5 Ways to Build a Personal Advisory Board

It is the fool who is wise in his own eyes and believes he only needs his own counsel. However, building success in your life and career requires one to be open to the wise advice of others.

An important strategy for success is build a team of trusted advisers around you to provide guidance and wisdom as you face important decisions in your life and career.

But how to go about building a personal advisory board? Here are five ways to develop your own group of advisers.

Your boss and colleagues at work. Start close to home. If you have a good relationship with your supervisor continue to develop it and seek to meet regularly for advice and guidance in your career. This can be particularly useful if you plan to stay in your current job and move ahead. Or you might start a regular monthly meeting with colleagues to share and advise on career challenges.

LinkedIn contacts. You don’t have to meet in person for someone to become a trusted adviser. You can seek out guidance from your LinkedIn connections, along with following influencers and reading great advice from experts. This can be true of your contacts on other social media, as well, including Facebook and Twitter.

Networking group. You can find often find a local networking club, special interest group, or other type of meetup online. Many of these groups will have gatherings near you and can provide great opportunities to expand your network, acquire knowledge about your field or industry, and develop relationships that can turn into a mentorship or advisory situation.

Informal groups. On a local level you might also join a group at your church, a neighborhood book club, or a beer night with the guys. All of these types of meet-ups have the potential to bring you into contact with someone who can become a close adviser.

Selective media. As mentioned before, you don’t have to meet in person with someone, or even know them on a personal level, to gain important advice and wisdom from them. Your own group of personal advisers can include podcasters, authors, filmmakers, and even musicians. You can look to trusted magazines, web sites, or newspapers to provide inspiration and advice for you in your life and career.

Mix it up. Some of your advisers should definitely be people you know and can meet with on a regular basis, or at least, get on the phone with. But you don’t have to limit yourself. Think creatively about how to expand and develop your own personal advisory board.

If you already have a board of advisors or are building one, who is on it? Let us know how you built your personal advisory board.