How to identify — and fill — gaps in your network

Strategic networking is one of the most powerful ongoing professional investments you can make.

Before You Start

Goal: Reframe networking as an ongoing practice, and practice thinking about your network in terms of its depth, breadth, and gaps.

Article: Networking as a Superpower

Meeting Agenda · Approx. 60 mins

  • Member Updates · 10 mins
  • Icebreaker · 10 mins
  • Key Takeaways · 5 mins
  • Discussion Questions · 20 mins
  • Write It Down · 2 mins
  • One Action · 10 mins
  • Wrap-Up · 5 mins

👋 Member Updates · 10 mins

Go around your Circle and share personal updates. Keep them brief and focused on significant changes or important decisions since the last time you met. It's OK not to have one every month. If you have a One Action update from last time, share that too.

🧊 Icebreaker · 10 mins

Invite everyone in the group to share. Keep answers to one or two minutes per person.

Who's the person in your network who made the biggest impact on your career? How did you connect with them and build the relationship?

💡 Key Takeaways · 5 mins

Networking isn't just something you do when you need something. It's one of the most powerful ongoing professional investments you can make.

  • Networks are how things actually get done. Beyond job opportunities, your network is how you get information early, solve problems faster, and build credibility in new spaces.
  • Homogenous networks are limiting. When your network looks and thinks like you, you lose access to the diverse ideas, perspectives, and opportunities that come from broader connections.
  • Weak ties are surprisingly powerful. The people you know casually — not your close colleagues — are often the source of the most unexpected opportunities, because they move in different circles.
  • Strategic networking is a practice, not an event. The most effective networkers invest consistently in relationships over time, not just when they need something.
  • Give first. The strongest networks are built on genuine generosity — sharing information, making introductions, and showing up for people without an immediate ask.

💬 Discussion Questions · 20 mins

Move through the questions at the pace that suits your Circle. You don't need to cover every one — pick the prompts that resonate and let the conversation breathe.

  1. The article argues networking is one of the most powerful tools in your professional toolkit. Do you treat it that way — or does it still feel like a chore?
  2. How do you define a "strong" network? Is yours strong? What would make it stronger?
  3. What patterns do you notice in your network? Is it too similar to you in background, industry, or perspective?
  4. Where have the most valuable connections in your life come from — formal networking, or something else? How can you create more of them?
  5. How could you invest in your network in a way that feels more like genuine relationship-building and less like networking?

✍️ Write It Down · 2 mins

Take a few minutes to connect the discussion to your own life.

Think about the gaps in your network: by industry, background, perspective, or seniority. What's one type of connection that would most expand what you're able to see and do?

🎯 One Action · 10 mins

Commit to one concrete action — big or small — you'll take before next meeting. Go around the Circle and share (1 minute or less per member). Vocalizing it helps hold each other accountable.

Thinking about your network, what's one relationship you plan to strengthen or reconnect with over the next few weeks?

📅 Wrap-Up · 5 mins

Before you break, plan your next meeting and close on an energetic note. Go around your Circle one by one and finish the sentence:

Now I am feeling… (choose one word).

  • Set the day, time, and location
  • Choose the next topic or resource
  • Confirm who's leading the discussion
  • Decide how you'll stay in touch in between