Job Search, Promotion, and Career Clarity: The Mid-Career GPS Podcast

292: How to Build Your Personal Board of Directors for Career Success with Dominic Imwalle

John Neral Season 5

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If your career is stuck in neutral, maybe it’s not your résumé—it’s your relationships.

In this powerful episode, I sit down with Dominic Imwali, Senior Consultant at Deloitte and founder of DX Consulting, to unpack why genuine, face-to-face connections are the real catalyst for career growth—especially in mid-career transitions.

Dominic takes us behind the scenes of his unconventional rise, from a frustrating pandemic moment to an assignment leading global consulting work in Indonesia. 

As Dominic says, “You don’t need to know the right people—you need to become the right person for others to know.”

Whether you’re aiming for your next promotion, preparing for a pivot, or trying to revive your career momentum, this episode gives you practical, real-world strategies to build a Personal Board of Directors, deepen your network, and approach relationship-building with intention.

Key Takeaways:

  • The real secret to career advancement? Authentic relationships—not perfectly timed applications or flawless LinkedIn profiles.
  • Dominic’s mid-career mindset shift: How frustration turned into fuel during lockdown, leading him to prioritize exposure, generosity, and connection.
  • Build your Personal Board of Directors: Learn how to identify 3–5 trusted advisors who offer honest feedback, real support, and strategic insight.
  • Networking the right way: Why 1–2 meaningful conversations per week outperform mass LinkedIn outreach every time.
  • From Cleveland to Jakarta: What Dominic’s 3-month assignment in Indonesia taught him about managing stress, cultural barriers, and uncertainty.
  • Avoid these common mistakes: Generic messages, transactional asks, and over-automation are killing your networking potential.
  • Where to begin: Start where it’s easy—alumni groups, interest communities, and shared values.

Connect with Dominic Imwalle

LinkedIn | Newsletter 

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If this episode resonated with you and you want more support in how you SHOW UP for your career and life, there are two ways we can work together.

Learn more about my SHOW UP Leadership Lab, my monthly membership program, at https://www.johnneral.com/showup

If you would like to learn more about how I can help you as your leadership and career coach, visit https://www.johnneral.com/workwithme.

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This podcast is listed in Feedspot's Top 90 Best Executive Career Podcasts.

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