Shelly Lombard is on a mission to teach women to schmooze

The secret to career success? Schmoozing

What you probably already know: Many women aren’t as good as men at building up their personal networks with an eye toward the people who will help them get ahead in the future. That’s the premise of Schmooze, an organization aimed at helping women learn how to do exactly that. Shelly Lombard started the business after realizing that she, herself, suffered from a lack of schmoozing and, as a result, a relatively small professional network despite spending 30 years in the finance industry.

Why? “We always had tickets to take clients to see the Knicks or the Yankees,” Lombard said. “But I noticed that when the women went out, we always went out to dinner. We didn’t do an activity.” As a result, their networks stayed smaller and, Lombard says, that was limiting when women were looking to move up or seeking new opportunities.

What it means: Schmooze offers master classes on a variety of topics, including how to identify the people in your network who will be the most help in the future, how to build relationships with men, and where to find your best sources for career leads. She also hosts in-person events in New York like coffee tastings, a manicure, massage and margarita social event, and poker nights, all designed to help women build their networks while getting comfortable schmoozing in these kinds of settings.

What happens now? “I was never intentional about building my work relationships,” Lombard said, “and I always felt like my career would have been a lot more successful if I had done that.” Her theory was reinforced when she stepped away from full-time finance jobs and sought board opportunities. Almost 80% of board appointments come from networks, which means relationships are key. “I don’t want other women to make the same work and life mistakes that I made,” she said.

Check out the Formidable Podcast — informational interviews with women leaders on news-driven topics, spotlighting timely and thought-provoking issues facing our world.

Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.