You Ran Teams for Decades: Time to Gather One for Yourself

A few months ago, I had to make a major career decision that would not only impact my day-to-day work life, it would have potentially significant consequences for my retirement schedule. As a long-time single woman, on-again/off-again entrepreneur, and all-around independent gal, I usually assess “big risk” questions purely on gut instinct and my stubborn belief that I will ultimately handle any problems or hiccups that may arise.

This time, however, I wanted something different, something like a smart, experienced, truth-telling team of women who would help me look at a business opportunity from every angle. That’s when I called on a group of friends, colleagues, and relatives to act as my personal advisory board, fondly called my Power Posse.

Due to time zones, vacation homes, and work schedules, I couldn’t round up everyone on one call, which meant I got to pitch my idea four times, and thankfully hone my presentation each time. My friend in sales poked holes in some of my projections. My corporate guru offered sage advice on production timelines. A new friend who has mastered AI gave me some shortcuts for managing inventory. And my friend who is a decade ahead of me in age and experience offered important encouragement about taking a leap later in life. Without exception, these women gladly offered their time, expertise, unfiltered honesty, and tons of support, exactly what I expected and needed.

Later life is a time of tremendous changes and often includes a wholesale re-envisioning of yourself, your goals, your daily habits, even the ways you interact with family and those closest to you. It makes great sense, as you navigate these shifts and transitions, to assemble a “wise counsel” of people who will speak honestly, ask hard questions, and highlight things that may be living in a blind spot. Partners and family members who are too close to be objective don’t get a seat on your board, but they do get to head up your fan club.

Filling Your Board Seats

Through 15 years of volunteering and working with boards in the non-profit world, I learned the importance of pulling together a team with a wide range of experience and skill. Each of the women in my Power Posse played a unique role and had very specific input to offer. When assembling your own Power Posse, look for:

• The Strategist: She focuses on the larger vision and how to get there.
• The One Who Tells It Like It Is: We all have that friend who is not afraid to send back the undercooked salmon or tell you that your colorist has missed the mark.
• The One with Experience: She may be a few years older or a bit further along in doing whatever you are trying to accomplish. She provides a map based on her “been there/done that” experience.
• The Specialist: This is the nuts and bolts person, an accountant, a lawyer, a doctor, a financial advisor who puts facts and figures to your expectations.

You don’t need everyone to weigh in on every decision, but you do need to know who you can call on for specific advice and which board seats are currently empty.

Who Gets a Seat?

Choose wisely. The friend who’s exactly right for guidance through a messy divorce may not be the person you want weighing in on a career decision. Keep in mind that you’re allowed to replace a board member when the advice feels out of alignment. Twenty years of friendship doesn’t automatically earn someone a permanent vote.

And a board member is not the same thing as a venting partner. Venting partners do the important job of letting you feel heard and supported. In contrast, a board member is willing to disagree with you and will push you from venting into action.

Time, and my 401(k), will tell whether or not I made the right business decision with the helpful input of my Power Posse. But I did make it with my eyes open, informed by more than my own gut reaction. After sitting in on other people’s boardrooms, other people’s decisions, other people’s businesses, I finally made the move to convene one for my own life, and I’m so glad I did.

And bonus: a few of these women have invited me to join their personal board, so now it’s my turn to bring honesty and experience to the table.

Over to You:

Do you have a circle of women you can call on for important decisions? How do you know whom to call for what? Have you had to replace someone from your board?