Networking Can Be Learned Like Any Other Skill

Leslie Hicks and Tracy Maleeff co-wrote what was judged the best contributed paper at the SLA 2015 conference held in June in Boston. SLA (Special Libraries Association) is an international information professional organization.

The paper - Network Like Nobody’s Watching: Demystifying Networking as a Skill for the Librarian and Information Professional Community - explains how important networking is and how it can be taught like any other skill:

"Networking is an important skill to practice, hone, and have in your professional development toolkit. It is a skill that can be particularly difficult for Information Professionals to master. Too often, the label of "introvert" will be used as an excuse as to why someone hasn't mastered this skill. In this paper, the importance of networking as a skill, and not a byproduct of a personality trait, will be discussed. We will also address strategies and tools that information professionals can use to become better networkers and develop a network that is strong, diverse, and helps them get to where they want to go in their career."

The SLA Blog this week tells the interesting story of how the two met and how they decided to write the article.