2015: How About a Year of Asking?

This past weekend I participated in a panel discussion for a fabulous learning and networking organization in Los Angeles called Outstanding Mothers Gathering (OMG). The event, titled “Professional Mothers Leaning In,” featured lawyer/recruiter and OMG President Erica Moore-Burton, career coach and recruiter Stacey Gordon, conscious leadership expert, coach and consultant Britt Andreatta, and facilitator/entertainment professional Susan Watanabe.
 
It was a rich and lively discussion ranging from resume and interview hacks to storytelling to negotiation—and we all quickly declared 2015 to be “The Year of the Ask.” But what was most remarkable about the event was how these professional women network. OMG has an expressed commitment to the practice of intentional, collaborative networking, and several women shared success stories about how the support and connection created at OMG had produced remarkable business and career results over the past year.

In practice, it’s all about asking.

It involves standing up and telling the room what you need and want – say an introduction to a decision maker in a company. Any member who can help completes the form below, and the asker has a stack of names, support, ideas and possibilities she didn’t have before. It's not revolutionary, but it's rarely done with such commitment.

If you’re in the Los Angeles area, join OMG. If you’re not in the Los Angeles area, consider emulating this simple networking element in your professional/networking groups.
 
Here’s to making your 2015 The Year of the Ask!