It seems to me that the notion of governance can be applied
to one’s personal and professional development.
Just as in other applications of a governance model, we can
benefit from an oversight that is focused on our personal and professional direction
and strategy. This oversight is also concerned
about our sustainability, and provides a mechanism for accountability of
actions and outcomes. And like good
governance models, this oversight does not take responsibility for execution. That is up to management – or in the case of
our own development, we are the ones who are solely and personally responsible.
How then might you think about what kinds of “Directors” you
would invite onto your personal “Board”?
Here are what I believe to be the three essential types of role:
·
The Mentor,
who is a door-opener, who provides access to a network, and who is a role model
we would like to emulate in some way·
The Trusted
Advisor, who is a counselor, who has wisdom and experience to impart, and who
will tell us what we need to hear – even if it’s not what we want to hear; and
finally·
The Coach,
and not the sports model of coach who calls the plays, but the therapist/listener/reflector
model of coach, who lets us gain access to our inner wisdom, and helps us to
manage our internal saboteur.
No one can play all
three roles, although some can be both Mentor and Trusted Advisor, or Trusted
Advisor and Coach. I don’t believe a
Mentor has enough detachment from his or her protege to be their Coach as
well. And of course, one’s personal “Board”
can – and typically should – have more than one of each.
So who’s on your Board
of Directors? Who should be on your
Board but hasn’t yet been recruited?
Don’t you think the Enterprise of You deserves
the best possible governance?
Finding The Right Question 
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