Build Your Board
We’ve all been there - we’re in a position of leadership, doubt, a moment at the crossroads where we need to make a tough call but we’re struggling to figure out what’s the right choice. Do we ask the cheshire cat? With a world full of AI chatbots, online self-help gurus, and probably 15 people in your DMs convinced that if you purchase this one book/digital product/supplement/tool/etc… you’ll be FIXED - it’s a lot to navigate.
There is so much damn NOISE out here. And it continues to intensify. In the last two years, we’ve generated 90% of the world’s data - meaning we’re producing a lot of wild content at an insanely rapid pace that’s being SHOVED in your face.
It makes sense that with all this information you’re looking for certainty.
Spoiler alert: certainty doesn’t exist.
So what do we do? Well, a couple of times I spoke to Columbia 2.8’s accelerator and, just in the last week this topic has come up with two clients and one prospect: In a world of noise, information overload, and distractions…
Build your board.
Start-ups and corporations develop a board of advisors who mentor, advise, give feedback and input.
Just because you may be a senior leader without many peers, a founder without investors, or a solopreneur all by your lonesome, doesn’t mean you don’t need a board. Hell, even if you’re in year 3 of your professional career, it’s important to develop and cultivate relationships with people you can trust to push you, to ask the right questions, to help you see your blind spots.
We need to develop our own “challenge network” the people who can advise, mentor, give hot-takes, force you to see things from other angles.
What is a Challenge Network?
A Challenge Network is a curated list of individuals whose opinion and expertise you trust. They’re a source of information, mentorship, advice, consulting and ideas that you can go to when you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, confused. Your Challenge Network is a space for you to be forced to up-level and to think of things from other angles.
Who should be on your Challenge Network?
They can be mentors, subject matter experts, fellow founders, former colleagues, or an advisor.
No Yes-people here! We want folks who do things and think differently than you do.
You may think about different types of challengers.
Examples of the types of people you may want on your Challenge Network:
people who are five years ahead of you in their business - they can help you prepare for potential pitfalls or surprises
people who are five years behind you in their business - they can bring optimism and excitement when you’re feeling a bit of “we’ve always done things this way”
subject matter experts in areas outside of your zone of genius - are you great at finance but writing is out of your realm? You may find content strategists, copywriters, strong writers, comedians to help you improve
talented folks who work outside of your industry - they’ll be able to help you see patterns that are bigger than you’d expect - and they may have ideas that you’re surprised by!
past colleagues/friends who know you - and your weak spots - they can help you get out of your own way and recognize when you’re falling into patterns
folks who inspire you - they may not join your network directly, but, you can still follow along with them
consultants, contractors, etc - folks who are smarter than you, but are willing to slow down and explain why they do what they do - so that you can learn real-time!
Your Challenge Network can be as broad as you’d like - you may bring folks in for exactly when you need them, or specific requests or issues. Think of it as your work “rolodex”.
What do you do with your Challenge Network?
These are the people you go to not for advice or how-to, but to push you to question, adapt, and reconsider.
Maybe you’re in a first time c-suite role - you want to come to the table with ideas, strategies, and a vision. You may build a board of other c-suite folks in similar and different companies that can give you ideas. You may partner with an old mentor. You may hire a communication or leadership coach. Rather than being stuck swirling in your beautiful brilliant brain - you can have conversations and discussion with those that have been there, or know you well.
What if you’re an entrepreneur assessing a new stream of work? Having someone five years ahead of you means they can give you ideas of what to look out for - help you jump a couple steps ahead then if you’re by yourself chatting with AI hoping for clarity. They can also serve as your gut-check crew - the people that you call for quick feedback and updates when you’re in the moment and want to think fast!
Maybe you’re stepping into a people management role - your company says they give training, but the training is mostly how to avoid lawsuits when getting people onto PIPs. Rather than panicking, you connect with a couple of old colleagues who you saw as amazing managers - or, a past manager who did it well. You can ask them to share their 1x1 template, the way they handled that under performer, and, how they helped their team set goals and find areas for growth and development when budgets were tight.
Truthfully, no matter where you are in your career or business, if you don’t have a back-pocket of brilliant advisors who force you to think differently, you and your googling are going to fall apart, quickly.
How do you build and nurture your Challenge Network?
This is the question! Some people say wow, this is super cool, what now?! How do I ask someone to be my mentor.
It’s not prom babes. We don’t need to DTR for our challenge network - unless you’re hiring someone (like a subject matter expert or consultant) for their time and expertise, which, is a brilliant move to add to your board if you’re looking for support… you don’t need to prep those boxes with “will you be my board member” to go out via UPS yet.
I have a pretty simple process for this:
Identify the brilliant people in your direct and indirect network
When an opportunity arises, email them and ask for support, a coffee, a 15-minute chat and be super specific about the guidance or support you’re looking for from them
When you can, try to help them out - did they get on the phone with you for 60 minutes? Send potential clients their way! Offer a testimonial. Ask them if they’re in need of anything like a recommendation for a resource, tool or person.
Follow-up with them afterwards to share how their advice went and thank them for their brilliance.
Maybe send ‘em a gift of some sort for their support - a book, chocolate, flowers, a client… you get it.
Repeat.
This isn’t marriage - this is slowly nurturing, consistently, the brilliant humans in your life and finding ways to support them, and, give them space to give advice and support - which, feels really good. Just think about the last time someone asked you for help - you enjoyed it a little bit, didn’t you.
Want to add me to your board?