6 min read · Written by Grant Rayner on 05 Apr 2023
Share by emailLast week, I shared some thoughts on how you can establish your reputation as a security consultant, in preparation for starting your own business as an independent security professional.
Your competence and project experience will help you build a professional reputation amongst potential clients. However, it’s your professional network that will provide you access to these clients (and many other essential resources).
I’m sure that the very thought of ‘networking’ may make many of you break out in cold sweat. Your approach to networking will need to align with your business objectives and, at least to some extent, to your personality. That said, it will be difficult to remain entirely inside your comfort zone.
In this article, I will share some characteristics of a good professional network that will support your business objectives in the long term, without being too difficult to manage. I will also provide some ideas on how to design, structure, and maintain your network over time.
Let’s start with some of the characteristics of a good professional network from the perspective of an independent security professional.
Like every aspect of your business, your approach to building your professional network should be thoughtful and deliberate. A good professional network should have the following characteristics:
Let’s explore these characteristics one at a time.
Your professional network should be able to withstand changes in your personal and work situation. What if you decide to move to a different region? Do you have a network in that region that you can leverage for opportunities right away? Similarly, if you decide to change your focus areas, for example, from conducting crisis management consulting and training services to specialising in kidnap response, is your existing network still relevant?
As you build your network, consciously extend it into different regions and domains to ensure that it is resilient and can support you in the event of a major life change.
Your network must be portable. To achieve portability, your network needs to be associated with you as an individual, rather than being associated with you only in the context of a particular company. This way, no matter where you go, your network will always be with you.
The contacts application on the laptop issued by your current company is not portable, and you certainly don’t own the data.. LinkedIn is portable, but you don’t own the data. A spreadsheet or contacts database on your personal computer is portable, and you own the data.
Your professional network should not only consist of potential clients, but also friends, confidants, mentors, mentees, and other experts you can call on when needed (and who can call on you).
A supportive network will provide leads, feedback on your ideas, and share details of your work with others.
Having a supportive network is particularly important as an independent security professional, as it can be easy to feel alone. With such a network, you won’t be truly alone in your work, even though you’re working independently. Feeling connected with a community will be essential to your ongoing well-being and performance.
As you build your professional network, keep in mind your ongoing personal and professional growth. Receiving new ideas and fresh perspectives on problems is key to this growth. Therefore, aim to connect with people whose views differ from yours in terms of background, life experiences, and work approaches.
Note that I am not referring to political or religious views, but rather a diversity of perspectives. Some of the best ideas I have encountered have come from people outside the security domain. This is especially relevant for activities that span multiple domains, such as writing and training.
Here are some ways to ensure you establish a diverse network on LinkedIn:
Outside social networks, it’s also useful to attend events unrelated to the security industry.
Having a great professional network is only valuable if you can derive ongoing benefits from it. Let’s explore how you can structure your network to achieve this goal.
As you design your professional network, it is important to ensure that it is easily usable and maintainable. By applying some of these ideas early on, you can establish a strong foundation for a long-term network.
To make your network useful, you must be able to find people when you need them. Here are a few examples that illustrate the importance of having a well-structured and usable network:
A good way to make your network more usable is to apply categories to your network. As a starting point, you can divide the security professionals in your network into the following categories:
When categorising security professionals, apply tags that indicate their specialties, such as:
It’s also useful to define the geographic scope of responsibility of each person, for example:
You can also tag people based on their potential relationship with your business, for example:
A contact can have multiple tags.
Categories and tags are a great way to make sense of your network. As with all systems, garbage in, garbage out. So make sure you spend time when adding a contact to make sure you get the details right.
From there, you’ll need to maintain your network over time to ensure its ongoing utility.
Maintaining a professional network over time is probably the hardest aspect of network management. This task becomes increasingly difficult as your network grows and you become busier with project work.
Here are just a few of the challenges you’ll face when maintaining your professional network spreadsheet or database:
Of course, a major challenge is simply remembering who people are. When did you meet them? What opportunities were discussed at the time? What do they look like?
One thing is for sure: you don’t want your network to decay. The best approach is to tend to your professional network like a garden. Regularly tend to your network by making small updates. It’s easier to maintain your network by applying regular, small efforts than having to completely review your network after a few years of neglect.
There are a few more aspects to consider when building your professional network to ensure you gain maximum benefit.
While having a spreadsheet or database is useful, having a network that can support your business and professional development is even more valuable. To achieve this, it’s essential to maintain strong connections with the people in your network.
Here are a few approaches you can take to maintain strong connections with people in your professional network:
Also, consider small kindnesses. For example, when an individual moves between organisations, send them a note to congratulate them on the move. A short note will jog their memory and will increase the likelihood they’ll think of you when opportunities come up.
Over time, your network may become an unwieldy mass of contacts. To avoid this, consider establishing an ‘inner circle’ of people that you trust and who trust you. Mutual trust is the foundation for a willing exchange of ideas.
Your inner circle can either be a group of mutual connections that can communicate collectively (think of a chat group), or it can be a group of people that you know individually (but who might not know each other) and with whom you communicate individually.
As a result of the high level of mutual trust, your inner circle are the people that you’ll share ideas with to get feedback. You may also ask for leads. However, the relationship should not be one-sided; make sure to offer your own support and share your own knowledge with your counterparts.
Your professional network is a critical asset that will be one of the foundations of your success as an independent security professional.
Take a structured and deliberate approach to building your network. Ensure that your network is resilient, portable, supportive, and diverse. When designing your network, make sure it is usable and easy to maintain. Finally, maintain strong connections and consider establishing an inner circle.
Whatever approach you decide to take, the best advice is to start now.