No successful person is truly self-made.

Yes, the most successful people put in lots of hard work to achieve their goals and may have exceptional natural abilities. But somewhere along the way, they experienced the support of others. Maybe someone gave them their first job, invested in their idea, challenged them to stay on the team in spite of their bad attitude, or simply gave them an encouraging word to cling to when times got hard.

No matter what point you’re at in your career, other people can accelerate or stunt your growth. You may have friends, family, a mentor or two, and a team at work that HR has rubber stamped. But have you been intentional about assembling a group that provides you with the support, expertise, and guidance you need to achieve your goals? Are you truly surrounded by the right people?

If you are unsure, it’s time to strategically think through creating (or refreshing) your personal board of directors.

Your personal board of directors should be composed of people who inspire you, who hold you accountable, and who add helpful perspective. But in order to understand exactly who should be on it, you need to start with some personal reflection.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. What do I do best? What patterns of thought or behavior often help me succeed?

2. What patterns of behavior get in the way of my success?

3. What do I want to achieve in the short term? In the long term?

Now that you’ve answered the questions honestly, it’s time to think about who you need to surround yourself with. This small group should be composed of people who can fuel your passions, sharpen your skills, and challenge you to exceed your own expectations. You’ll want to include people whose natural abilities differ from yours so that they can make you aware of what is in your blind spots and help you manage those areas well.

Donald Clifton, in his decades of research, identified four domains of natural talents:

• Strategic Thinking: a natural tendency to absorb & analyze information in a way that can help inform better decisions and help people consider what could be

• Executing: a bent towards getting things done

• Influencing: an inclination to take charge, speak up, and make sure that people are heard.

• Relationship Building: an ability to build strong relationships that can hold people together and make a group greater than the sum of its parts.

People may have strengths in more than one domain, so the most important part is to find the balance of perspectives that suits you. And it’s even better if this group is composed of people of differing age, gender, race, cultures, industry experiences, and other identifiers so that you get the benefit of not only a balance of strengths but also perspectives that are enriched by experiences that differ from yours.

So take a look around.

• Which trustworthy people have strengths that you need and already exist in your circles?

• Where are there gaps that you need to fill? Be bold. Ask for introductions and listen for opportunities to connect.

Once you’ve identified the people you’d like to be part of your personal board of directors, be specific about how you’d like them to contribute. Tell them about your goals and how you admire the ways that they are similar to or different from you. Communicating clearly will help you keep every seat on your personal board full so that you can navigate life’s changes and set a path for success.

Want help defining your professional goals and understanding your strengths?