Effective visibility boards don’t happen by chance or by inviting hundreds of people to join you on LinkedIn. Effective visibility boards need planning.

At the moment you might have 200 contacts on your LinkedIn and 500 email contacts. If you have a full time job it is very difficult to keep in touch with all these contacts and build quality relationships with all of them and you might even find that 80% of the list are people you have not spoken to in a year. In fact, if we follow the Pareto principle (also known as the 80–20 rule that states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes), you might find that 20% of your network is the group of people you want to strengthen the relationship with as they somehow linked to 80% of your success. Your Visibility Network’s members are usually included in these 20%.

• Secret 1 – your connections should be from people across different levels and functions in your organization and within your industry.

Even better if they are from different demographics (eg. different age and nationality). The stronger your relationship is with people from different levels and demographics, the more influential you become in your organization for having the skill to transfer information across boundaries.

• Secret 2 – your network should include people who do not know each other. This allows you to make introductions and helps you give back to your connections.

• Secret 3 – Include people you trust and who trust you. These are usually people you have worked with or shared a meaningful period with (working towards a promotion, a difficult time at work or a challenging project).

Assess your network now and have fun making meaningful connections!

Assia Riccio, Founder of Evolvin’ Women
Assia Riccio, is a professional consultant and hospitality veteran with 5 plus years’ experience in learning and development.

She earned her Bachelor’s degree in her native Italy in Economy and Business of Tourism as well as a dual certificate in leadership and personal effectiveness in Switzerland at the Ecole Hotelier de Lausanne. In the US, she obtained a certificate in Revenue and Financial Management at Cornell University, where she was awarded a scholarship to pursue studies in leadership.

Assia is a Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) coach and holds an NLP Practitioner Certificate recognized by the American Board of NLP. She is certified as a Practitioner of Time Line Therapy™ recognized by the Time Line Therapy Association™ and as Practitioner Hypnotherapist recognized by the American Board of Hypnotherapy. Assia is also a Certified Practitioner for PRISM Brain Mapping.

Since 2009 Assia has worked with universities in Italy and England and mentored several students throughout their studies. Over the years she has been guest speaker in numerous conferences on people engagement and was nominated for the Learning and Development Leader of the year at the L&D Show Dubai 2013. Assia also delivered leadership and communication trainings for the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) in Dubai. She is also a member of the advisory board committee for the Ecole Hôtelière Helvétique in Dubai and a member of the Dubai Women Business Council.

Assia works with several international non-profit organizations offering consultancy on women leadership and diversity in organization.

Before joining Jumeirah Restaurant Group Dubai as Learning & Development Manager, Assia managed inLead Consulting in Dubai with a portfolio of worldwide known training solutions including Ken Blanchard, VitalSmarts, Eagle’s Flight and Bob Pike. She is a certified trainer in Situational Leadership and Optimal Motivation by Ken Blanchard, Crucial Conversations by VitalSmarts and delivered training in Coca-Cola, ENEC, Dubai Health Authority, General Electrics, TSYS.