If we had a pound for every time someone told us they just “aren’t a natural networker,” we’d be retired or at the very least driving matching company cars by now.
Networking isn’t a gift you’re born with; it’s a skill. Like any skill, you only get better with practice, feedback, and a willingness to improve. Samuel Goldwyn summed it up in his famous quote,
“The harder I work, the luckier I get.”
Too often, networking is treated like something that happens by chance—a great conversation at a conference, a lucky LinkedIn DM, or bumping into someone on your daily lunchtime walk who happened to be on your ideal client list. Charming as the notion of serendipity may be, relying on luck alone is not a strategy. In our recent white paper, The Confidence Gap, we highlighted that professionals believe in the power of networking, but few feel equipped to do it well.
We asked 100 business leaders how confident their teams felt about networking. Only 1 in 5 said their team had the skills and confidence they believe they should possess. That means that 80% of teams are showing up to the most valuable business growth activity feeling underprepared, overwhelmed and telling themselves they just aren’t great at networking. So, how do we fix that?
Confidence and skillset aren’t a fixed trait—it’s the result of putting in the work and doing the reps. You wouldn’t run a marathon without training or expect to be fluent in a new language without studying it first so why do we expect people to be brilliant at networking without any support?
Confidence grows when people:
So, ask yourself: are we giving our team enough opportunities to build this skill gradually? Do they understand what effective networking really looks like for our business – not just showing up, but showing up with intention? And most importantly, do they feel safe to learn through trial and error, knowing that progress often comes from getting it wrong before getting it right? Confidence doesn’t appear overnight but with consistent practice, it does begin to grow.
We’ve become surprisingly comfortable with disconnection. In a previous edition of 2 Rules, we discussed the concept of ‘bed rotting’ and how society has become too reliant on alone time and limiting their interactions with others — often without realising it.
Since the pandemic, team dynamics, confidence levels, and appetite for networking have all shifted. While some people have found new ways to stay connected, many haven’t. In fact, nearly one in five of the business leaders we surveyed said their teams are less open to networking than they were before COVID. And another 44% told us nothing has changed at all suggesting that while the intent might still be there, the action often isn’t.
Over time, that inertia can seep in and once it becomes the norm, it’s difficult to shift.
When people stop turning up to events, stop reaching out, or lose confidence in how to hold a conversation in the moment, it affects more than just morale. It limits visibility, slows down development, and stalls the kind of progress that strong networks can unlock.
Disconnection doesn’t just happen quietly, it poses a real risk to your business, and simply telling people to ‘get out there’ won’t solve it. Often, reluctance to network is mistaken for a personality trait, or there’s an assumption that people will naturally come around in time. But when your team no longer feels comfortable in the rooms where opportunities happen, or worse, they’re present but don’t feel equipped to make the most of it, that’s not just a confidence issue—it’s a strategic challenge that needs to be addressed by putting a structure in place to help your team grow and perform better.
If we accept that disconnection is the new normal, we risk holding our teams and our businesses back; the solution isn’t just encouragement, but a clear strategy with systems and process to help rebuild confidence and connection.
Networking isn’t a talent you’re born with—it’s a skill you build with practice and purpose. Since the pandemic, many teams have drifted away, missing out on real opportunities. This isn’t just a confidence gap; it’s a business risk. If your team feels unprepared or uncomfortable in the room, it’s time to stop relying on luck and start building clear habits and support systems that drive real results.
If you want to build a clear networking strategy that helps you grow your business with confidence, get in touch to find out more or take our networking health quiz to see where your team stands!
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