No matter your career, sales reps and ad managers included, you are bound to find yourself at social gatherings with colleagues and fellow professionals. This could be happy hour drinks after a long day at work or perhaps a holiday party; whatever it is, there are ways to navigate these professional social outings that will help you solidify yourself as a leader within the company, while displaying your friendly, out-of-the-office side. The key is to interact with everyone, even if they are outside of your normal work circle, in order to establish your presence within the company. However, you also want to avoid offending your co-workers by acting like you’re on the clock 24/7, hypercompetitive and incapable of distinguishing between the work and non-work events. In the Inc. article, “How Leaders Make the Most of Social Gatherings,” the author, Minda Zetlin, interviewed the Chief Learning Officer at Dale Carnegie Training, Michael Crom, on how to get the best of both worlds during professional social events. He affirmed that you can be a leader while not losing the casual, work-free environment. Keep reading for our assessment of his advice and take it with you to your next work party!