Your Small Group for the Big Picture: Building your Personal Board of Directors
A personal board of directors is a small group of trusted mentors, colleagues, or friends that can advise and guide you as you move throughout your career.
Originally proposed by Jan Torrisi-Mokwa in her book, Building Career Equity, your personal Board of Directors will support you according to their individual skillsets and experience, based on your professional goals and current progress. Ideally, this select group will consist of honest and educated advisors, not necessarily mentors, to whom you can reach out with specific questions or issues as they arise.
The goal is to put together a group of people with experiences completely distinct from your own who can offer you a fresh perspective when needed. You can reach out to them with smaller asks than you would a mentor — though, over time, a few of them may grow into that role. (1)
In this Article, we will discuss how you can select and engage a personal Board of Directors to build relationships and advance your career.
Why You Need a Personal BoD
This small group of advisors will advise and guide you, in an informal, low-touch way.
One of the benefits of having a personal Board of Directors is access to information and thought leadership, from seasoned professionals. This group will answer career-related questions and help you navigate tricky workplace scenarios. Because your personal Board will vary in experience and skillset, you can direct specific inquiries to each person, at a cadence and frequency that works best for you. You can also ask for best practices to navigate a specific scenario or issue, strategies to help you navigate your workplace, or even for a key introduction.
Board members can help you navigate and succeed in your job searches. They might, for example, help you expand the range of jobs you consider, by highlighting synergies between your strengths and positions or fields not on your radar. They might make connections and help set up informational interviews. They might comment on your resume (though don’t expect them to rewrite it for you). Or they might advise you on how to negotiate an offer. (2)
Another benefit to curating a personal Board of Directors would be goal ideation, execution, and tracking. Your Board can provide valuable perspective and insight as to feasibility of goals, including working timelines and action steps.
Board members can help you refine goals and achieve them, strategize about ways to gain varied experiences within the same company, decide when and how to switch companies, learn to manage people, move into social purpose work, figure out how to go part-time, handle being discriminated against, or manage office politics. They can also model work-life balance and be a sounding board and source of support. (2)
Choosing your Board
Your goals will determine your advisors.
Before you make your personal Board asks, you will take stock of your strengths and weaknesses, and long and short term goals. These factors will determine who you ask to join your Board; use your advisors to further develop or diversify your strengths, bolster your weaknesses, and form a plan to meet your goals. Be sure to consider Board members who have experience walking your desired career path or who exhibit the skills you aspire to leverage in your professional life. Your personal Board members can work in your industry or a different one, as well.
Remember, these advisors will not be formal mentors, so you will operate with a lighter touch in your interactions. These informal guides will help you make decisions and answer questions, so structure your Board to include people you already trust, as well as role models or experienced professionals.
Board Makeup
Typically, your personal Board will consist of 3 - 5 mentors, sponsors, connectors, knowledge experts, or close friends or colleagues. For more information about each of these classifications, check out this 2022 Article from CNBC.
“If you want to progress, you have to surround yourself with people that have higher expectations of you than you have of yourself,” says Tatum. “Learn to codify your network and make sure everyone has a role.” (3)
Making Your Asks
When considering the best way to make your asks, consider that warm asks are more likely to be considered than a cold one. Use LinkedIn to find connections of your connections or request someone in your existing network to make an introduction on your behalf.
During your chat, have an honest conversation about what your expectations are and whether the potential board member can meet them. Do you want a monthly meeting? Would you prefer connecting over a call or in-person? What expectations do you have, and can they meet them? Try to stay flexible and be willing to adjust as the relationship progresses. (1)
Remember to be confident when making your asks - it is often difficult to ask things of others, especially as a first generation young professional. However, do not underestimate how much these professionals may enjoy paying forward their time and expertise. Plus, the time and energy required to serve on a personal Board of Directors is much less than a formal mentorship, so do not feel like you are imposing. The worst thing a potential advisor can do is politely decline and, in that case, accept with grace and ask if they have any ideas for subsequent connections.
Reciprocating your Board’s time and effort
Speaking of benefits to your Board, you will likely want to express your appreciation for their advice and time. There are many ways to do so, even as a young professional:
If someone is looking to move out of their role into a new industry, for example, maybe you can give back by connecting them with someone you know. If someone is looking for feedback on their kid’s college application, step in and offer to help. If someone is looking to expand their network, introduce the different board members to one another. The stronger your rapport becomes with each director, the easier it will be for you to recognize ways you can contribute to their success and growth. (1)
If none of those apply or are any option for you, you can always say thank you with a thoughtful email, handwritten note, or cup of coffee.
Operating your personal Board of Directors
Regular communication builds investment
As we have established, your personal Board will operate differently than a mentorship relationship. Your Board will answer specific questions or act as an idea sounding board. They can also help you plan specific pieces of your goals and help brainstorm avenues for skills development, without a hands-on responsibility to participate in your action items. You can call your personal Board members for a touchbase during critical times or when faced with tough decisions. Further, you may or may not meet according to a regular cadence; depending on the relationship with your Board, you could meet monthly or simply as questions or issues arise.
In any case, leverage your personal Board of Directors as best befits your career journey and their bandwidth. There is no wrong way to interact with these chosen advisors and having a trusted group available to you will help you during every stage of your career.
Citations
Stelter, Susan. “Want to Advance in Your Career? Build Your Own Board of Directors.” Harvard Business Review, 9 May 2022, hbr.org/2022/05/want-to-advance-in-your-career-build-your-own-board-of-directors.
Knox, Aliza. “Building a ‘Personal Board of Directors’ Can Transform Your Career—Here’s How to Do It.” The Muse, 14 Jan. 2021, www.themuse.com/advice/personal-board-of-directors.
Jackson, Ashton. “The 5 People You Need on Your ‘Personal Board of Directors,’ According to a Careers Expert.” CNBC - Make It, 4 Apr. 2022, www.cnbc.com/2022/04/04/the-5-people-you-need-on-your-personal-board-of-directors-according-to-a-careers-expert.html.
Imber, Amantha. “Why You Need a Personal Board of Directors.” Superhuman Blog, 1 Sept. 2022, blog.superhuman.com/why-you-need-a-personal-board-of-directors/.
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