In today's volatile, uncertain, and complex environment, leadership is more challenged than ever before. Leaders must provide strategic direction and make purposeful decisions while balancing conflicting priorities and managing day-to-day projects. This relentless pace leaves little room for reflection, learning, balance or self-care.
Amidst these pressures, many leaders experience a sense of isolation, lacking truly independent support or guidance. For some, it may be their first time in such a role, and even those with experience can find their decision-making quality compromised under pressure.
Our peer advisory group initiative serves as a platform for personal and professional growth. It balances support with challenge, fostering learning, innovation, and development among its members.
This is a working definition for our Peer Advisory groups:
Breaking this definition down to explore the components and offer some further explanation:
Membership is by invitation only.
For example several typical CEO peer advisory group members are previous coaching clients, in roles now including CEO, MD, owner or founder, and senior, board-level leader.
Members commit to allocating time to work on themselves and their businesses.
Members possess a growth mindset, a drive to continue their personal and organisational development and a preparedness to be vulnerable.
Members are collaborative, open, emotionally intelligent, accountable, prepared to challenge and expect the same of all other members.
Members are independent - we are not each other's customers, competitors, suppliers or business partners.
Members are invited from diverse sectors to contribute their diversity of experience to improve our decision-making.
All share a common purpose around growth, learning and collaboration.
Collaboration is fundamental and powerful - demonstrating the power of connectedness and trust, openness and curiosity, expertise, knowledge and diversity within the group
Better decisions are made in a fraction of the time.
Confidentiality is fundamental.
What happens in the group stays in the group.
But our peer advisory groups are unique forums, unlike almost any other organisational meeting.
Because of their independence, members collaborate; without self-interest, defensiveness or fear, for the benefit of the other members.
Independence means that every person can offer the best advice, without prejudice or self-interest.
Each member is there to support everyone else.
We behave as personal, 'non-executive' board members to every other member.
The peer advisory group helps members to make better decisions.
We hold members accountable for the changes, decisions and actions that they commit to undertaking.
We have long standing peer advisory groups for CEOs - members are CEOs, MD, founders and business owners, and senior board level leaders.
Other groups have supported the talent and emerging leaders cohorts across organisations.
Special interest peer advisory groups also support other coached in their business growth and supervision or their professional practice.
If potential participation in a peer advisory group might be of interest, there is more information on the website, and more blog content to follow.
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