Advisory Board Services That Create Real Strategic Value
Executive Strategy Counsel for founders, CEOs, and leadership teams—designing and facilitating advisory boards that sharpen decisions, align stakeholders, and reduce external risk without adding governance weight
Executive & Team Coach • Strategic Advisor • DC-based, serving clients nationally
INDIVIDUAL AND EXECUTIVE TEAM COACHING + BOARD ADVISORY SERVICES + TRANSFORMATION STRATEGY DESIGN
INDIVIDUAL AND EXECUTIVE TEAM COACHING + BOARD ADVISORY SERVICES + TRANSFORMATION STRATEGY DESIGN
If you’re building an advisory board, you’re doing something wise: you’re investing in sharper strategy conversations—before uncertainty gets expensive.
Advisory Board Services—At a Glance
Best for: Founder-led companies, family businesses, partnerships, and new corporate leadership teams driving innovation or navigating growth, uncertainty, or strategic pivots.
What you get: Advisory board design + facilitation, stakeholder alignment, and executive strategy counsel.
Outcome: Faster, clearer strategic decisions and better alignment on shared risks/rewards (helping leaders and stakeholders align on “where to play” and “how to win”).
How it differs from coaching: Coaching closes leadership capacity and internal capability gaps. Advisory reduces external blind spots and aligns decision-makers. Coaching is focused on the who (the leader, the team, the organization). Advisory is focused on the what, why, where, and how (context, landscape, winning proposition, strategy).
What Is an Advisory Board?
An advisory board is a group of external experts who provide non-binding guidance to help leadership make better strategic decisions—without the governance and fiduciary responsibilities of a board of directors.
What an advisory board is great for:
Strategic tradeoffs and emerging risks
Market and competitive insight
Network access and credibility
Stress-testing strategic bets and priorities
Keeping leaders out of echo chambers
Generating breakthrough ideas
Advisory Board vs. Board of Directors
(Quick Difference)
A board of directors governs. An advisory board advises. Advisory boards typically don’t make binding decisions or carry formal authority—making them more flexible and focused on strategic guidance.
When Is the Right Time to Build an Advisory Board?
Consider advisory board services when:
The speed of growth is outpacing strategic clarity
You’re entering a new market, implementing a new capability, or evolving your current business model
Stakeholders disagree on risk/reward or priorities
You need specialized expertise without hiring a full executive role
You’re noticing “decision drag” at the top—too many debates, not enough decisions
If strategy conversations are frequent but conclusions are rare, your leadership system may need an advisory board and stronger decision architecture.
Why Most Advisory Boards Underperform (and How We Fix It)
Advisory boards fail for predictable reasons: vague mandate, mismatched member expertise, agenda drift, and meetings that generate ideas but not decisions. Facilitation is the difference between “nice conversation” and strategic value.
What we implement:
Clear charter + scope boundaries
Member selection mapped to strategy, not status
Agendas built around high-value questions
Facilitation that surfaces real tradeoffs
Decision capture + follow-through
Get less friction, more clarity, and more value with a proven, structured, and professionally facilitated strategic advisory.
Advisory Board Services & Executive Strategy Counsel
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Executive Strategy Counsel (Fractional Strategic Advisor)
A confidential outside-in thinking partner for high-stakes decisions, strategic tradeoffs, and clarity under uncertainty.
Best for: Founders/CEOs, partner groups, senior leaders. -
Advisory Board Services: Design & Facilitation
Build an advisory board that produces decisions, alignment, and strategic value—without governance weight.
Best for: Businesses building or rebooting an advisory board. -
Stakeholder Alignment Offsite (Where-to-Play / How-to-Win)
A strategy-intensive approach that converts ambiguity into shared direction, decision rights, and a 90-day execution.
Best for: LTs facing shifting priorities or high-stakes pivots.
Advisory + Coaching: Strategy That Holds
Advisory reduces external blind spots and aligns stakeholders. Coaching builds the internal capacity required to execute. When combined, leaders don’t just reach better conclusions—they create the decision hygiene, leadership capacity, and team alignment needed to follow through.
Who Benefits the Most From Advisory Board Services
Founder-led companies and partnerships
Family businesses navigating growth or generational complexity
Executive teams facing strategic ambiguity
Innovation teams facing internal barriers
Organizations preparing for funding, scale, or significant business pivots
Mission-driven organizations balancing impact and sustainability
What You Gain From Advisory Board Services (When Done Well)
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Why it matters: Advisory boards fail when meetings produce ideas but not decisions.
Outcome: Clear strategic choices, captured tradeoffs, and a decision log that drives follow-through.
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Why it matters: Internal teams can become siloed or overly consensus-driven.
Outcome: Stronger external perspective, earlier signal detection, and better “good risk” evaluation.
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Why it matters: Misalignment slows execution and creates quiet resistance.
Outcome: Shared risks/rewards, clearer decision rights, and less friction across priorities.
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Why it matters: Without structure, advisory boards drift into updates and status.
Outcome: A chartered mandate, agenda architecture, and facilitated conversations that reliably create strategic value.
What Engagement Typically Looks Like
Step 1: Strategic clarity scan
(mandate, goals, tensions, stakeholder map)
Step 2: Advisory architecture
(charter, cadence, agenda logic)
Step 3: Facilitation & decision capture
(meetings that produce outcomes)
Step 4: Follow-through rhythm
(decision log, accountability, next steps)
Step 5: Coaching (optional)
(integrated executive/team coaching to remove internal execution bottlenecks)
Advisory meeting formats: virtual, in-person, or hybrid
What my Partners and Clients are Saying
Ready to build an advisory board that earns its keep?
If you’re navigating growth, uncertainty, or stakeholder misalignment, advisory board services can turn strategic conversation into clear decisions—without adding governance weight. In a private consultation, we’ll clarify whether you need advisory board design & facilitation, a stakeholder alignment offsite, or executive strategy counsel—and what “good” should look like in your context.
If you’re experiencing decision drag at the top, this is usually the right moment to intervene.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Advisory board services help you design, build, and run an advisory board that provides non-binding strategic guidance—through member selection support, charter design, agenda development, and professional facilitation.
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A board of directors governs and has formal authority. An advisory board advises—typically without legal authority or fiduciary responsibilities—so it’s more flexible and strategy-focused.
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When you’re facing strategic uncertainty, entering a new market, shifting business models, or experiencing decision-making drag among stakeholders, an advisory board is beneficial for gaining expertise and perspective without hiring a full-time executive role.
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Start with strategy: map the capabilities and networks your business needs for the next 12–24 months, then recruit members who fill those gaps—not just high-status names.
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Most advisory boards meet quarterly, with optional monthly working sessions for time-sensitive priorities. The right cadence depends on decision cycles and the pace of environmental change.
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They design agendas, guide discussions toward strategic tradeoffs, ensure every meeting produces decisions, and create a follow-through rhythm—so the advisory board delivers value, not just conversation.
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Yes. A well-designed advisory board creates structured conversations that align key decision makers on shared risks, priorities, and strategic bets—often accelerating execution.
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Advisory board services sharpen strategic direction and stakeholder alignment. Coaching strengthens the internal leadership and team capacity required to execute those decisions consistently under pressure.
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Yes. I’m based in the Washington, DC region and support advisory boards locally and nationwide via virtual and hybrid facilitation.
Advisory Board Services Checklist
Charter + scope boundaries
Member profile mapped to strategy
Agenda architecture built around high-value questions
Facilitated meetings that produce decisions
Decision log + follow-through rhythm
Advisory Board Services in Washington, DC (and nationwide)
Based in the DC region, I work with leaders locally and nationally through virtual and hybrid advisory and facilitation engagements.
Dharma Growth, LLC
6404 30th St N, Arlington, VA | Phone: +1 (747) 221-4769
Hours: Mon-Thu 9 am–6 pm | Fri 9 am - 5 pm | Sat 10 am–2 pm
Locations: Washington DC | Arlington VA | Alexandria VA | Fairfax VA