Your “board of directors”
As we cruise through Women’s History Month and into spring, we here at Missoula Bookkeeper have been reflecting on the women who have brought us to where we are today. This list includes mothers, grandmothers, sisters, but also pioneers and innovators who have inspired us and pushed us to be better versions of ourselves. I love to read non-fiction about ordinary people who live extraordinary lives. Women on this list include: Beryl Markham, Lynn Cox, Jane Goodall, Sylvia Earle or Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I also love to learn about women in my family history that pushed the edges of what society deemed proper. These heroes include my great, great grandmother who left Sweden with three small kids after her husband died to settle in a tiny cabin in Montana or my great aunt who joined the Navy WAVES in WWII to keep an eye on her little brother (my grandpa) or my grandmother who raised 7 kids (3 sets of twins, no less!!) in a tiny house the size of my living room. Obviously, many of you are not women, but I know you have your own list of extraordinary females and I invite you to reflect on how their influence has brought you to be who you are both professionally and personally.
A few months ago, Angela shared a piece with me about developing a “Personal Board of Directors” and this resonates with me as I think about the women who have come before.
Reflecting on your own Personal Board of Directors is a way to formalize (even just in your own head) the list of people who you go to regularly for advice and direction. This could include a respected colleague, your tech savvy millennial neighbor, the older mom who has survived everything from terrible twos to angsty teens or even the innovator whose biography you regularly pick up for inspiration. Some people on the list may be more aspirational than practical, but that is the magic of this very informal group. You may never get everyone together for a formal meeting, but they probably have more influence over the direction you take than you realize. And as the soloprenuers that many of us are, we need those relationships and connections to push us out of our comfort zone, or maybe caution us against making a rash decision. There is power that comes from using your team and your circle.
This month we will share inspiration from women we admire and share a bit about the members of our own personal boards of directors. I encourage you to take some time to pencil out your own list and keep it where you can see it regularly. As another amazing woman, Helen Keller, said, “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”
February Challenge
Challenge one: Identify 3-5 people who influence your values and choices. In light of Women's History Month, we encourage you to reflect specifically on women in your life, but obviously anyone can make up part of your board as well. They can be people you actually know or a celebrity / author.
Challenge two: Write a couple sentences (for yourself) about how they shape your choices and what values they represent.
BONUS Challenge: Send a text, email, or (GASP) handwritten note to a woman who has influenced you and thank her.
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