One of the personal challenges I face when I travel is the diet which I adhere to in Bangalore, that cannot be easily followed while traveling.
As a consequence, I tend to put on some weight.
I consult my Health Coach, who advise me on my options in the circumstances where regular diet cannot be followed.
I am pleased that I have immediate access to someone I trust when there is a need.
Having someone like that in your life is important. That is where the concept of Personal Board of Directors comes in.
A Personal Board of Directors is a group of individuals you have identified and can consult for the purpose of navigating both your career and life in general.
This is similar to how companies have Board of Directors. This board represents shareholders’ interests, does corporate management and advises the CEO. The directors come from different walks of life and with different expertise.
Here are the members of my Personal Board of Directors
A few friends – I have a small circle of friends who I can approach for specific advice in my personal life.
My Coach – Peter Reding – I went through a 6-month coaching program with him when I started my own firm after quitting the corporate world. I did this after a 1-year coach training program with him which resulted in my becoming an International Coaching Federation certified coach.
He offered me a safe space to reflect on my fears of embarking on a new career, starting a new company and helped me identify my blind spots. I could bounce off my idea of carving a niche inLeadership Coaching for Introvert Professionals and the pros and cons of this particular aspiration. I follow Peter as I sharpen my coaching skills.
My Business Networking Group – I am part of this organization called BNI. We meet every week and this group is a big support from a business perspective. I have access to some advisors from this group as I am currently the President of one of the chapters. They act as my mentors in ensuring the smooth running of the chapter. I approach them for business advice too.
Health Coach/Consultant, Noemi– She and her company, helped me with the weight loss and continues to help me maintain my health.
Brand Consultant – As a Coach, personal and company branding are both equally important and I have a brand consultant who advises me on these.
Financial Consultant – I have signed up with a Financial consultant to manage my personal finances.
Personal Development – I have signed up for various programs by: Blair Singer, Jack Canfield, T Harv Eker, SuccessGyan, Siddharth Rajashekhar, Subramanian Chandramouli, Rajiv Talreja as I upskill myself in the areas of sales and marketing. I can call up Subramanian when I feel in need of advice in certain sales areas.
Who should be on your Personal Board of Directors?
Here are some practical steps for you to identify the potential board members.
1. List the 5 biggest challenges that hold you back in your work /life.
Here are some areas you can look at- Family, Health, Career, Wealth, Spirituality, Friendship/Relationship, Personal Development
2. Who do you think has the expertise in giving you the right advice? If you don’t know them personally, use your network to find them.
Let them have diversity in their field of expertise.
3. Speak to them and get their buy-in to be your advisor.
4. Let them know of your goals and needs.
5. When you enrol them for their service and if it is an unpaid service, look out for opportunities where you can be a giver and return the favor by helping them in areas they may need support in. Let it be a win-win arrangement in the long run.
What areas have you identified where you require support and guidance?
Author: Johncey George is an International Coaching Federation certified Leadership and Life Coach. He focuses on working with Introvert Professionals, helping them grow as leaders by unleashing their potential.
He helps introverts celebrate their strengths and become successful as leaders. Being an introvert himself, he understands their thinking process. He combines this knowledge, his corporate leadership experience and his coaching experience to help create more leaders among the Introverts.
Johncey has 23 years of corporate leadership experience and done his BE and Management Education from IIM Bangalore, Harvard Business School, ISB Hyderabad.
His company, Johncey George Consulting Pvt Ltd, does Leadership Development through Coaching, under the brand Coach Johncey (www.coachjohncey.com)
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