Latest / Executive Careers with Fexingo: VP, C-Suite, and Senior Leadership Career Strategy / How Senior Leaders Use Their Networks for Career Intelligence
Transcript
- Lucas: You know what I’ve noticed lately? A lot of senior leaders I talk to think they’re good at networking — but what they’re actually doing is just staying in touch with people they already know. Luna: Right. The classic holiday email or the quarterly coffee catch-up. It keeps the relationship warm, but it’s not really generating new insight. Lucas: Exactly. And at the VP and C-suite level, the real value of a network isn’t who can hire you next — it’s who can tell you something you don’t already know about where your industry is heading. Luna: So it’s about intelligence, not just referrals. Lucas: That’s the distinction I want to drill into today. I call it career intelligence — the kind of on-the-ground signal that doesn’t show up in earnings calls or industry reports. And the people who get it right tend to make much smarter career moves. Luna: Okay, let’s start with a concrete example. Who’s someone who did this well? Lucas: I’ve been looking at a case from about three years ago — a CFO at a mid-cap industrial company who realized her sector was heading toward a consolidation wave. She didn’t just update her resume. She spent six months systematically building relationships with people in adjacent industries: private equity partners, supply chain executives, even a couple of regulators. Luna: So she was using her network to triangulate where the puck was going, not just to catch a pass. Lucas: Exactly. And when the acquisition offers started coming in for her company, she already had a clear picture of which suitors had the best track record with senior leadership retention. She ended up moving to a pe backed platform company — bigger role, more equity, and she had the confidence to negotiate hard because she knew the market. Luna: That’s powerful. But for every CFO who does that, I bet there are ten who just wait for the headhunter call. Lucas: That’s the default pattern, yeah. And it’s a trap because by the time the headhunter calls, the window of best opportunity might already be narrowing. Career intelligence is about building the radar before the storm. Luna: So let’s break down the mechanics. How do you actually build a network for intelligence, not just opportunity? Lucas: First, you have to be deliberate about diversity of contacts. Most executives network vertically — they talk to peers in their own function and their own industry. That’s useful for benchmarking, but it rarely surfaces genuinely new information. Luna: You want weak ties, not just strong ones. Lucas: Right. There’s a classic 1973 study by Mark Granovetter — the strength of weak ties — that showed job seekers are far more likely to find opportunities through acquaintances than close friends. But at the senior level, the same logic applies to information. The most valuable insights come from people two or three steps removed from your immediate world. Luna: So how does a busy senior leader actually cultivate those weak ties? I mean, you can’t just cold-call fifty people. Lucas: You can, actually, but you need a credible reason. The best approach I’ve seen is the informational interview with a specific ask — not ‘can I pick your brain,’ but ‘I’m researching how supply chain leaders are thinking about nearshoring, and your perspective would be really valuable.’ Luna: That’s specific, it flatters the person, and it gives them an easy yes. Lucas: Yeah. And you keep the conversation structured. I’ve had senior leaders tell me they prepare a list of five questions — no more — and they listen for what isn’t being said. The subtext is often more important than the answers. Luna: By the way, speaking of keeping things going — a quick thing. We’re able to make shows like this because a small number of listeners chip in monthly over at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It keeps the whole podcast network ad-free and independent. So if you’ve gotten value from episodes like this, that’s the only way it stays on the air. Lucas: Yeah, and we really mean it. No ads, no sponsors, no nonsense. Just a straight-up conversation. And we hear from people who say these episodes have helped them think through a career move or a negotiation — that’s what keeps us going. Luna: Alright, back to the mechanics. So you’ve done the informational interviews. Now what? How do you turn that raw data into career intelligence? Lucas: You need a system. The best practitioners I know keep a simple document — call it a market map. They list each contact, the key insights they shared, and any follow-up questions. And they review it quarterly, looking for patterns. Luna: Patterns like what? Lucas: For example, if three people from different corners of your network independently mention that a particular technology is gaining traction in your industry, that’s a signal worth paying attention to. If they all mention the same looming regulatory change, that’s another. Luna: So it’s like building your own private Reuters feed. Lucas: Exactly. And the best part is, most of this intelligence is free — it just requires intentionality. I talked to a chief marketing officer at a software company who schedules one thirty-minute intelligence call every week. That’s fifty-two conversations a year. After twelve months, she had a map of the entire competitive landscape that was richer than any analyst report. Luna: That’s a great habit. But I imagine a lot of senior leaders feel like they don’t have the time. Lucas: They don’t have the time not to, honestly. Because the alternative is making career decisions based on public information that your competitors also have. And at the senior level, the edge is asymmetric information. Luna: So what about the structure of the network itself? Is there a target number of contacts or a framework? Lucas: I’ve seen people use a version of the personal board of directors concept — five to seven people who fill specific advisory roles: one person who knows your industry cold, one who knows a completely different industry, one who’s a functional expert, one who’s a mentor-type, and one who will tell you hard truths. Luna: And you actively cultivate those relationships, not just when you need something. Lucas: Right. You share value back — maybe an article, an introduction, a heads-up. It’s reciprocal. The best intelligence networks are built on generosity, not transaction. Luna: I’ve also seen a rise in executive peer groups — like the ones organized by YPO or Vistage. Those are essentially structured intelligence networks. Lucas: They can be very effective, especially for CEOs who might not have peers inside their own company. But the danger is groupthink — if everyone in your peer group is from the same region or sector, you’re not getting diverse perspective. Luna: So you need both a peer group and a wider network of weak ties. Lucas: Exactly. And one more thing — digital tools. LinkedIn is obvious, but few executives use it strategically for intelligence. There’s a feature where you can save searches and get alerts when someone with a specific title joins a company. That’s a signal. Luna: Right — if you see a wave of senior hires from one competitor, something’s up. Lucas: Exactly. A 2025 LinkedIn survey found that executives who changed jobs in the previous two years had, on average, three times more weak-tie connections than those who stayed put. That’s not causation, but it’s a strong correlation. Luna: So the people who are upwardly mobile are already wired into more diverse information streams. Lucas: That’s the takeaway. The network you build for intelligence today is the network that will surface your next big opportunity tomorrow — even if you don’t know what that opportunity is yet. Luna: So if someone wants to start today, what’s one concrete step? Lucas: Identify three people you haven’t spoken to in over a year, from different parts of your professional world, and send them a short, specific note. Not ‘let’s catch up’ — something like ‘I’ve been thinking about how AI is changing supply chain logistics, and I’d love to hear your perspective over a fifteen-minute call.’ Luna: That’s actionable. And then build from there. Lucas: Yeah. And keep a record. A simple spreadsheet with dates, notes, and what you learned adds up fast. After a quarter, you’ll start seeing patterns you’d never have noticed otherwise. Luna: I think that’s a really underappreciated skill at the senior level. We talk a lot about strategy and execution, but the ability to gather and synthesize intelligence from your network is a meta-skill. Lucas: It really is. And the good news is, it’s learnable. It’s not a personality trait — it’s a practice. The CFO I mentioned earlier started with just one call a week. She built it into her routine, and within a year she had a map that completely changed her career trajectory. Luna: So whether you’re a VP eyeing the C-suite or a CEO planning your next chapter, the question is: what do you know that your peers don’t — and who’s telling you? Lucas: That’s the right question. And the answer starts with who you talk to next week.