Leaning On Rather Than Leaning In
When I speak to people in transition, I often recommend they consider making their own (informal) advisory board.
The thinking is quite simple. If someone is transitioning, thinking about what they’ll do next, it can be unfamiliar terrain for many. Uncertainty often leads to a fair amount of second guessing or hesitancy. In those sorts of settings, it makes sense to hold on to a few steady hands; those who have been in the trenches with you, know your strengths, potential, but most important, those who know your character and want to help.
Confidential sounding boards, a handful of people who know how you work and act–your advisory board.
When I mention this, I often hear, “Great idea. Why didn’t I think of that?”
I’m not exactly reinventing the wheel with such a suggestion. I suspect people simply don’t know how to ask for help, and the higher up one goes, the less vulnerable one wants to appear.
But the larger question to all of you is—even if you’re not in any transition now, how often do you get hold of those types of people regularly? If you’re not, what’s holding you back? You’re losing both collective wisdom from those who care for you, and making it harder on yourself to get candid counsel.
No one succeeds alone. We all need support. But support of an ‘advisory board’ is not the same as close friends, family, the gang at work or the boss.
A group you can lean on-in confidence-allows you to solicit opinions (which you’re more likely listen to) get feedback in a caring way, and done sotto voce..The cost is not monetary, but the ROI can be significant.
If you don’t have such a group, you should.
And if you did have one right now, what would they likely be telling you?
Written by Neal Horwitz, MD of Henry Hale Maguire
