Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections. An Interview with Ilia Jakel and Michael A Forman
- mforman521
- Jul 14
- 16 min read
📍 Welcome back to Networking Unleashed, building Profitable Connections. I'm your host, Michael Forman, speaker strategist, and firm believer that connections is the currency of leadership. Today's episode dives into something every leader, entrepreneur, and change maker is facing right now. The evolving challenges of leadership in a rapidly shifting workforce from employee engagement and cultural shifts to remote dynamic and generational differences.
It's no longer just about managing people. It's about meaningful connecting with them. My guest today brings deep insight into the modern leadership experience and how intentional networking can be to unlocking trust, collaboration, and long-term impact. If you're leading a team, growing a company, or building influence in your space, this conversation will challenge and inspire you.
Ia, I want to welcome you to the podcast. I want to thank you for your time. Because you have such a vast background, would you mind introducing yourself and telling us a little bit about your background? Absolutely. I just wanna say thank you. I'm very honored to be part of this podcast. And I'm IA Jako.
I'm the founder of Sharpen Leadership. Our mission is very simple or powerful. We want to equip business professionals, leaders, and entrepreneurs with the skills, the tools, and the insights so that they can become great leaders regardless of their job title. I have over 20 years experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry.
So my experience is in business leadership and marketing. I'm also besides being a trainer, I'm also a speaker. I like to bring my experience to confidence sense at events, sharing stories that can empower the audience. So that's in the nutshell. Okay, my background. Thank you for that.
And let's just dive right into the questions. And first question, what are Mo, what are the most pressing challenges leaders face in today's rapidly changing workplace? Okay, there are, is multi. There are multiple factors that are impacting leaders, but I'm just gonna focus on three challenges that I'm seeing repeatedly with some of my clients.
And the first one is managing highly talented teams. Okay. It can be, is both exciting and challenging, but it's, especially when team members expertise surpasses sometimes the leaders. It can certainly create some insecurity in the leader and also is more, make it more difficult to lead with confidence.
Also talented individual was they tend to have higher expectation. They are strong, they have strong opinions, and they need somebody that can lead them effectively. And these leading these kind of teams, it requires a balancing act. They need to, the leader needs to give them guidance, support, but at the same time, give them autonomy.
Okay. The leader in this nowadays is mostly like a facilitator where they communicate the vision, the expectations, but then and the outcomes they want, but then they step back and allow the team to take ownership of the work and the process. And this is important because this type of high talented in individuals, they.
Perform better when they are motivated and they embrace then collaboration instead of competing, and they bring their best to the table when you give them that autonomy. The second I will say is the fear of failure. Especially in high pressure situations that most leaders experience today. But this is fear of failure is something that we all going to experience sometime in our career.
It is how we respond to that fear that will show our true leadership. Okay, so I. Fear can be very paralyzing and detrimental for the leader, for the team and the organization. So let me give you an example how it usually tends to show up. Let's say there is a leader that is leading this multimillion dollar project.
Okay? If the person becomes paralyzed by the fear, that leader will start trying to micromanage every aspect of the project and the team. Which instead is gonna be detrimental, right? And it starts second guessing his or hurt decisions and actions. So in the other hand, you have the leader that understand that fear is a natural part of doing business.
And they reframe that fear into opportunities to, to learn, to grow, to be resilient. And that's what I will tell you about the fear of failure is how you respond. The third one, I think, is the most challenging of all, and is navigating uncertainty. The best leaders are the ones that. Will build.
They understand that ambiguity is part of business nowadays. You can never have completely full a hundred percent all the facts, but they build trust and they rally their team around their vision. So they are not following them because they have all the answers, but they are following them because they believe and they trust that leader.
That's one of the best ways to navigate the complexity. In today's business. Yes. Very good. And you hit on so many marks that I speak about between networking and leadership and the difference between leadership and being a boss. And it just, you encompassed everything very well. I wanna thank you for that.
Let's change this around a little bit and how has the shift to remote work affected leadership strategies and team dynamics? Can you repeat that question? How has the shift to remote work affected leadership strategies and team dynamics? Okay. How the shift on, how the shift to from working in an office to remote and how it affected the leadership and the team dynamics itself.
Oh yes, it is. Absolutely it has changed because. Before everybody was in one place. Now the leader is completely different. The leader has to understand that they have to trust those people, that they are accountable. They have to be accountable for what they do in their own space at a home where they are working.
So it, it modernize everything. Like right now, what we are doing in Zoom. We used to use Zoom for certain meetings, but now you can see that zoom is done for everything. We can have chats and people in different rooms, and so everything is being modernized. I believe that just working from home, it can be also, it can have some benefits, but also can be detrimental to that team dynamics.
Do you believe that? And sharing perspectives, do you believe that a team should get together face to face? Once a week, once a month, once a quarter, something like that? I. That's hard to tell because it depends the team, it depends the manager. But I think some face-to-face interaction is important to continue to build that collaboration and that relationships, they have.
And also. You also know this, when you do an event face-to-face with people, it's completely different from when you do one through zoom. The interactions are different. So yes, I think that human touch is important. I. Yeah, that exactly what I, that's what I talk about when I go on the road. 'Cause you need the vibe of the person, you need the vibe of the room.
You get a whole different feeling than when you're just having a Zoom conference. Okay. But what innovative networking approaches are leaders using to boost employee engagement and retention? Some of the tips that I can tell you about networking is most of these these leaders, they not only do things and dynamics inside the workplace, but also in a more relaxed environment.
Okay. But for me, networking is investing in the future. Of your business and your career. Okay. It is, it really shifted trajectory of a business and a career and. For me is very important. And when I was leading some of these teams, for me it was very important that we go outside of the workplace.
That's when you really get to know different people. There are so many things that sometimes we don't know from the people that we are leading. So golf is wonderful. They do a lot of girls, they do a lot of boot camps. And inside the work is when you do meetings. I think the leaders that are very effective are the one that talk less and listen more.
Very good. Yes. I believe that as well. How are leaders leveraging diverse networks to create more inclusive work environments? That's a hard one to answer. I think one of the things to be inclusive, okay. To especially when you are making very high profile decisions, it's not just about collecting data, but if you have a team that is diverse, they can bring in, and when I say diverse, I said not just of race, but I think experience.
Absolutely. And, everybody have different experience, different expertise, and that's what I'm talking about the bringing DI diversity. But when you as a leader, need to make a decision. You should bring your team to brainstorm with you to bring their ideas and share their perspective, because then even though they are not making the decision, you are giving a better perspective to that leader.
And those are great leaders when they are able to include the diversity in their team. I believe that, and I believe it's more effective when you're doing it in person rather than through Zoom. Because there's no other distractions. There's nothing else you can just concentrate on work. But that was a very good answer.
Let's go to a crisis management question. Can you share an example of how effective networking helped you navigate a leadership crisis? Wow, that's a good one. For example, when you are navigating wanting to keep, let's say, wanting to keep your team motivated during a disruption, a big disruption could be layoff, it can be a merger.
Okay? So what these leaders that are very effective is that they're very transparent. They. They meet with their team. They're very transparent to what is happening. Yes, there is a reorganization. Yes, there is a layoff, but they know they have the, they are the ones that you can tell right away because they believe and they focus on the human side of business.
They focus on their team. Okay? And that, that those leaders, they open the channels of communications with their team. They are able, and they are empowered to bring their concerns, but at the same time, they redirect them to move forward. Okay. And to keep them motivated and focus on what they can control.
There are certain things that nobody can control, and especially in a layoff and in reorganization, but they, these kind of leaders, they're wonderful at understanding the concern. Be transparent with them and guide them. Good. Very good. How important is mentorship in developing future leaders and how can networking facilitate this?
Okay. I believe in mentorship. I personally have a couple of different mentors that actually, their help and was incredible and how they open opportunities was something that I could have never imagined without them. Your mentors are the one that if they are part of the organization on outside or outside, they can give you that perspective.
They can, they are the ones that advocate for you when you are not in the room with the decision makers. Also they are a great resource because what I'm seeing is a lot of pe, a lot of the first time leaders that sometimes they have questions and they don't know exactly what to do, but they don't want anybody to know because they don't want to look like they don't have it together.
So mentorship plays an important role in that one thing. I've been developing is that one once or twice a year, and I do this sometimes internationally. Through Zoom, of course, through Zoom. But I gather people that are pretty much at the same level of experience and they have to sign a contract that whatever is discussed in there stays there.
So these leaders can bring their concerns, their challenges, their different situations with people that are in the same have the same amount of experience and they can brainstorm together. And some of them already have passed that kind of situation though, they can facilitate insight. So it is very it's amazing to see.
The weight of their shoulder coming off and the insight and the tools that they get from that, and that when they finish that mentorship, they can go back and apply what they have learned in their situation because these are situation that hit home for them because it mirrors some of the things, situations, and challenges that they are facing on the job and in their role.
That's exactly correct. And one thing you have to realize is that no matter what part of the spectrum you're in, it's like I. Coach. I have people that I coach and I mentor, but I have a mentor as well. So it keeps going up the chain. So I may have the answers for my people, but I still have questions for my mentor, so it goes, it works both ways and it's very much needed because I think that people can't get ahead of where they are without their mentors.
Absolutely. We all don't have all the answers. And the person that tell you, they have them all, all because I don't think there is one that can tell you. They have all the answers. So yes, I have had, throughout my career, different mentors and they have been critical for my continue to advance in my career.
And also as a professional. Yes. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. How is technology changing the way leaders network and build relationships within their organizations? That is a that's a difficult one to answer, but for example we need to keep with the times. Okay. Because if a leader is not keeping with the time and understanding, technology is changing so fast.
Look, right now with ai, AI is not just for typing and retyping, it is for videos. It does everything for you. So there are great benefits to that and there might be some things that you have to be mindful of. I, for myself, try to keep with the technology. Okay. Especially for your teams. If you have teams that are in, in, in one space, that's a little bit different.
But when you have team that have hybrid jobs that they were most of the time either at home and only few days out of the thing, you need to have the technology to be able to communicate the projects. For everybody to, if they are doing a one project, but everybody's have different part of the projects, they have to have the technology and the system to everybody to be synchronized.
One great tech tool that is Asana, it helps, is a system that help you to connect with your team to see where everybody is in their project. So it give you overview. So technology, it can be a blessing, but it depend how you use it. Absolutely very well said because I truly believe that it is a tool in your tool belt, and if you use it correctly, it'll be magnificent if you don't use it correctly.
It's like, why bother having it in first place? But very well said. Let's go a bit to work life balance. How are leaders addressing work-life balance issues while maintaining the strong professional network? It's like I said you need to be sensitive and you need to be focused on the, for me, I always focus on the human side of business because to reach any goals, to reach any results, your team, your human employee, your employees come first.
Without them, there is no business. Okay. Absolutely. So to me, I, I. I tried when they comes with situations, especially my female leaders, they're not only leaders, but they also are moms. And sometimes the stress of work and at word, that combination can be difficult and very challenging.
So I try to. Be empathic, use, emotional, intelligent, and being empathic, putting myself in that person situation and try to listen. But that doesn't mean that all the time I'm going to agree with them, absolutely. Sometimes there are decisions that are hard decisions that you need to make. Ab, absolutely.
But I always tried to be empathic and try to really listen and try to do what I can to help that individual so that they can actually balance their work with their home. I used to be a business owner, pizzerias, restaurants, things like that, and I know the value of the employees, and you have to keep them happy because if they're not happy, then how can you expect them to make your customers?
Happy. But you have to draw that line saying, look, I understand what you're going through. I can give you this little bit of leeway. But you have to understand that I have a business to run and this has to be done a certain way. So you're right. You have to feel what, where that line is, draw it and just see where it goes.
But again, that was very good. What metrics do you use to measure the impact of leadership initiatives? On workforce productivity and satisfaction? Let's say that I trained a group of leaders in our organization or even business professionals, right? The first thing is I. We start with a baseline of how they were doing prior to a training and getting new skills, or even modifying and gaining more insight on the ones that they have.
After that, we see, we work with the organization to see. How they, how immediately they were able to apply what they learned and if they are able to make a sustainable transformation in their jobs, in their role and affecting their department. And they can do that by looking at the co, the collaboration, if the collaboration and morale increase.
They can look at performance by seeing how it has increased the performance the innovation also, because one of the main things that most of this organization is they are struggling sometimes to innovate. How do you get that team motivated? To innovate. So all these things, once you give them the tool, the insight and a space where they have room to experiment, learn, and grow, they're able to put all that together in their role.
And then the organization immediately you can start immediately seeing those results. But more than anything, what they want is that it's sustainable transformation. 'cause a lot of places they said, we have an inside. Training programs, but the problem is they haven't seen a sustainable transformation with us.
They do because when you immerse these people in situations that they face on the job, but sometimes there is skills is not there yet and you need to equip them and you give them tools and insight, and now they're able to come back and use what they have learned. Then that's something that is gonna be sustainable because now they learn it.
So those are some of the things. And of course there are many tests that you can give before and after metrics that you can give before and after, and depending the organization on what they wanna use. I hope that answer it. It really does. It really does. And let's just bring this full circle. Let's talk a little bit about the future.
How do you see the role of leadership evolving in the next five to 10 years, and how will networking play a part in this evolution? What I see is
the. The leadership is gonna be more about becoming, shifting and evolving to be facilitators, not an influencing, not about the title that you have or the authority that you have. Networking is huge. Let me give you an example. When I first started building my career, I became really intentional, and this is what advice to all my clients be intentional.
When you are collaborating in initiatives and in projects in your organization, and not just with your team, but across departments because when you are networking and connecting with people of different departments, your visibility increases your access to the leadership. The decision make it is all of a sudden is expanded.
So when a promotion is coming up, when you, a new opportunity is rising guess what? Those that have more visibility and showing their leadership are the one that come top to mind, right? They are the ones, and in networking that is gold because you are the one that's going to have. Access to opportunities, access to resources, and everybody started to see you differently.
So networking is huge for building a career as well as launching and expanding your business. There was a time that I moved from California to Illinois, right? So I knew I have great solid experience and a wonderful resume, but I knew it wasn't enough for me to move to a new state. Just by going to maybe linking and sending some requests, right?
Connecting requests blindly and then expecting that. That was gonna work. It is very daunting and it's ineffective. So what I did, I rally the network that I have in California and I have very open conversations to them and I told them, Hey, I wanna move to Illinois and these are my aspiration.
And the two industry that I was interested, what happened is I asked also one question and is who you know in Illinois. That I should meet. That conversation opened access to doors that I could have never done alone. It was incredible. I have warm introductions to business professionals to in, in Illinois, and that actually turned into direct job offers.
Sure. That's great. That's how powerful your network is. That's how powerful it is. And that's the name of the game. The networking is gold. It's your go-to, it's your everything. I believe that networking is the basis of every business. Absolutely. Any business that they want to, any person that wants to launch a business, expand a business, they need to understand that it's more than selling.
Okay. Focus. On connecting and building those relationship with your customer, your vendors, your community. Because when it's time to buy a service or a product, they only do it. People only do it with people they trust and or who have been connected to. They feel connected. They know you. If they know you, if they like you and trust you, then they'll do business with you.
And that's the mantra of networking. Ilia, I have to tell you, this was a great conversation. You're a great guest and if anybody wants to get hold of you where they want to be coached, ask you a question or see what they can do with their job, how can they reach you? Sure. They can go to my website, sharpen leadership, or they can go to my LinkedIn profile.
Ia Jacob. J-A-K-E-L and they can connect with me. Very good. Outstanding. So thank you so very much for coming on the podcast today. Thank you for having me.
Well, hold on folks. Don't go anywhere. Lemme just read a few of our sponsors that we have. Struggling to read success. Maybe. Time to quit in Quit Your Way to Success by Rodney Davis. This reveals 27 steps to Breaking Bad Habits that hold you back. This powerful book helps you rewire your mindset, take control of your actions, and turn setbacks into stepping stones with real life examples.
Motivational quotes and actionable lessons, especially for sales professional, you'll gain the tools to quit what's stopping you and start winning. Transform your future today. So quit Your Way to Success by Rodney Davis. Available now on Amazon. And this is a nonprofit called Revved Up Kids. This is something I believe in Wholeheartedly Revved Up Kids is on a mission to protect children and teens from sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking.
They provide prevention, training programs for children, teens, and adults. To learn more, go to rev up kids.org. That's R-E-V-V-E-D-U-P-K-I-D-S. Dot org.
Well, that's a wrap. Folks, a huge thank you to our special guests for sharing such incredible insights today, and of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in and spending your time with us. Remember, networking isn't about being perfect, it's about being present. So take what you've learned today.
Get out there and make some meaningful connections. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe. Leave us a review and share it with someone. You could use a little networking inspiration. Let's keep the conversation going. You can find me on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or my website MichaelAForman.com.
Remember. Until next time. Keep practicing. Keep connecting, and keep building those relationships. This is Michael, a Forman signing off. Take care and happy networking.
Michael is a business networking expert specializing in enhancing professionals' networking and communication skills to drive profitability. As a leading authority in this field, he is highly sought after for his dynamic presentations and workshops. His extensive experience has consistently led to significant improvements in corporate profitability by empowering individuals and organizations to connect more effectively and efficiently.
Digital Courses
Comments