”How do I network better?”

Last week I had three different people in my inbox asking me variations of the same question:

”How do I network better?”

Every time I asked back: “Network with whom? For what?”

Silence.

Or: ”I dunno, just… more people?”

That’s the problem.

Networking advice in 2026 is everywhere and almost all of it is useless. We tell people to “build relationships” and “show up consistently” and then act surprised when they end up with 800 LinkedIn connections, three coffee chats a week, and zero career movement.

It’s not the volume.

It’s the casting.

Here’s what almost no one says out loud:

You don’t need a network.

You need a board.

A network is a contact list. A board is a structured set of people, each playing a specific role in your career, each answering a different question.

When you mix them up - when you go to the wrong seat with the wrong question — you don’t get bad advice. You get *useless* advice. Advice that’s well-meaning, technically correct, and perfectly wrong for your situation.

A few examples I see constantly:

→ You ask your manager if you should leave for another company. Your manager is biased - they need you in your current seat. They might be a craft mentor. They are not your navigator for an external move.

→ You ask a peer at your level for career strategy. They’re solving the same problem you are. They can validate the feeling. They cannot see further than you can.

→ You ask a senior leader for emotional support. They’re built for systems, scope, and decisions. Most of them aren’t your therapist and shouldn’t be.

→ You ask a coach to make introductions. Coaches think alongside you. Sponsors open doors. Different seats.

The fix isn’t more contacts.

The fix is figuring out which seats your career needs to be filled, who’s currently in each one, and who’s miscast.

That’s what Alla Minkina and I are unpacking on Thursday May 7, 18:00 CEST - the first live session of a new bi-weekly series.

Sign up here

Alla runs L&D Tech at Adyen (ex-Miro) and has spent her career helping people think clearly under pressure. She brings the system - the framework behind why some people build networks that compound and others never feel the returns.

Together we’ll cover:

→ The seats on your board - sponsor, truth-teller, craft mentor, navigator, bridge person

→ Who’s missing, who’s miscast, who’s quietly doing too many seats at once

→ How to actually ask - the right question to the right seat, in the right format, without feeling like you’re begging

→ Alla’s Advisory Board Starter Pack

PLUS, we’ll share an awesome template that you can use to try during the session and afterwards to identify, document, and reach out to the right people.

I’m sending this to everyone who has ever reached out to me or come to my session to understand how to best position themselves for the job search. This is one of the massive pillars that will make you successful.

Save your seat →

Sign up here

Thursday May 7 · 18:00 CEST · Zoom

See you there.

Lena 🖤

P.S. This is the on-ramp to a new season of bi-weekly live sessions, each built around one of the three pillars that decide whether your career actually moves: Craft · Network · Positioning. If you only show up to one this season — make it this one.