Latest / Executive Careers with Fexingo: VP, C-Suite, and Senior Leadership Career Strategy / How Senior Leaders Use a Career Board of Advisors
Transcript
- Lucas: You know, I was talking to a friend last week — she's a senior VP at a major logistics firm — and she told me she was about to turn down a CEO offer at a smaller company. She said her gut said no, but she wasn't totally sure. Luna: That's a huge decision. How do you even think through something like that without getting lost in the noise? Lucas: She didn't rely on gut alone. She called her 'board' — a group of four people she's assembled over the past six years. Two former bosses, a peer in tech, and a retired CFO. She ran the scenario by them, and within 48 hours they'd helped her see that the offer was actually a great fit — she just had a fear of leaving her current role's stability. Luna: So she had a kind of personal board of advisors. I've heard of that concept, but I don't think many executives actually do it systematically. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what we're talking about today — how senior leaders build and use a career board of advisors. Not a formal board, not a coach, not a mentor group. A small, curated set of people who have no direct stake in your current job and can give you unfiltered perspective on your biggest career moves. Luna: So it's like a kitchen cabinet for your career. But how do you pick the right people? I'd worry about ending up with a bunch of yes-men or people who just reinforce my own bias. Lucas: That's the critical design principle. You want three to five people, ideally with a mix of perspectives. One former boss who's seen you at your best and worst. One peer in a completely different industry who can spot patterns you miss. And one functional expert — a lawyer, a banker, a consultant — who thinks in terms of risk and structure. You avoid anyone who currently reports to you or who might be threatened by your next move. Luna: I like the rule of no current stakeholders. Otherwise you're just getting office politics disguised as advice. Lucas: Right. The friend I mentioned — her board includes a former COO she worked for a decade ago, a current CTO at a SaaS company, a retired private equity partner, and a professor who studies organizational psychology. None of them work at her company. None of them stand to gain or lose if she leaves. That's the key. Luna: How do you even ask someone to be on your board? It's not like you can send a formal invite with a title. Lucas: You don't call it a board formally. You say something like, 'I'm putting together a small group of trusted advisors I can call when I'm facing a big career decision. I'd love for you to be one of them. It would mean getting together maybe twice a year for lunch or a call, and I might reach out between meetings when something urgent comes up.' Most senior people are flattered to be asked, especially if they respect your judgment. Luna: And do you compensate them? Or is it purely reciprocal? Lucas: It's usually reciprocal in the long run. You help them with their decisions too. Some people do offer a small gift or dinner. But the real currency is access — they get to see your career from the inside, and they know you'll be there for them. I've seen boards that have lasted fifteen years because the relationships are genuine. Luna: Okay, so you've got the board. Now what? Do you have a formal agenda for meetings? Lucas: You should. The best approach is to treat each meeting like a mini board session. You send a one-page update ahead of time: key career metrics, challenges you're facing, a couple of decisions you're considering. Then during the meeting — which might be an hour for a full board, or a thirty-minute call with one member — you walk through your thinking and ask for pushback. The goal is not to get approval, but to surface blind spots. Luna: I can see how that prevents you from making a mistake like staying too long in a role that's shrinking your options. Or jumping too soon into something that looks good on paper but isn't aligned. Lucas: Exactly. There's a famous example — a Fortune 500 executive named Sarah, who was COO of a consumer goods company. She was approached to be CEO of a smaller firm in a different sector. Her gut said no because she loved her current team. But her board of advisors — especially the retired PE partner — pointed out that her current company was about to be acquired, and her role would likely be eliminated. The CEO offer was a once-in-a-career chance to run her own show. She took it. Two years later, she's doubled that company's revenue. Luna: That's exactly the kind of blind spot only an outsider would see. She was too close to the day-to-day to notice the acquisition signals. Lucas: Right. And that's the value. But it only works if you're willing to be vulnerable. If you go into a board meeting trying to sound like you have everything figured out, you'll get polite nods instead of real insight. Luna: So you have to present the raw version of the problem, not the polished version. Lucas: Exactly. The best board members can tell when you're sugarcoating. They'll call you on it. But you have to invite that. I tell people to start every board conversation with: 'Here's what I think I should do, and here's what I'm worried I'm missing.' That opens the door for real discussion. Luna: What about frequency? You mentioned twice a year. Is that enough? Lucas: For the full board, twice a year is a good cadence. But you should feel free to call individual members as needed — especially when a decision has a short fuse. The key is to respect their time. If you call someone for a thirty-minute conversation, be prepared, send a brief agenda, and follow up with a thank-you. That builds the relationship. Luna: I can imagine that over time, these people become not just advisors but genuine sponsors. They'll open doors for you because they know your trajectory. Lucas: That's the hidden benefit. A well-maintained board of advisors becomes your informal network of champions. When you're ready for a CEO role, your retired PE partner might have a board seat at a company that's looking. Your former boss might recommend you for an opportunity. But it only works if you're not transactional — if you genuinely value their input and return the favor. Luna: I want to make this practical for our listeners. If someone wants to start building their board today, what's the first step? Lucas: Write down the names of ten people you respect who fit the criteria: no current direct stake in your role, diverse perspectives, and a track record of candor. Then narrow it to five. Reach out to each one individually with a low-pressure ask. 'I'm putting together a small circle of advisors for my career decisions. Would you be open to a thirty-minute conversation to see if it's a fit?' If they say yes, you have your first meeting. If they say no, it's fine — you've still made a connection. Luna: And if someone already has a mentor or a coach, should they still build a board? Lucas: Absolutely. A coach is a professional who helps you with process. A mentor is often someone senior in your field. A board is a diversified group that covers multiple angles. They're complementary. I'd argue that a board is actually more important at the senior level because the decisions are more complex and the stakes are higher. Luna: One thing I've noticed is that a lot of executives, especially women and underrepresented leaders, are hesitant to ask for help. They feel like they should have all the answers. Lucas: That's a real barrier. But the most successful senior leaders I know are the ones who are most comfortable saying 'I don't know' and reaching out. Building a board is actually a signal of strength — it shows you're self-aware enough to know you don't have all the answers, and strategic enough to get them. Luna: I think our listeners need to hear that. It's easy to feel like asking for help is a sign of weakness, but in a senior role, it's literally your job to get the best advice. Lucas: Exactly. Look, we've been doing this show for a while now, and we try to bring you strategies that actually work in the real world. Something we're proud of is that we don't clutter the show with ads. If you've found value in episodes like this one, and you want to support that ad-free principle, you can buy us a coffee — it's at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, but it helps us keep doing what we do. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to say 'this matters to me.' We put a lot of thought into each episode, and knowing listeners appreciate it is what keeps us going. Lucas: So back to the practical steps. Once you've had that first conversation with a potential board member, you should follow up within a week with a summary of what you discussed and a proposed next step. That could be a full board meeting in two months, or just an open invitation to call when something comes up. Luna: And you should rotate people over time, right? A board that stays static for ten years might become less useful. Lucas: Yes. Every two or three years, reassess. Has someone become too close to your current situation? Have you outgrown their perspective? It's okay to thank them and add new members. The goal is to keep the board fresh and relevant. Luna: I love that. It's a living system, not a one-time setup. Lucas: And it's one of the highest-leverage investments you can make in your career. A good board can save you from a bad decision that could set you back years, and it can accelerate good ones. If you're serious about your career trajectory, building a board of advisors should be on your to-do list this quarter. Luna: Agreed. I'm actually going to start mine this week. I already have a few people in mind. Lucas: That's the spirit. And if you do, let us know how it goes. We might do a follow-up episode with listener stories. Luna: I'd love to hear those. In the meantime, start small, be genuine, and watch how it changes your decision-making.