Some people believe that for someone to rise to another level, they need to deepen their capacity to connect with people closer to decision centres. This, they say, will create connections and links to better openings.
Prof. Ndubuisi Ekekwe, an entrepreneur from Nigeria, insisted that in the current society, only the visible ones get rewarded most of the time. He added that in the corporate world, the situation is the same. One must be visible for someone to be mentioned in absentia.
“How many productive people have you connected with in the last ten months of this year? Understand that to rise to the next level, you must deepen your capacity to connect with people closer to decision centers,” he stated.
He explained that politicians keep recycling the same people because those are the ones who are always around them.
He emphasized that job performance alone cannot recommend someone for better opportunities because jobs and performance do not talk. Only humans recommend people.
“Check carefully, from UBA to Zenith Bank to Dangote Cement, and beyond, most of the senior job opportunities have not been advertised in any newspaper in Nigeria. But weekly and monthly, those positions are being filled. How? A networked system where the visible are tabulated, and seasonally checked, to see if they are open for opportunities,” he wrote.
Ndubuisi insisted that one must network into a productive system.
“Indeed, you cannot be too busy not to network into things which keep you busy!” he added.
The scholar mentioned that he does not believe in the idea that good performance sells for itself. He believes that after doing a great job, one needs to find a creative and respectful way to make people know of their great job. This can only be achieved by being referred to by someone.
“Amidst the layoffs, some hiring is still going on even by very same companies. It is totally normal. Some roles are still lacking and need filing. If you can build a gasless car and no one knows, you like the rest of the people who don’t know how to,” he cited.
