Latest / The Internal Move Podcast with Fexingo: Lateral Roles, Internal Transfers, and Staying at Your Company / How an Internal Transfer Can Help You Build a Personal Board of Directors
Transcript
- Lucas: You've probably heard the phrase 'personal board of directors' — the idea that instead of relying on one mentor, you curate a small group of advisors who give you candid feedback from different angles. Luna: It's a concept that a lot of executives use informally, but I think most people assume you have to be a CEO to pull it off. Lucas: Right. And that's the gap I want to close today. Because an internal transfer is arguably the single best career move you can make to build that board — and you can start doing it before you even move. Luna: Walk me through that. How does switching departments help you recruit advisors? Lucas: Think about what a personal board actually needs. You want someone who understands your current function, someone who understands where you're trying to go, someone who can advocate for you in rooms you don't enter, and maybe a peer who's a few years ahead of you. Luna: So you need diversity of perspective, not just seniority. Lucas: Exactly. And when you're in the same role for three or four years, your network tends to cluster in that function. You know your boss, your boss's peers, maybe a few people in adjacent teams. But an internal transfer forces you to build relationships with people in completely different parts of the business. Luna: So the move itself creates the network. Lucas: It does. But I think there's a smart way to be intentional about it. Let me give you a concrete example. A friend of mine — let's call her Sarah — was a marketing manager at a mid-size tech company. She was bored, but she didn't want to leave because she liked the culture and had good equity. Luna: Classic internal transfer candidate. Lucas: Exactly. She started talking to people in product, sales, and customer success. Not just informational interviews — she asked specific questions about what they valued in cross-functional partners. And she kept a list of who gave her the most candid, useful feedback. Luna: So she was essentially auditioning potential board members before she even made the move. Lucas: Yes. She identified three people: a product director who was blunt about her blind spots, a sales VP who had a reputation for sponsoring high-potential junior talent, and a customer success manager who had made a similar lateral move a year earlier. Luna: That's a great mix — a critic, a sponsor, and a peer. Lucas: When she finally transferred into a product marketing role, those three became her informal board. She'd check in with each of them monthly. The product director helped her frame her new pitch to engineers. The sales VP introduced her to key stakeholders. The peer warned her about the unspoken norms in the new department. Luna: And none of that would have happened if she'd just stayed in marketing. Lucas: Right. The transfer gave her permission to build relationships that would have felt strange otherwise. It's easier to ask a product director for advice when you're about to join product marketing than when you're just a marketing person who's curious. Luna: I think most people underestimate how much they can ask for. There's this fear that senior people are too busy, or that you need a formal title to approach them. Lucas: And that's where the 'board' framing helps. When you call it a personal board of directors, it sounds formal. But in practice, it's just three to five people you meet with regularly who have a stake in your growth. Luna: How do you actually ask someone to be on your board without it feeling weird? Lucas: You don't use that language with them directly. You say something like, 'I really value your perspective on cross-functional moves. Would you be open to a fifteen-minute check-in every month or two?' Most senior people are flattered, and they remember how hard it was to navigate their own internal moves. Luna: So you're not asking for a formal commitment. You're asking for a recurring conversation. Lucas: Exactly. And once you have that pattern, you're building a board whether you call it that or not. The key is diversity — you need people who will tell you what you don't want to hear, not just people who agree with you. Luna: Have you seen companies that explicitly encourage this kind of thing? Lucas: Yes. Microsoft has something called the 'Mentorship Circle' program, where small groups of employees from different functions meet regularly. It's not exactly a personal board, but it mimics the cross-functional dynamic. And Bridgewater Associates, back when Ray Dalio was running it, had a culture where employees were expected to surface their 'issues' with each other — it was more intense, but the idea was the same: multiple perspectives on your blind spots. Luna: So companies are starting to formalize what Sarah did informally. Lucas: Some are. But I'd argue the informal version is more powerful because you choose the people. A formal program might assign you a mentor from a different department, but you don't get to curate the mix yourself. Luna: And curation is the whole point. You want someone who challenges you, someone who advocates for you, and someone who shows you the ropes. Lucas: Right. And the internal transfer is the catalyst. Without it, you're limited to the people you naturally encounter. With it, you have a legitimate reason to build a network across the entire company. Luna: I want to circle back to something you said earlier — that the board can include peers, not just senior people. Why is that important? Lucas: Peers are often the ones who will tell you the truth about office politics or unspoken cultural norms. A senior sponsor might not know that the weekly standup in your new team is actually a performance review. A peer who just went through the same transition will. Luna: So your board should span levels, not just functions. Lucas: Exactly. And if you're doing an internal transfer, you're in a unique moment to recruit those peers. They're at the same career stage, they understand the anxiety of starting a new role, and they're likely to stay in touch even if they move again. Luna: What about the risk of over-relying on a single person? I've seen people treat their manager as their only advisor, and then the manager leaves or the relationship sours. Lucas: That's the argument for a board right there. If you have three or four people, losing one is a setback, not a crisis. And an internal transfer actually protects you from that because your board is spread across different departments. Your sponsor might be in sales, your critic in product, your peer in engineering. No single reorg wipes out your entire support system. Luna: That's a real hedge against organizational change. Lucas: It is. And I think that's one of the hidden benefits of an internal move that people don't talk about enough. It's not just about the new job — it's about the permanent upgrade to your professional network. Luna: So if someone is considering an internal transfer today, what's the first step to start building this board? Lucas: Start before you move. Use the exploratory phase — when you're talking to people about possible roles — to identify who gives you the best advice. Keep a note on your phone or a document with names and one line about what they offered. After you move, reach back to those people and set up a recurring touchpoint. Luna: And don't be shy about asking for a second or third conversation. In my experience, people are happy to help if you're specific about what you need. Lucas: Right. And if today's episode helped you think about that, it's exactly the kind of thing we want to keep doing. The reason this show stays ad-free is listeners who find it useful and want to support it directly. If you're in that camp, you can go to buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just a way to keep these conversations going. Luna: Yeah, and it genuinely makes a difference. Even a small contribution helps us keep the focus on practical, actionable advice. Lucas: So back to the board. Once you've got a few people, the next question is how to make the most of those relationships. I think the single best practice is to come to each check-in with a specific ask. Luna: Like, 'I'm working on this project and I need feedback on my approach' rather than 'how are things?' Lucas: Exactly. The more specific you are, the more value they can give. And if you make it easy for them — send a one-page brief, ask a clear question — they'll be more willing to keep the arrangement going. Luna: What about the sponsor role? How do you turn a board member into someone who actively advocates for you? Lucas: That usually happens after you've proven yourself. A sponsor won't stick their neck out for someone they don't trust. So the first few months in your new role, focus on delivering results. Then, when you have a win, share it with your board members and ask if they see opportunities for you to take on more visibility. Luna: So the board is a two-way street. You give them the satisfaction of helping someone grow, and they give you access and advocacy. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the beauty of a personal board built through an internal transfer. It's not transactional — it's relational. And those relationships can outlast any single role. Luna: I think that's a great note to end on. If you're thinking about an internal move, don't just focus on the job description. Think about the network you'll build along the way. Lucas: And if you already made the move, ask yourself: who's on your board? If you don't have one, it's never too late to start.