Organisations use their executive boards to help them reach important decisions – why can’t individuals do the same, asks Emma Maslen
Companies have corporate boards to ensure that they make the most informed decisions about the direction of the company.
It naturally follows that individuals could employ the same tactics when making big career decisions, be that going for a pay rise, a promotion or changing careers completely. These decisions should be supported by a trusted group of individuals who are able to provide a time to think, guidance and expertise in the area the client is exploring – their own personal board.
Diversity in this group is paramount for gaining all perspectives. Mentors for their experiences, sponsors for their opportunities, family and friends for their knowledge of the client and of course, coaches who can coax out someone’s real feelings, reflections and preferences – to help sort through thoughts and needs.
As clients’ careers change and progress, their advisors and personal board will need to change to ensure the right people with the right expertise, skills and experience are on hand to guide and support them.
They’ll also need to sustain these relationships, which are usually unpaid roles, to ensure advisors stay engaged and interested. So what are the top tips for making a successful board?
Ensure diversity
Make it work
A natural first step is to fill the board with organic connections: close friends and long-time work colleagues and mentors from the same industry. These are trusted people clients can be honest with, and who they know will give them honest advice back. Although they need some of these people on their board to give advice based on their knowledge of them personally, a wider reach is necessary for maximum benefit.
Being able to speak to someone who is already in the role the client is looking at progressing into, or has been in previously, or in the industry that they’re making the move to, will help to provide them with the real-world experience and advice that is invaluable for decision making. These people are not likely to be in the immediate network, they’ll need to actively seek them out.
This is where their network comes into its own. No matter how big or small someone’s current network is, there will be someone in it who is able to connect them to a person relevant to their current challenge. The more accurately the client can articulate their requirements when asking their network for help, the better the outcome.
Reaching out beyond their organic network will help ensure they have a diverse board of advisors at hand. By having a diverse board, each member will bring their unique knowledge, range of skills and experiences to the table. They will gain a broader understanding of the challenge they face, and new opportunities they hadn’t even contemplated could open up.
Diversity of thought helps you see challenges in ways they hadn’t done previously and challenges bias towards a certain outcome. Diversity of experience helps them see their challenge from different career perspectives, potentially opening up a whole new direction for their career.
Keeping their board within a narrow range of experience, age and industry experience is a missed opportunity for their career development goals.
Address communication
Make it work
To make their personal board work effectively, communication is another vital aspect of success. Close friends and family members on their board will be happy for an ad hoc chat, but members who they’ve connected with specifically for the task at hand will benefit from a more structured approach.
Encourage clients to schedule a regular meeting or check-in to discuss progress, challenges and goals. To be open and transparent about their needs and expectations during this process. To provide their advisors with relevant information and context to help them understand the client’s situation better, actively listening to their input and considering their suggestions thoughtfully.
The client doesn’t have to act on everything that everyone says but it’s good to be open to considering all viewpoints and suggestions.
Remember that the purpose of a personal board of advisors is to provide guidance and support, but it’s ultimately up to the client to implement their recommendations. Coaching can help them take ownership of the decisions they make and follow through with the necessary actions. This includes following up with advisors on the outcome – everyone wants to know that their advice has been useful and that someone has made the leap that they were guiding them through.
If the client’s timeline or goals change during the process, encourage them to let everyone know. Not communicating effectively is one of the major fails of a personal board.
Build trust
Make it work
Remind your client that when speaking with their personal board, they’ll need to be open and honest, not only about their goals but also their fears. This requires trust in their advisors, trusting that they’ll listen to the client and act in their interest with the advice they give.
For new members of the board, this trust will have to come in part from knowing that the recommendation came from someone in their network who has their best interest at heart and passed on their contact with this in mind.
If the client hasn’t nurtured their network, or if they didn’t give enough information about exactly what they needed from a new connection, they’re stacking the odds against themselves succeeding.
And the result?
These trusted regular touch points with key advisors enable the verbalisation of goals – which will drive propensity for change.
A personal story of mine to echo this point. I’d wanted to learn piano since I was little, but there were no lessons available in the schools I attended. As I grew up, I always promised myself that I would one day play the piano.
I happened to mention that intention to one of my board members, Nikki, an executive coach. I’d told her the same a couple of times over several months but had made no progress.
The next time I saw Nikki, she asked me, ‘So, when are you starting lessons?’, which immediately sharpened my mind. It was January. I didn’t own a piano. I hadn’t found a teacher.
I was careful to make my response vague, replying, ‘By Easter’.
After verbalising that deadline, my commitment to the goal increased ten-fold. I quickly sourced a piano and enquired about lessons. At the time of writing this, I’m now three years into learning how to play. I know that, without Nikki’s question or her encouragement to make the commitment, it would still be a dream.
About the author
- Emma Maslen is CEO and founder of business growth consultancy, Inspir’em, which helps sales teams and individuals accelerate their careers. She is an angel investor through Angel Academe and author of new book, The Personal Board of You Inc. (Rethink Press, 2023). She works with start-ups, scale-ups and large enterprises, coaching their teams to higher growth.