No man is an island, and we all need people to walk with us in our everyday life. We always want to feel that we are in the right place with the right people doing the things. In the current day and age, peer groups have become an essential part of socialization.
Serving as a leader or a CEO in any institution requires a substantial amount of wisdom as well as a strong support system. Entrepreneurs are human creatures, and they need human interaction. However, picking a CEO peer group can be a daunting task, but it is also a worthy cause.
The idea of CEO peer groups began in the 1930s. Richard Franzi, a professional CEO peer group facilitator, explains this on Forbes citing that the executive forums have been growing since then. The good thing is that the CEO peer groups do not necessarily have to be a one on one affair. There are many tools which facilitate this, the social media being the most vibrant.
Growing your business alone is not a straightforward affair. A majority of the most successful organizations have adopted this concept of mastermind alliances. It is also another way the CEO’s can use to their learning curve in becoming better leaders.
However, we must understand that peer groups are not the same as networking forums. The latter is more often an informal setup. Peer groups come with a joining fee, are smaller with eight to 15 people from different industries, and more specialized. Additionally, a professional who has deep business expertise facilitates them. Its members meet regularly to work through business-related issues.
Is it necessary that every CEO is a member of a peer group? What factors do they need to consider? Well, it is not cast on stone but joining a peer group is an investment worth the time and money. However, Vistage Minnesota says that there is a need to exercise due diligence when searching for a group to join. Below are some of the things you can look out for.
Pick a Group that has a Diversity Of Industries
Peer groups with a representation of a variety of industries; offer more value unlike companies in the same industries. Diversification tends to provide better ideas, challenges and insights for growth. Therefore, ensure you are mingling with different terrific mentors.
Who is in the Group? Is There Chemistry Among Group Members?
CEOs deal with similar issues despite the industries they belong to. Being in the right group and with the right members makes it easier to pursue similar goals. Also, find out if there is anything to learn from other members and whether or not you are sharing similar challenges.
Facilitators
While some groups are self – led, former CEOs with mentoring training facilitate a majority of them. However, professional facilitators must respect the group member’s time during meetings. In fact, most of these members value time more than the membership fees.
The Size and the Format of the Peer’s Group
How many members are in that group? A sizeable and manageable group is made up of 10 to 16 members, but they must also be handy enough to share ideas and implement solutions. The meeting format must be in the best interest of all members. While every group defines its meeting format a number of peer groups meet once every month while others have a quarterly calendar.
