E64 Connect And Grow Your Network with Matthew Confer, VP of Strategy at Abilitie

“Painting a picture and telling a story is what makes really effective leaders.” -Matthew Confer *** Do you want to grow your network but not sure where to start? *** This week’s guest, Matthew Confer, is the VP of Strategy at Abilitie, a local Austin, Texas-based company that develops leadership simulation events. Abilitie works with over forty Fortune 500 companies including Coca-Cola, Southwest Airlines, RetailMeNot, and many more. *** In this week’s episode, we chat about the events that have landed Matthew where he’s at right now, how he has vastly grown his network by reaching out to people, and how you can create and be an effective leader in your own company. Tune in to learn more about these topics, as well as the key lessons listed below.  *** Lessons - How to effectively reach out and connect with people  - How to land a job by reaching out to a company  - How to develop a “talent pipeline” in your business  - How to listen first and speak later  - How to be more consensus building and less dictatorial  - How to make your position stronger through playing “devil’s advocate” - How to find holes in your argument by looking at both sides of the situation - How to adapt to COVID-19 as a primarily in-person event company  *** Resources Matt’s TedX Talk Learn To Lead Podcast Invited MBA  Abilitie Website *** Connect with Matthew Matthew’s Instagram Matthew’s LinkedIn  Matthew’s Twitter *** Connect with CJ Finley CJ's Instagram   Thrive On Life Instagram Thrive On Life Website  *** “You have to be willing to take that leap.” -Matthew Confer