For seven days at

BOSS MOVE, DAY FIVE: Put your networking skills to the test by attending a networking event.

Yes, networking online is important, but traditional face-to-face networking is still vital. So, don’t be afraid to get out there and meet people. If you don’t know where to start, try events hosted by professional groups, social clubs or trade organizations. Utilize resources such as social media, coworkers or fellow church members to find out what’s going on in your city.

Any event can be a networking opportunity, but you must keep in mind your objectives so you aren’t wasting valuable time. It’s not where you network, but it is more about what you do while networking. Be strategic and conscious of your goal when networking in any arena, whether it’s a conference, a birthday celebration, a work-related function or a leisure activity.

ACTION: Take these five steps when in a networking environment:

Be beautiful: When you look good, you feel good. It’s always great to have a polished look that suits you. Also, your outward appearance can speak volumes even before you utter a word.

Be confident: Always give a firm handshake and good eye contact. Shake the jitters off and come in with a positive, open mind. Speak up and get involved with interacting with people.

Be yourself: Whether you’re shy or outspoken, be authentic. People can tell when you are not, and it can be a major turn-off.

Be prepared: Bring plenty of business cards and if you can, know what key players will be in the room before attending an event.

Be present: Give whomever you are talking to your undivided attention. Listen to details and insights of interest to them, and find ways to remember who you connected with and why.

BOSS MOVE, DAY ONE: Develop a Networking Database

BOSS MOVE, DAY TWO: Cultivate Your Current Relationships

BOSS MOVE, DAY THREE: Maximize Your Social Networks

BOSS MOVE, DAY FOUR: Put Your Elevator Pitch Into Action

Cameka Smith is a speaker, educator, social entrepreneur and founder of The BOSS Network, a community of career and entrepreneurial women who support each other through conversation, online and via event-based networking. In addition, Smith provides resources for women entrepreneurs and professionals through workshops and speaking engagements. She is also a mentor and program facilitator for Project BOSS, which matches professionals with youth.

As more companies are downsizing and reducing budgets, now more than ever, companies must understand how invaluable diversity is to its bottom-line, especially the influence black women executives bring to the corporate sector, according to a recent study.

Despite the fact that black women are graduating from college, graduate school, and joining corporate companies at high rates, many are having difficulty moving into senior positions. According to “Black Women Executives Research Initiatives,” a new report from the Executive Leadership Council (ELC) and the Executive Leadership Foundation, “because both their race and gender are beyond the norm in corporate America, black women like other women of color, face the burden of being ‘double outsiders.’ ”

Black women hold just 1% of corporate officer positions at Fortune 500 companies, according to a 2005 Catalyst report cited in the study.

“Companies can’t afford to overlook black women executives,” said Ancella Livers, executive director of the Executive Leadership Council’s Institute for Leadership Development & Research, at a private reception in New York City unveiling the ELC’s report.

The study explains that black women’s inclusion at senior levels can “help heighten the chance for broader and more innovative approaches throughout the organization” because they “champion new viewpoints to companies mired in status quo thinking.”

The report, sponsored by the Moody’s Foundation and J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation and conducted by Springboard, represents a year-long study on the success factors and impediments for black women executives reaching the C-Suite, including relationships, mentors and sponsors, work-life balance, risk-taking, and cross-cultural competence. Seventy-six black women, 18 CEOs, and 38 peers were interviewed.

Some of the key findings include:

Relationships with senior executives need more work. Black women executives suffer the lack of comfortable, trusted, and strategic relationships at the senior level with those who are most different from themselves, most notably white males.

Feedback is alive, but not well. Networks for black women executives do not provide enough strategic feedback about how they are doing and how best to advance.

Experiences that lead to the C-Suite are not visible enough. CEOs are often unaware of the breadth of skills and experience of black female executives. At the same time, the bar is higher for all C-Suite candidates.

Work-life balance means getting your house in order. Being proactive about managing the integration of work and life increases the ability of black female executives to compete at the highest levels.

A new leadership model emerges. The interview data clearly defined a new leadership framework for black female executives based on critical success factors for rising to senior levels in their organizations. The framework provides the foundation for a leadership assessment that black women at all levels can use.

CEOs interviewed for the study believe many black women executives “just say no” to leaving Profit & Loss (P&L) roles too early, seek big operating roles, and spend too little time developing strategic relationships. CEOs say black women executives need to be more visible and increase risk-taking. A CEO interviewed said, “White men don’t have a frame of reference. Most of them don’t know any black women in this setting. Black women need to be aware of this and work on it. The burden is on black women to figure it out.”

Livers and her team hope this report starts a dialogue across corporate America, resulting in actionable steps. The ELC plans to reach out to CEOs and business schools to develop formalized coaching programs for black women executives in route to the C-Suite.

To attain C-Suite status, one participant put it best: “When you’re in the C-Suite, everyone who’s at the table wears the company hat, not just a functional hat. You’re really up at a high enough level where you’re representing and should be able to speak to all aspects of the company. They see you as someone who can embrace change and who knows how to look through the windshield and help lead.”

Further reading: More Minorities in C-Suite is Good for Business