How many close personal advisors do you have that you can go to for guidance in challenging times? - SmartBrief

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How many close personal advisors do you have that you can go to for guidance in challenging times?

Last week's poll question: How many close personal advisors do you have that you can go to for guidance in challenging times?

2 min read

Leadership

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SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from over 240,000 business leaders. We run the poll question each week in our newsletter.

How many close personal advisors do you have that you can go to for guidance in challenging times?

  • 5 or more: 3.0%
  • 2 to 4: 55.7%
  • 1: 21.0%
  • None: 20.3%

Build your personal advisory board. We don’t have all the answers. Getting fresh, objective and outside perspectives can help you make better decisions. Consider creating your own personal board of directors. Find people you respect and trust and, most important, who think differently than you do. They’ll push your thinking, offer good ideas, challenge your assumptions, and help you make better choices. The board doesn’t have to be large but it should be larger than the zero to one people 41% of you have (or don’t have) as advisors. Investing time in these relationships can be one of the best investments you’ll ever make.

Mike Figliuolo is managing director of thoughtLEADERS. Before launching his own company, he worked at McKinsey & Co., Capital One and Scotts Miracle-Gro. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He’s the author of three leadership books: “One Piece of Paper,” “Lead Inside the Box” and “The Elegant Pitch.”