I recently posted a Course Call for managers to do a better job in mentoring new supervisors and junior managers in the social graces of networking. It’s a skill to be learned, and personally, I found that my greatest teacher with it was being a road warrior. Over time, I’d cope with being on my own during lengthy business travel by simply trimming a lot of the alone time. I’ve learned to mingle, network, and forge new professional relationships well outside my comfort zone. Being a woman, my prospects were always the ‘safe’ ones; the skills to be learned were mostly in the art of the conversation, and in follow-up with the connections I had made.

When the time came that I was the boss, the one approving those travel plans and signing off on expense reports, I knew what opportunities were out there for my staff on the road. I also knew that my travelers were the ticket to the learning and networking that could be brought back to the rest of the company. I asked them to consider the world their classroom, and build worthwhile networks by forging new relationships.

These are the things I talk about in my Thursday column for Lifehack.org today. My post there is called Get the Most out of Travel and it concentrates on two gains; intellectual capital, and network capital. Click in, then consider what you can add to your next travel itinerary. The world is waiting for you.

Related post:
Get the Most out of Travel

Tags:
Travel.
Capital.
Networking.
ROI.