Peer to Peer: An Executive’s Most Valuable Resource

Outlets which allow executives to congregate in one location where mutual understanding is possible can be extremely difficult to find, in the same vein that a gathering of world leaders can be cathartic for those involved.  So few people, other than their immediate contemporaries, can understand the stress, responsibility, and burden which rests upon their shoulders. The same notion holds true for those in the executive world.

How many opportunities offer you the chance to step into a circle of equals who understand the pressures of your day-to-day life? How often are you able to openly, and without reservation, discuss your biggest mistakes, the decisions you wish you had the chance to make differently, and to simply confer on what’s working – and what isn’t – within your company’s operations?

When it comes down to it, we all need more people who are willing to question our assumptions.

None of us are as smart as all of us

Peer groups encourage accountability and level-headedness. Finding an environment which allows you to engage on your current professional level without the inhibitions associated with minding the corporate profile, being concerned with competition, hierarchy, or any other of the plethora of concerns at the higher levels, is unfortunately rare.

So let’s have a look at just a few of the immediate benefits of engaging with your executive peers in a structured, intentional way:

• Brutal honesty
• Absolute confidentiality
• No direct competitors
• No conflict of interest
• Diversity of experience, scope, and market
• Unbiased sounding board

The Takeaway

It can be lonely at the top. You don’t have to sing the blues to the wind at the top of your own mountain. In fact, doing so for too long can begin to take a serious toll on anyone’s mental and emotional health, which can have an accumulating impact on decision-making skills.

Spending some time in the company of a high-powered group who is willing to come together, and understands the value of gathering to share their cumulative expertise and insight, is not only a good ROI on your time, but you’ll feel and perform that much better for it.

By Fred Coon, CEO

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