5 ways to build your advice network

An advice network is dynamic, so make sure it evolves as your career advances. Below are five ways to approach this.

1. Assess your existing advisors

Analyze everyone in your current network according to the areas in which they assist you (technical vs political; insiders vs outsiders) to determine the value each provides. It might help to draw a simple matrix to visualize your network’s composition, focusing on the executive-level value each advisor provides.

2. Identify gaps

Does your existing network provide the support you need in your current role? Not everyone who has helped before will be as useful going forward as you encounter increasingly complex problems at higher levels.

3. Evaluate quality

Assess whether your network provides the following qualities, crucial for exec-level advice:

The right mix of technical advisers and political counselors, all with experience at the highest levels of business.
A balanced mix of external and internal advice-givers who can provide objective, high level perspectives and who understand the unique challenges of exec leadership.
Trustworthy advisors whose personal agendas don’t conflict with yours and who offer straight and accurate advice, even in high-stakes situations.

4. Plan for the future

Think ahead to your next role or challenge. How will your need for advice change as you move higher in the organization? Pinpoint what you can do now to lay the groundwork for that future network.

5. Cultivate new relationships

Actively seek out new advisors to fill any gaps – reach out to industry leaders, join executive forums, and engage with mentors who have held positions at the highest levels of business.s

Key learning

Building an advice network is not a one-and-done task. You need to make sure it evolves continuously to meet your changing advisory needs.

Michael Watkins

Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change

Michael D Watkins is Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change at IMD, and author of The First 90 Days, Master Your Next Move, Predictable Surprises, and 12 other books on leadership and negotiation. His book, The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking, explores how executives can learn to think strategically and lead their organizations into the future. A Thinkers 50-ranked management influencer and recognized expert in his field, his work features in HBR Guides and HBR’s 10 Must Reads on leadership, teams, strategic initiatives, and new managers. Over the past 20 years, he has used his First 90 Days® methodology to help leaders make successful transitions, both in his teaching at IMD, INSEAD, and Harvard Business School, where he gained his PhD in decision sciences, as well as through his private consultancy practice Genesis Advisers. At IMD, he directs the First 90 Days open program for leaders taking on challenging new roles and co-directs the Transition to Business Leadership (TBL) executive program for future enterprise leaders, as well as the Program for Executive Development.