Six Tips for Creating a Virtual Board of Advisors

Note from Charmaine: There’s a lot of buzz these days about having a virtual board of directors of our own – an informal network of people we call upon from time-to-time for advice, or even to “catch-up.” By adding a little structure to this process, it’s possible to use this network more effectively. Here’s a look at how my longtime colleague Bob Ryan, principal, ShieldsMeneley, is making the most of his Virtual Board of Advisors. Many thanks for your contribution, Bob!

By Bob Ryan

Somewhere out there in space, there exists one of my most important resources…a team of people that never meets and does not even know that they are a team! I call them my “Virtual Board of Advisors.”

I have had this concept in my head for almost a decade and the team has been operation for a few years now. Their best piece of work is occurring at this very moment as they help me with my transition from the corporate world where I have been a Vice President in Human Resources for almost 25 years to whatever I do next. All this while never knowing how important a role they are playing in my career decisions and transition.

How does it work? I have created a list of eight trusted advisors over the years and I communicate with each about three to four times a year. In my mind they are a team with a common objective…to be a source of information including feedback, sounding board, creative input, common sense and even crazy ideas.

Six key principles make it work:

1. Create a diverse mix of advisors.

Mine are men and women of all ages, geographical locations and professions. The youngest is 34 and the oldest 71. They are from North America, Germany and the UK. They include an HR professional, a master coach, a country singer, an HR consultant, a senior level recruiter a CEO and an entrepreneur. A couple of the members are retired, several work on their own and others work for companies. This diversity clearly helps with the quality and breadth of advice and counsel that I receive.

2. It must be a two-way relationship with each individual.

I make sure that each meeting or call fulfills a need for the other individual. That could be as simple as buying lunch, listening and/or coaching. I call quarterly even if there is no clear need or objective on my part. It is good to “catch-up” regularly and “catching-up” is the phrase I use as I set up the meetings and calls.

3. Imagine the individuals as a team around a table.

Even though this never happens, I prepare as if it will. What is the objective of the next round of calls and meetings? What do I want to accomplish? I prepare as if I am going to a board meeting. I actually put a reminder in my calendar to call quarterly and spend a few hours getting ready before the first call. Inevitably, discussions lead to topics that I may carry into the next call or meeting.

4. Eight is enough.

While there is no magic number, I believe too many can be a problem to manage, just like any board. I also feel that fewer than five may reduce the diversity and breadth of the input. In reality, I probably catch six of the eight as I do my quarterly meetings.

5. Keep track and take notes.

I’m an engineer and I like tables. I keep a matrix that tracks contact information, last call, input from each member and some personal information. The latter helps get the conversation going on the next call. I also color-code the input. Crazy ideas (orange) have led to some of the most valuable directions that I have followed.

6. You are the membership committee.

I carefully thought out who should make up my board. As mentioned above, diversity is important in several dimensions. I also thought carefully about each relationship. I suppose the board could flex depending on the current need(s) but I have chosen to stay with the same team of eight over the several years. I believe if you tailor the team to the task, you might miss out on some diverse input coming from someone who may not be all that knowledgeable on the issue. I also value people who are “fun” to talk to, and who are interested and interesting.

There it is…a simple and effective method of obtaining valuable help. It works, it is rewarding and I feel that I have developed a two-way trusted advisor relationship with my virtual board. I look forward to each call and gain at least one “gold nugget” from each.

Bob Ryan is a Partner at Shields Meneley Partners, working with senior executives in transition and coaching others on their way to that level for their development. He is a native of Montréal, now living in Chicago. Bob’s corporate career spanned 35 years working as a senior HR leader at P&G, Griffith Foods, Bombardier and Tate & Lyle. He has worked in four countries and is a graduate of McGill and Carleton Universities in Canada.