Greater St. Louis | Cohort 20
Building Expansive Networks
The road is career advancement and leadership. The day was one continuous journey — and it doesn't end when the room empties. Here's how to keep walking it.
Where We Landed
You spent the morning getting honest about where you're going from — with your leader beside you — and the afternoon sharpening the tools for the going. Own your truth. Learn the game. Map your world. Close the gaps. Build and be known.
You didn't leave with a notebook of ideas. You left with artifacts: a diagnosed network map, your My World bead box, a 4G blueprint, your WWHW commitments — and, for every fellow and leader, a real conversation already scheduled. This page is where those commitments live between now and graduation.
The 14-Day Challenge
Don’t Just Follow Up. Follow Through.
Your words only have power when they’re backed by action.
Following through is more than checking something off a list. It’s how we build trust, demonstrate intentionality, and show others that what we say matters.
In this short listen, Reggie challenges us to move from being “follow-up humans” to “follow-through humans” and shares a simple framework for turning intention into action—in our work, our relationships, and the way we show up for others.
Your next move: Listen in. Then ask yourself: What have I said I would do that now needs my action?
Turn Connection Into Action
Next, schedule a 60-minute conversation.
FELLOWS
Come ready to ask:
“How will you be an ally for me and my career?”
MANAGERS
Come ready to share:
“Here’s how I will be an ally for you and your career.”
Don’t let the conversation end with good intentions.
Get specific. Make commitments. Follow through.
The 3-Conversation Challenge
Networks are built in conversations, not intentions. Have these three and document where each one lands.
01.
The conversation with yourself
A reality-based inner dialogue. Journal it: where are you going, and what's honestly getting in the way?
02.
The conversation with your leader
A targeted career conversation. Leave it with documented next steps — not just a good feeling.
03.
The conversation with a colleague
A collaboration conversation across a line you don't usually cross. Leave with a documented plan.
Your network shapes what you see
You mapped your real network and held it up to the standard. Widening the network means widening the lens it was built through. Keep returning to the three dimensions.
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Range and mix across levels, organizations, and identity groups. Where will you add range?
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Strong and weak ties — sponsors, mentors, special peers. Which tie will you deepen?
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Non-redundant reach across industries, sectors, communities. What new circle will you reach?
“Widen your lens. Expand your comfort-zone radius through proximity, curiosity, and relationships — the most powerful and most permanent. And remember the charge: once your radius expands, your job is to expand someone else’s.”