Recently I attended a fantastic breakfast for Women in Leadership, “Creating Career Momentum”. This breakfast left me feeling extremely inspired and motivated to push myself to be the best I can be. One of the biggest take outs from this session was to build your own Board of Directors. You are your own business and as such you should have a Board of Directors to help advise on the best career trajectory and development path. This Board can help direct and advise you, overcome issues, achieve goals and push you into new experiences.
Your Board of Directors should be made up of:
Your Sponsors. A sponsor is someone who talks about you. They want to see you succeed in all of your goals and are willing to push you to achieve them. They would put their name on the line for you and are constantly backing you, almost more than you do yourself. This might be an old colleague, a family friend or even your parents.
Your Mentor. A mentor is someone who talks with you. They are an independent sounding board for you to discuss challenges in the workplace, day to day struggles and just needing a second opinion. A mentor is someone who you respect and has possibly been through similar roles and challenges you think you may face. You might find a mentor in your own organisation, in an industry you are looking to join or you can reach out to any person who you admire. I would suggest not choosing a direct line manager, as at the end of the day, managers manage people, not careers.
Your Coach. A coach is someone who talks to you. Someone who is as passionate about your development as you are. Someone who believes in you more than you may even believe in yourself, who will push you to confront road blocks you may have been avoiding and to overcome challenges that may be in your way. There are many great coaching facilities around, including Grace Papers, which offer comprehensive and tailored coaching experiences. Or you may find someone already in your network that would fit this role.
Your Support. Your support is a network of people who want to see you succeed. It might be your partner, your family, your friends or a combination of all. My family are my biggest supporters and are always available when I need them.
Once you have assembled your Board of Directors you will have the perfect team to tackle any issues you may encounter. If you are wanting to move up in your current company, change roles, change industries or simply shake things up a bit, your Board of Directors will give you the perfect amount of support, reason and skills to help you reach your goals.
Who would be on your Board of Directors? I would love to hear from you.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards,
Kate
The Corporate Life