by Deanna Parkton
Many successful organizations have a board of directors to serve as trusted advisors. They provide guidance and help leaders navigate critical decisions. What if we took the same approach when we think about our own professional development?
A Personal Board of Directors is a carefully curated group of professionals who offer diverse perspectives and support across different areas of your career. Unlike traditional mentoring, which often involves a single, hierarchical relationship, your personal board creates a network of varied voices. Traditional mentoring has its place, but it comes with limitations. A single mentor may excel in one area, perhaps technical expertise, but may lack insight into other aspects.
Your Personal Board of Directors can fill these gaps. Think of it as assembling your own advisory team, where each member brings unique strengths that align with different facets.
Identifying Your Board Members
Start by reflecting on your career landscape. What areas need guidance? Where are your blind spots? Consider including advisors who represent the following areas.
- Industry Insider: They understand market trends, know key players and can help you anticipate possible shifts in your field.
- Skillset Expert: This person has deep technical or functional knowledge. They can help you develop competencies and stay current with best practices.
- Leadership Coach: They offer wisdom on navigating organizational politics, building executive relationships or making strategic career moves. They may even be someone in a leadership role at your current organization who took a similar path to you.
- Entrepreneur / Risk-Taker: A risk-taker thinks differently about career trajectories. Even if you’re not launching a startup, this person encourages innovative thinking and calculated risks.
- Work-Life Balancer: This person models the balance you may seek. They demonstrate how to sustain a fulfilling career while honoring personal priorities.
- Connector: A good connector has an extensive network and can help you open doors you didn’t know existed. They make introductions that create opportunities.
You don’t need all these roles filled simultaneously, and one person might serve multiple functions. Start with three to five advisors whose perspectives relate to your current priorities.
Selecting the Right People
The best board members aren’t always the most senior or accomplished people. Look for individuals who demonstrate genuine interest in your career, communicate in ways that resonate with you and have relevant experience or perspective for your specific needs. Think about people in your professional orbit that you feel some sort of connection or kinship with.
Consider people slightly ahead of you on a similar path, not just those at the pinnacle of success. Someone who recently navigated a challenge you’re facing often provides more immediately actionable guidance than someone who conquered it decades ago.
Diversity matters too. Seek variety in industry background, work style, life experience and perspective. Pay attention to chemistry. You need people you can be vulnerable with, who’ll respect confidentiality and those who you have an honest and authentic relationship with. If conversations feel forced or transactional, that person probably isn’t right for you.
Cultivating These Relationships
Here’s where many people stumble: they treat these relationships like formal, rigid structures rather than organic connections. Your Personal Board of Directors isn’t about scheduling quarterly reviews. It’s about building authentic relationships with purpose.
Start by building genuinely professional relationships before asking anything of them. Share relevant articles, make introductions that benefit them or offer your own expertise where it might be valuable. The foundation of any advisory relationship is mutual respect and reciprocity.
When you do seek guidance, be specific. Instead of “Can I pick your brain about my career?” try “I’m considering a move into product management, and given your experience in that transition, I’d love 20 minutes to pick your brain on a few things.” Respecting their time and being clear about what you need makes it easier for them to help you.
Nurturing Your Board Over Time
These relationships require intentional maintenance, but they shouldn’t feel like a burden. The key is staying present without being demanding. Share updates periodically, even when you don’t need advice. A brief message about how you implemented something they suggested, or sharing a win they helped enable, reinforces the relationship and shows you value their input.
Making It Work
Start small. Identify one or two people whose perspective you value and begin deepening those relationships intentionally. As time goes on, you can expand your board strategically.
Be patient with the process. Meaningful professional relationships develop over months and years, not weeks. The investment compounds over time, creating a support system that becomes invaluable during career transitions and difficult decisions.
Remember that your board will evolve. As your career shifts, some advisors may naturally recede while new ones emerge. Thank people for their guidance as relationships transform and remain open to reconnecting when circumstances align again.
By thoughtfully building your Personal Board of Directors, you can create a strategic advantage that accelerates your growth. It also ensures you’re never facing career challenges alone.
For more ideas on how you can strategize your work, consider working with a career coach. A coach can help you identify strategies to face challenges head on. Check out our executive coaching services and sign up for a free consultation here.
Deanna Parkton is a writer, career coach and educator with a passion for professional development and work wellness and happiness. With a focus on self-reflection, she works with individuals in their quest to reach their career goals as well as satisfaction in work-life balance. You can find more of her writing at workinglivingwell.com and she can be reached at workinglivingwell@gmail.com.