Australian business woman and founder of LBDGroup, Janine Garner, is urging professionals to declutter and invest only in those who add value to their personal and professional development.
According to the Sydney-based executive, everyone must have 12 specific types of people in their network to fast-track their success and ensure longevity in their industry.
Here, we look at the 12 people Janine has come up with in her new book, It’s Who You Know, and how they can help you find success in your chosen field.
‘Here’s the bottom line – we don’t need more contacts, we don’t need more friends and we don’t necessarily need to spend more time connecting online,’ Janine, a Fortune 500 mentor and keynote speaker, said.
‘To really succeed you must become the master of your personal network. It’s the quality of who is in your network that really matters.’
The Cheerleader
The first is the cheerleader.
The author describes this person as ‘your number one fan’ and the ‘CEO of your personal cheer club’.
‘They are promoting you whenever they can, sponsoring your growth, creating opportunities for you to shine and pushing you to do more because they believe in you and your dreams,’ she explains.
The Inspirer
This person will change everything for you regardless of what you achieve.
‘They are ambitious; big-picture out of the box thinkers who never give in to “I can’t” thinking,’ Janine says.
‘Instead they believe you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.’
The Lover
The lover has nothing to do with your significant other.
In fact, nominating a significant other for this role is a ‘danger’, according to Janine, as ‘those who love us the most will generally tell us what we want to here, not what we need to hear’.
‘Your Lover in your network puts you and your needs first to help you become the best you can be in times of hardship as well as success,’ Janine explains.
The Connector
Connectors are described as being ‘powerful brokers of information and contacts’ and are all about helping you meet people and move up the ranks.
‘They have an innate ability to open doors and make connections between people and information, joining dots you can’t see and creating opportunities that might have been unheard of previously,’ Janine explains.
The Balancer
This person is all about ‘self care’ as they ‘make sure you have everything aligned and in check’.
This person ensures you look after yourself before others and take care of yourself in times where you may otherwise forget to.
‘They understand that any kind of success relies on a healthy balance between personal and professional goals,’ Janine says.
The Influencer
This person ‘will have reached a level of success you aspire to’.
The influencers are known to ‘enrich your learning experience with their own knowledge’ and share insights into what they’ve learned on their own journeys.
‘They help you avoid having to reinvent the wheel or learning everything the hard way,’ Janine says.
The Professor
Just like a mentor at school or university, the professor will wants you to keep learning and pushing yourself harder.
‘Your Professor will constantly push you to think better think deeper and think differently mastering your skill and capability,’ Janine says.
The Architect
Architects help you to look forward into your future and make long term goals.
‘Your Architect is an expert at visualising the consummation of your plans and how to reach that future,’ Janine says.
‘They are methodical, astute and financially savvy, good at identifying potential gains, challenges and risks and at laying the stepping-stones to guide you along your path.’
The Truth Sayer
Truth sayers are ‘honest and loyal’.
These people ‘force you to commit to your goals with integrity’ and know that ‘the only judgement that matters is the one you have of yourself’.
‘If you don’t start leading from within and fully owning who you are you will never be capable of being a better person,’ Janine explains.
This person is described as being ‘the master butt-kicker’.
Accelerators ‘grab procrastination by its ankles’ and ‘hurls it out the window’.
‘Whether you have a plan, a dream or a project to deliver on, they will kick your butt in to action so your ideas doesn’t remain just that – an idea,’ Janine says.
The Mentor
Mentors are their to ‘guide and inspire your choices’ while providing wisdom to keep you on track.
‘Whether in a formal or an informal arrangement, you are never too old for a Mentor,’ Janine says.
‘Mentors are crucial to your growth and success.’