse teams. I've had women, I've had men, I've had people who are black, Hispanic, Indian. So their experiences are different than my experiences. And I've shared my experiences being a black man in corporate in tech, and you know, they've shared their experiences being Asian, being a woman, being like so I think me being open and honest with them gives them the, the freedom and the comfort, where they can be open and honest with me, where I've been surprised at some of the things that my, my team members have shared with me. But I think because I've built that, that culture within the team, where we all feel comfortable with one another, that I don't, I don't feel like I have to ask pinpointed questions. I feel like if something happens, they feel comfortable sharing with me so that I can take action and try to make sure that they're, they're, they're feel more comfortable in their roles and on the team.
Kim Meninger
Well, and I think what you're describing is really important in a couple ways. Is, number one, you're not treating it like a checklist item, right, which people can see right through. And number two, your willingness to be open, to be vulnerable, right? Is really important to their safety, and feeling like they can talk with you about it. And what I'm hearing you say, which I think is so important for everybody listening to know too, is this is not something that you do every now and then. This is something that you do consistently, right? It's an, all the time you're investing in nurturing, right, making sure that these relationships continue. And even going back to what we were talking about before, of your spreadsheet and, you know, relationships, you can't build a trusted relationship by, you know, every now and then reaching out to somebody there has to be, like you said, there are certain people you don't talk to as often, but it's, it's a behavior that you engage in on a regular basis in order to maintain this kind of trust and connectedness.
Michael Morgan
Yeah, absolutely, I completely agree.
Kim Meninger
Yeah, and so is there anything that you would say to people who are maybe a little bit more shy and afraid of the outreach, like anything that you know, maybe people who are a little bit more introverted, or people who are just a little bit more uncomfortable, like anything you would say is like a first thing to think about?
Michael Morgan
Then I would say first and foremost is not as scary as it seems like. I talked to a lot of people who are introverted and they're, they're scared to network, and they don't feel comfortable. And I'll, I'll give them, like, a small challenge, like, Hey, make a connection with somebody at your job, just like, one connection over the course of a month. Like, like, baby steps, and you know, they may meet somebody when they're going to grab coffee, or they, they may meet somebody they don't know at a, at a meeting, and then they'll reach out to them, and they usually get good feedback. Once they, they actually take the step, they realize it's not as bad as I thought it was. It's not as scary. They end up making a great relationship with somebody. So I think just taking that, that initial step, like I said, you have to crawl before you walk. So I went and tell somebody, oh, go, get go, make 10 new connections in a week. Like, like, take small baby steps. You can make one connection at your job with somebody new in the course of a month. And then once you realize that it wasn't as bad as you thought, hey, maybe next month. Let's make let's try to do two. Maybe the month I have that maybe take do try to do three. But like, first you have to put yourself out there. So I'll say that's the biggest thing. Is just, just building up that confidence, starting off small, and that really helped set the path for you.
Kim Meninger
Yeah, I like that a lot. And I think you're absolutely right that the momentum builds on the other side once you get the positive reinforcement because the vast majority of times you're going to have a positive outcome, it's going to, it's going to be something where you're like, Oh, I can't believe I haven't done this sooner. Yeah, Michael, this has been so helpful. Thank you so much for sharing your, your wisdom with us and your, your insights. As somebody who has been doing this for such a long time and has results to show for it, right? Obviously, it's been a big part of your success, and so I'm so grateful to you for being here today. For people who want to read your book, want to connect with you, stay you know, just stay in touch with what you're doing. Where would you recommend that they go?
Michael Morgan
Yes, so I have my own website. It's Michael V Morgan. So V is in Victor. Michael V Morgan dot com, so you can go through my website, and I have a Contact Me form, so you can reach out to me directly through my website. Book is available on all platforms, so it's The Power of Networking there. The ebook is on Kindle and all different platforms. The audiobook is on Spotify. It's on Audible. The paperback is on Amazon. Whether you want paperback, ebook, audiobook, all, all of them are available. But hopefully, hope all of your audience, feel free to reach out. I'm willing to help anywhere anyhow I can. So, so reach out to me, and I'll get back to you, and I'll help you in any way that I can. Thank you so
Kim Meninger
Thank you much. Michael, this has been really great. I really appreciate it.
Michael Morgan
Oh, thank you. Like I said, it's been a pleasure being on the podcast. So, so thank you for having me as a guest.