If you've ever worked in a coporate setting or gone to high school, you've probably taken a personality test at one point or another.  I generally think that they are helpful.  They can help co-workers gain insight into how to interact with one another and read each other.  They can help guide individuals to a career path.  But the one thing that always trips me up is the Introvert/Extrovert thing.  I'm not an introvert, but I wouldn't really classify myself as a true extrovert either.  When I think of the extroverts that I know, I think of people who really feed off of big group settings and are really good at networking.  I wouldn't consider myself to be one of those people.

Networking is one of those facts of business life.  It makes most of us pretty uncomfortable (except aforementioned true extroverts).  There are lots of benefits to networking.  It's an opportunity to learn from people with different expertise than you.  Many sales happen because someone knows someone and those connections can happen at networking events.  And if nothing else, it's a good way to find out what is going on in the community.  But just because it's good, doesn't make it easy.

I went to a women's networking event last night with a friend of mine.  It was hosted by her company.  I only knew two people there.  My friend ended up having to leave early for another engagement.  That's usually when I would leave something like that.  I'm alright when I know someone but when I'm on my own it's much harder.  But I sat down with the other woman that I only sort-of know and a few other women and ended up closing out the event.  And I had a great time.  I really enjoyed the conversation and met some women that I otherwise never would have come into contact with.  I hate to admit it but I kind of feed of of that interaction.  Maybe I swing a little further towards extrovert than I thought.

Like me, many of you are probably a little uneasy about networking, so here are some networking tips:
1. Bring a friend who is commited to meeting people too, not just being a wall flower.  It helps to have someone who you know to facilitate conversation with.  Just make sure not to stick to yourselves. 
2. Ask the people you speak with lots of questions about their interests.  I think that I've been told this before but I can't tell you how true it is.  People really open up when they are talking about things they care about.
3. Be informed about local, national and international issues so that you can participate in conversations. Obviously don't be confrontational about your views but it's always good to have a topic in your back pocket.
4. Don't try to sell people something.  If it happens naturally that there is a business connection, great.  But don't do it artificially.
5. Don't take yourself too seriously.  Everyone else feels awkward too. 

Last year I participated in the ann arbor area chamber of commerce Leadership Ann Arbor program.  Part of the Leadership mission statement is to provide "a foundation for the development of a sustainable, vital community whose vision is based upon an informed and committed business community."  The program begins with an orientation and then an overnight retreat.  After that, one Wednesday a month, for the next 8 months the group learns about a different sector of the community including education, health care, local government, community services and others.  It's a very diverse group of people who participate each year. 

Last year I missed the May day, Quality of Life which focuses on arts, sports and other leisure opportunities in the area.  Lindsay, the fabulous director of the program, said that I could come back this year and make it up.  So 2 weeks ago, I tagged along with this year's class.  We started out at Gallup Park for a tour with some of the natural area preservation employees.  I'm ashamed to admit that I've never even been in the part of the park that we walked through.  They're doing a lot of work to restore some of the natural vegetation and get rid of the invasive species that have taken over many of the spaces that we think of as "natural".  Then we headed over to Hill Auditorium for a little tour that included a peak into the organ room.  We also had someone from The Ark, the A2 Summer Festival, and UMS speak to us about their programs that bring some of the best artists to the Ann Arbor area.  Then we headed over to WEMU, the public radio station on Eastern Michigan University's campus.  We are fortunate to have two great public radio stations in the A2 area but WEMU is known for jazz and a focus on local news and information. 

Next we headed to lunch at Pizza House followed by a trip to the Michigan Theater.  At the Michigan Theater we heard some of the background of the theater and movies from Russ Collins, the CEO and exec director.   He and Ron Olson, the chief of the parks & rec division of the SoM Dept. of Natural Resources, were our hosts or tour guides for the day.  We also heard from Amy Milligan from the Neutral Zone about the great work they do providing opportunities for artistic expression and community leadership for the youth in our community.  Amy is actually a fellow alum of the 2008 Leadership class.  Next we headed over to the UofM athletic campus for a tour of the football practice facilities.  We were all pleasantly surprised when Coach Rich Rodriguez came to speak to us.  Finally, we headed over to the Ann Arbor Art Center where we got to paint a mug. 

All in all it was a great day.  I highly recommend the program.  I have lived in Ann Arbor for most of my life but I learned so much about the sectors of the community that I don't come into contact with very much.  And it really helped me expand my network.  I was definitely aware of that when I attended this year's Quality of Life day and ran into a number of people that I know because of Leadership connections.  My participation in Leadership was also the catalyst for me to find ways to get more involved in the community through volunteer opportunities and a city advisory board.  If you can't commit the amount of time to do Leadership, there are other opportunities to get a little of the same experience. Russ Collins hosts the Morning Edition events through the chamber and the chamber has even done a couple of events that are formatted like a mini Leadership Economic Development day.  We're really blessed to have a number of organizations that improve our quality of life and make Ann Arbor a wonderful place to live.