Every successful company has a board of directors. People whose job is to challenge assumptions, offer perspective, spot blind spots, and help guide the big decisions. So why are so many women trying to navigate careers, families, finances, and life transitions completely on their own?

In this solo episode, Monique de Maio makes the case that most women are not short on support. They are short on the right support. Most of us build our support systems by accident: the spouse who is too close to be objective, the best friend who loves us too much to challenge us, the sister who shares our blind spots. Then we expect one person to be our mentor, strategist, cheerleader, and truth-teller all at once.

Monique shares the people who shaped her own path, from her Vistage peer advisory group, to the friend who promised never to sugarcoat the truth, to the mentor who told her to stop writing a marketing book and tell her story instead. She lays out the five seats every personal board needs: the Challenger, the Cheerleader, the Expert, the Connector, and the Wise Guide.

You will also hear why your board should never be assembled when the building is already on fire, why networking and advisory are not the same thing, and a simple exercise to find the seat that is empty in your life right now.

About Your Host

Monique de Maio is the Founder and CMO of OnDemandCMO, a speaker, and the author of the award-winning, bestselling book The 7 Secrets to Creating a Life You Love: A Practical Guide for Women in Leadership. An MBA and career marketing veteran, she helps women leaders see their own possibilities and design lives they love, and works one-on-one with leaders through her Strategic Advisor sessions.