From My Inbox: Strong Networks Have Layers.
Not all networks serve the same purpose - and that's the point.
I was talking to a vibrant, focused tech executive recently who was frustrated about being passed over for a promotion—again. She had all the right credentials, stellar “keep doing what you’re doing” performance reviews, and deep relationships with her immediate team. When I asked about her network, she rattled off an impressive list of industry connections, all senior people who are experts in her field.
The problem? Every single person she mentioned worked in the same industry, at similar companies, with remarkably similar perspectives. She had built an impressive expertise network of depth but with zero breadth. Meanwhile, the colleague who got promoted had also invested their networking time cultivating relationships across functions, industries, geographies, and levels.
Her network had gotten her to senior manager. But it couldn't get her to VP.
Different Goals Require Different Network Structures
You spend years building a "great" network but here's what your assuming: that one network can serve all your goals. That I'm afraid, is not always the case. The network that got you to this point in your career (here), won't necessarily get you to the next level (there).
Frustratingly, I see women making the same mistake over and over—over-indexing on one network type at the expense of others. The deep specialist who knows everyone in her niche but no one outside it. The sales executive who knows hundreds of people but none intimately enough for real support. It's a mistake I made early on in my own career, and one I've vowed never to repeat.
The cost of this network imbalance? Invisibility outside a narrow career realm, plateauing rather than accelerating career momentum, and ultimately realizing that all that time you spent on networking is maintaining your current career status quo.
The Four Network Archetypes
Your career needs four distinct types of network support. Think of these as pieces of your network architecture or structure—each type serves a distinct purpose, but successful women cultivate all four strategically.
Expertise Hubs (deep specialist networks)
🗝️ These are your industry experts, functional peers, people in your exact lane. They speak your language, understand your challenges, and validate your perspective.
When they serve you: You need technical expertise, industry insights, or professional validation. They're essential when you're building credibility within a field. When you need “did I get this right?” feedback without having to go into an elaborate explanation – because, yeah, obviously members of your expertise hub are experts in this area.
When they limit you: When you need fresh perspectives, new opportunities, or different approaches to old problems. If everyone in your network thinks exactly like you do, you're missing signals from the outside world.
Over-indexing warning: This is where many women get stuck—especially high-performers who become known for deep expertise. Your expertise hub becomes an echo chamber that reinforces what you already know instead of expanding what's possible.
Bridge-Builders (expansion networks)
🗝️ These are the connectors who span different worlds and can socialize your credentials and ideas across distant networking boundaries. A bridge builder could be a former colleague who pivoted industries, consultants who work across sectors, or a friend with natural curiosity who thrives when they’re satisfying their need for variety and meeting interesting people.
When they serve you: Career pivots, entering new markets, accessing hidden opportunities, or when you need to see your skills and talents through a different lens.
When they limit you: When you need deep expertise (back to the need for Expertise Hubs!) or intimate guidance on complex decisions.
Under-indexing warning: If you have no one who can introduce you to different worlds, you're missing opportunities you don't even know exist. This is often where specialists get trapped—they have deep roots but no bridges into new territory.
Legacy Ties (foundational networks)
🗝️ These are long-standing relationships from past chapters—school friends, early career colleagues, family connections, and mentors from previous roles.
When they serve you: They provide credibility and character references, often in unexpected ways. They remember your capabilities when you've forgotten them yourself. Sometimes they surface opportunities in familiar territories you'd written off.
When they limit you: When they're anchored to outdated versions of yourself and can't see who you've become or where you're headed.
Over-indexing warning: You're still networking like the person you used to be instead of who you're becoming.
Under-indexing warning: You're abandoning valuable history and relationships in pursuit of "fresh start" networking.
Power Circles (influence networks)
🗝️ These are people with decision-making authority, resources, or high-level access. They can open doors, provide sponsorship, or connect you to opportunities that would otherwise remain hidden.
When they serve you: To fulfill the elusive, such as when you need sponsorship for the big promotion, access to funding networks, leads on board seats, or access to some other exclusive opportunities known only to those in the know.
When they limit you: When you need peer support, practical day-to-day guidance, or emotional intelligence about navigating challenges.
Over-indexing warning: You only network "up" and miss the lateral collaboration that fuels innovation and support.
Under-indexing warning: You have great peer relationships but no one who can actually make things happen when opportunity knocks.
The Strategic Balance
During my own career evolution from attorney to entrepreneur to author, I've needed different network architectures at each stage.
Early in my legal career, I over-indexed on Expertise Hubs—other lawyers along with trustees, advisors and investment bankers who understood the very narrow world of mortgage-backed securities, but couldn't see beyond it. When I wanted to transition out of law, I had to intentionally cultivate Bridge-Builders who could help me translate my transactional experience into management skills and connect me to opportunities in professional development. Some of those Bridge-Builders were industry insiders who became my Power Circle, generously sharing my credentials in the rooms I was excluded from. And more times than I can count, I’ve tapped Legacy Ties for guidance (pro-tip: being a good colleague has long lasting benefits).
Don’t make the mistake of investing all your network strength in one narrow network - then hoping it will serve all your evolving career needs. Just saying (from experience) the network for becoming a law firm partner isn't the network needed for launching a startup accelerator or marketing a book. Now some of it could be there for entirety of your evolving career, but take it from me, never assume all of it will be.
Your Network Diagnosis
Take a moment to assess your current network:
✅ Which archetype dominates your networking time and energy? Most of us naturally gravitate toward one type and neglect the others.
✅ Where are the gaps for your current goals? If you're seeking a board seat but your network is all peers, you're missing Power Circles. If you want to pivot industries but everyone you know works in your current field, you need Bridge-Builders.
✅ Are you trying to use the wrong network type for your current needs? Sometimes we keep turning to Expertise Hubs when we need expansion, or expecting intimate guidance from Power Circles who don't have the time or interest for hand-holding.
Your Networking Move This Week:
Map five of your most important professional relationships into these four network archetypes. Then ask: What's missing? If you could strengthen one archetype to better serve your current ambitions, which would it be?
Take one action this week to begin building that network layer.
Your network isn't just about who you know—it's about having the right architecture to support where you're headed. Different goals require different designs.
The question is: are you building strategically, or just doing more building?
Need more?