Win Others Over and Networking for choir people

Networking is a big deal. I learned this about some years ago. I have to confess that I was terrible at this, but somehow I’ve survived and made good friends along the way. While reading the Strengths Finder 2.0 book, I found that one of their described strengths is to be a WOO, which means Win Others Over.

This was a new concept for me but I became really interested in how I could apply this idea to my career without compromising what I believed in: Honest and meaningful relationships.

What does it mean to “win others over” and why is it important?

According to the book, if one of your strength is to connect with others, then you must know about WOO. It describes the people who like to meet new people all the time. They are “obsessed” with the next person they will meet and will make their best effort to get them to like them.

I’ve known people like that, and I have to say they have a special power and energy that I can’t describe. They are never out of words or lacking the confidence to say hello and spark a conversation. How do they do it!?

I love meeting and talking to people, but I like some balance and I often find time to recharge my introverted, plus there are those days where everything takes double the energy because of English being my second language.

With power comes great responsibility

You must treat this skill with great care. Don’t just chase people and connect just for the reason to get ahead on anything but to genuinely get to know a new person.

Use this power to make a new friend or to connect with an old one! I

t is important that people don’t see you as if you are using them, otherwise, they might not even want to be next to you. If you’ve been on the other side of this example, you know what I mean. It feels sketchy and as if you are not worth for who you are but what you can give to that other person. That’s no fun.

Connecting with others is as important as to know how to write music

Networking is a necessary power to have when you are a composer. Wait… not only for composers but anybody in the choral arts should know how to connect with others through choral music.

As uncomfortable as it can be sometimes, one must push through.

Hey, at the end of the awkward moment I get to meet incredible people that later become great friends or even mentors for a little while (or in the case of my professor David Ashley White, mentor and dear friend for a long time). It is not always going to be awkward but you might feel a little hesitant at first to randomly introduce yourself to others.
Take the leap, people!

Bonus tip from the book

If you need to network but you are not terrific at it, find that person who can WOO people for you! So… Who wants to be my WOO person?
😀 I could be yours as well.