Latest / Chartered Accountants Global Update / Episode 10: Why your next opportunity is hiding in your weakest connection

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Episode 10: Why your next opportunity is hiding in your weakest connection · Chartered Accountants Global Update

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, I'm Antja Dirks from Chartered Accountants Worldwide.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast has been researched and drafted with the support of AI.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's then reviewed, shaped, and signed off by our human editorial team.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Even though we use AI to create this podcast, every story you hear is real.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Every person we profile is a real person doing remarkable things.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Every statistic is checked, every event is verified, every episode is approved by us, the human editors, who care deeply about this profession.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Technology we use with purpose, oversight, and professional judgment exactly how it should be used.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: So, without further ado, I'm going to hand you over to Olivia.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome to Chartered Accountants Global Update, the audio newsletter from Chartered Accountants Worldwide.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: This is season two, episode 10.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: This week we're returning to the conversation between Sinead Donovan and Kingsley Akins on Difference Makers Discuss.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: Kingsley is the founder of Diaspora Matters, and in part two of their chat, he takes networking well beyond the conference room.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: We'll look at how whole countries are building global networks, what actually gets you through a room full of strangers, and why relationships matter more the further your career goes.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: Kingsley starts with a word we hear a lot but rarely unpack.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: Diaspora.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: It comes from two Greek words meaning to scatter over.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: For most of history it was tied closely to the Jewish people and Israel.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: Today it has gone mainstream.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: Here's the number that stopped Sinead in her tracks.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: Around 305 million people now live outside the country they were born in.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's roughly double the figure in 1970.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: So Kingsley asks a simple question.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: Are those people lost to their home countries?
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: Or are they national assets?
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: More and more governments are choosing the second answer.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: Kingsley points to India as a leading example.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: Until 2002, India showed little interest in its people abroad.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: Then it surveyed its global diaspora, listened to some fairly blunt feedback, changed its rules, and launched an annual gathering that now draws thousands of Indian business leaders home every year.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: And it isn't just countries.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: Kingsley says around 120 nations are now doing this work, along with regions and cities.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: He has written diaspora strategies for Copenhagen and Cornwall, worked with the Basque Country and Catalonia, and closer to home, Irish counties like Donegal, Mayo, and Cork are all building their own.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: Sinead put it neatly.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's a bit like a global alumni network.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: The same loyalty you might feel to your old firm or your county jersey, scaled up to a whole nation.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: And at the heart of it, Kingsley says, is something very human.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: People want to belong.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: So is good networking simply about values?
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: Giving, listening, being kind?
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: Kingsley's answer is honest.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and also no.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: He recalls asking his mother what he should be when he grew up.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: Her answer was two words.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: Be kind.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: But he's also realistic.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: A little self-interest usually plays a part, and he doesn't see a problem with that, as long as nobody is harmed.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: The best relationships, he says, are win-win.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: Good for you, good for your organization, and good for the wider community.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: Then comes the practical part, and it's where many of us will recognize ourselves.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: Kingsley cites author Andy LaPata, who found that our second greatest fear, ahead of death, is walking into a room where we know nobody.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Number one, public speaking.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: His tips for that room are refreshingly simple.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: Treat a name badge as permission to talk to a stranger.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: Skip the tight group of four and look for people standing alone or in pairs.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: Stand near the bar, where people turn away on their own with a drink in hand.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: And remember that all you need to do is put out your hand, say hello, and smile.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: Most people smile back.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: One more thing.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: If your company buys a table at an event, don't spend the evening talking to colleagues you'll see at work on Monday.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: And when it comes to introverts and extroverts, Kingsley's advice is to be understanding, but stay yourself.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: People see through anything else.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: Kingsley is busier than ever working with corporates and CEOs, and he believes the reason is what he calls the hidden cost of COVID.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: Our networks have shrunk.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: We've pulled in close to family, friends, and a handful of business contacts, and let the outer ring of loose connections slip away.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yet that outer ring is exactly where new opportunities tend to come from.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: He sees five challenges for organizations: less business development, less learning on the job, especially for the next generation, less serendipity, those chance conversations at the coffee station, less loyalty, and less company culture.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: That's one reason so many leadership teams are encouraging people back into the office.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: Kingsley doesn't think we'll return to five days a week, and suggests four days in and one at home could be where things settle.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: For chartered accountants, his most striking point may be this one.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: Technical skills get you started, but as you progress, everyone around you has them too.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: You can't compete on what everybody's got.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: In his words, early in your career you get paid for what you do.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: Later you get paid for who you are.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: His final advice?
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: Find someone who does this well and learn from them.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: He remembers watching Tony O'Reilly, a gifted speaker, spend hours rehearsing every speech so it would sound natural.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: And he notes that Warren Buffett reportedly keeps just one certificate on his wall for a Dale Carnegie public speaking course.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: Sinead agreed.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: Confidence on stage, she said, comes down to preparation.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: So here's what we're taking away this week: networks can be personal, professional, and even national.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: A little self-interest is fine, as long as everyone wins.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: Rebuild those looser connections that faded during the pandemic, and whether it's a speech or a room full of strangers, preparation does most of the heavy lifting.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: As Sinead concluded, networking is neither an art nor a science.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: It's a process.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: To hear the full conversation, register for the webinar broadcast at Chartered Accountantsworldwide.com.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for listening to Chartered Accountants Global Update.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: We'll be back next week.