Welcome back to another episode of Maximize your Career with Stacy Mayer. We are off to such a great start and before I dive into today’s episode I want to give a shout to Rebecca for her review on Itunes.
Rebecca says: If you need help reaching your career goals, this is the podcast for you! Stacy has a way of telling it like it is. She doesn’t beat around the bush...she wants you to get promoted! She wants you to make more money! She wants you to reach your career goals! If you are struggling to move forward in your career, this podcast is literally GOLD!
Yes!!! I am so glad and thank you Rebecca for your review. Speaking of, I would love LOve Love to hear from you too. This is a new podcast and I really want to make it work for you. So after you listen today, I would love it if you could take a minute to write a quick review. This will not only let me know that this content is valuable but it also let’s others know what to expect when they listen. So thank you so much in advance.
So today’s episode is for you
- if you are struggling to figure out your career path.
- If you are someone that doesn’t get a ton of feedback from their boss about next steps in your career.
- If you don’t feel like you have a support system.
- If the only person you can talk to about challenges at work is your spouse.
- Or if you just want to be proactive and take the best path forward.
You are absolutely in the right place. Congratulations. That is the good news.
The bad news is THE only reason you don’t feel like you have support and you are managing your career all on your own is because you simply haven’t made it a priority. And I am going to do something about that. After today’s episode, you are not only going to know how to build your own personal board of directors but you are going to feel purposeful, motivated and driven to do something about it. Sound good?
So first things first, why is it important to prioritize a “professional” board of directors vs. a personal advisory counsel? You know what I mean.
You have friends that you ask for guidance. You have a spouse that you run everything by. You talk to your dad before making any major decisions about your career. But you don’t have formal mentors.
How many of you have this personal advisory counsel that you go to for advice about your career? Type 1 in the comments if that’s you. It’s not inherently a bad thing. It’s great that you have people you can talk to. That’s awesome!!! BUT don’t only use those people. Because unless they are “in the arena” as Brene Brown puts it, they can’t actually help you get a promotion. They can help you feel better when you are knocked down. They can help you get back up. They can also help you do exactly what you have been doing your entire life BECAUSE THEY KNOW YOU TOO WELL!!!
They are the same people that I talked about episode 3 who say take it easy. Don’t work so hard. Why can’t you just be happy where you are?
But you know better. You are listening because you know there is a better way.
So I use the term building a personal board of directors because it is about treating your career as if it was a business, which it is! It makes you money. It turns a profit. It creates results for people. When you think of it that way. You have no choice but to build a board for it. Because we cannot AND should not do this alone.
So today you’ll be asking yourself the question: Who do I want on my board? Who are my trusted advisors? And these don’t all have to to be people that you like.
WHAT???
They could be someone that you would never be friends with but that has somehow cracked the code. They give you a different perspective. They offer you a push to try something different? Because let’s face it, if what you were doing was working you would be in the C-suite by now.
So in episode 3, I talked about How to Become a Walking Billboard for Your Desires. And if you haven't listened to that episode, that’s OK. It’s there for you. You can go back and listen after this episode. But part of the process I taught you in that episode is that when sharing your vision with others is the need to understand and speak to the correct audience.
Is the person you are talking to a mentor, sponsor or boss. Are they your peers or the leadership team? Or is it someone that you meet at a networking event? Each of these groups of people serve a different purpose in your career and all of them can help you get to where you want to go.
But in terms of building a board of directors, I am mainly focusing on mentors, sponsors and your boss. And don’t worry if you don’t have mentors or sponsors just yet. I will help you get there.
Earlier I shared with you why this is so important ---If you don’t have the right people on your advisory counsel, you’ll never be able to see your blindspots. You won’t have the outside perspective to really know what is holding you back. And you won’t be able to see what’s possible by following a path by someone that has gone before you.
So as part of my 1-on-1 coaching program, I do a mini 360 for everyone. I interview 2 key stakeholders for every client and incorporate that into our coaching. This is easily the most rewarding and scariest part of the coaching process for my clients because it involves getting specific feedback.
For some of them, this feedback makes them freeze up. They get it and they feel so bad about themself. They instantly go into, I am doing everything wrong and nobody at this company cares about me so why do I bother.
But for some of them it’s stuff they have heard a thousand times, no real surprises. So then the question becomes why aren’t they actually changing anything? If they know what to do. Why don’t they do something about it.
So before we get into the steps of actually building your board of directors, I wanted to talk for a minute about feedback. Because once you have your board set up --- you are going to be receiving SOOOOO MUCH FEEDBACK. I believe the inability to receive feedback well is the #1 thing that is keeping managers from getting the mentors and sponsors they need to actually be successful.
I am telling you, you have got to develop a thicker skin when it comes to feedback. When you are a vice president or in the c-suite as many of you want to be you are not going to have to solicit feedback. Feedback is going to be thrown at you from all angles, whether you like it or not.
So now is your chance to practice. Not only will you quickly get better at receiving feedback but you will be spreading your message. You will be showing your boss that you are comfortable with the hard stuff. That you are willing to do what it takes to make your company successful.
I am going to create an entire episode on feedback. But for now, if you get nothing else from this episode except that one thing, then I have done my job. You must get better at receiving feedback. Trust me. If you want to be a leader ---- just do it and do it now!
So how do you build your own personal board of directors?
I have broken it down for you into 3 steps.
- Act like you are building a board of directors.
- Understand that different role that each person plays on your board.
- Meet with them on a regular basis.
You own your career just like you own a business. Every member of a business’s board serves a different purpose. If you think if it like you’re building a board you’ll be less likely to pick a bunch of people who ARE EXACTLY LIKE YOU!!!
Actively create your board. Tell people they are on it. Make it official (or not), each is a choice.
I did an interview today for a working moms group and we talked about choice. That is actually why I can Board of Directors vs. Networking.
Mentors - Sponsors - Network - Personal Advisors - Organizations (boards) - Coach, business, life, weight loss whatever you need to show up as your best at work.
How much time does this take? Am I doing it right? Meet with mentors the most!
RECAP
- Act like you are building a board of directors.
- Understand that different role that each person plays on your board.
- Meet with them on a regular basis.
And that’s it. Build your board. Start checking people off. Be willing to take the feedback. Practice discernment, deciding for yourself what feedback to take and what to leave behind is so powerful.
