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Key Takeaways Strong performance and career advancement aren’t the same thing — the leaders who create momentum have people behind the scenes helping them think through decisions, build stakeholder relationships and open doors.
Mentors, coaches, sponsors and peers each play distinct roles, so build your board intentionally around the gaps in your experience rather than expecting one person to meet every developmental need.
Early in my career, I believed the hardest decisions could be optimized through detailed analysis, preparation and personal judgment. Then I faced a career transition that forced me to rethink that assumption.
I had earned a degree in a technical field and was considering a move into marketing. The opportunity was exciting, but I lacked the experience to fully understand what it would take to succeed in a completely different function. Fortunately, I had two people I trusted enough to ask for advice. One helped me understand the capabilities I would need to demonstrate to make the transition successfully. The other challenged my thinking and played devil’s advocate, surfacing risks I had overlooked. Neither told me what to do. Instead, they gave me perspectives that expanded my thinking and helped me make a more informed choice.
At the time, I never thought of them — or the ritual of consulting them — as part of a larger career strategy. Looking back, they became the first members of what I now call my personal board of directors. Over the last twenty years, that board has grown to six trusted advisors who have helped me navigate promotions, international assignments, leadership challenges and eventually entrepreneurship. Their greatest value has always been their ability to provide perspective in moments when my own experience was limited.
Why performance alone is rarely enough
One of the most surprising lessons I learned in corporate America is that strong performance and career advancement are connected, but they are not the same thing. Throughout my career, I worked with talented professionals who consistently delivered excellent results. They solved problems, earned strong reviews and became the most reliable members of their teams. Yet many of them struggled to gain visibility beyond their immediate managers.
Meanwhile, I watched others create momentum more quickly. As I paid closer attention, I realized they often had people behind the scenes helping them think through decisions. They gathered advice about what new skills to develop. Someone who had been there before showed them how to build relationships with influential stakeholders. They had mentors offering guidance, sponsors creating opportunities and trusted advisors helping them navigate challenges. Their success was supported by more than individual effort.
This is where a personal board of directors becomes valuable. It creates access to perspectives, experiences and relationships that would otherwise take years to develop on your own.
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