You’re good at networking within your comfort zone. You know who you need to at work to get your job done and you’ve got your system for building those important workplace relationships. It’s all going well until someone delivers the bad news: To progress further in your career, you need to expand your network.

You’re good at what you do. You know how to do your job and can get on and do it to a high standard. The problem isn’t with the work itself, it’s with everything around it. The layers of interaction needed before you can just get on with it. Whether it’s asking someone for information you need to get started, locking down the stakeholder demands or even iterating with feedback, there are very few jobs in this day and age where we can just avoid the peopling demands.

You’ve been promoted as recognition of your skills. You’re highly competent, collaborative and have all the qualities that mean you’re more than capable of succeeding in your new, more senior role. And yet, while on paper you should be thriving, the reality looks a little different. 

As a leader in your area, you’ve learned to put work into relationship navigation. You’ve become adept at building connections, whether that’s through helping others out, being genuinely competent at what you do or purposeful networking to expand your sphere of influence. You’re generally regarded as someone who can get things done and the relationships you’ve built have been a necessary part of that success. So why can’t you get it right with this one person?