Five Key Factors to Look for in Peer Advisory Groups

It’s time for some straight talk about peer advisory groups. Many claims are made but of course nothing is a panacea. It is important to make the right decision because the peer advisory group becomes your sounding board and your support group. The group should be able to hold you accountable to achieve your vision. Several factors are essential for successful groups. Absent these factors, nothing good is likely to happen. With all of them in place, success is almost assured. The best peer advisory groups are comprised of members carefully selected by a trained leader with decades of executive experience. Based on my many years of facilitating CEO peer groups, preceded by many years of membership in CEO peer groups I believe five factors are key to group success. Here they are:

1.

Look for diversity in membership. The membership should reflect diversity in the surrounding  business community. Make sure the members are smart team players with strong business skills and a desire to improve their performance and to help each other improve the entire group’s performance. You will need to meet them to check this out. The leader should help you connect with current members of the group and may even invite you to a portion of a regular meeting.

2.

In the most effective peer advisory groups, member companies are in the same general size range. Businesses in the same size range will deal with and be able to relate to a similar set of problems and opportunities. Group performance is enhanced with a broad mix of companies including service, distribution and manufacturing organizations. There are often both high tech and traditional businesses in the same group. Some will be start ups and some may be well established. This mix brings a variety of perspectives to bear on any situation.

3.

The best peer group organizations offer workshops at regular intervals. They should be conducted by recognized experts and gurus in the areas of leadership, organizational development, finance, marketing, communication, management succession and more. As a member you should expect workshops that really help you to cope with change.

4.

Size matters! For optimal results peer advisory groups need to have at least eight members and no more than sixteen. Smaller groups do not bring the variety of perspective and value members have a right to expect. More than sixteen members will most often result in competition for time to address issues and opportunities. With groups larger than sixteen meeting days are likely to be rushed and facilitators will be busy managing group dynamics and logistics and may miss the subtle cues necessary to provide great leadership. It is reasonable to join a group that is not yet full sized provided the members and the leader are committed to bringing the group to full membership as soon as possible.

5.

Look for a leader to whom you can personally relate. The group leader is your mentor/ coach as well as the group facilitator. Make sure the leader has sufficient experience and wisdom to help both you and the group increase performance. Be sure that the leader has the communication skill and meeting facilitation skill to keep the group on task. Finally, look for a leader who clearly cares for the members and is sincerely interested in their success and growth.

Conclusion

Find the five key factors above and you have every chance of having a successful peer advisory group experience. This prediction, of course, assumes that you apply yourself to the process and bring your own talent and perspective to the group. If you do this you will almost certainly benefit from the experience.

Please contact me if you’d like to attend a meetup with others interested in being part of a Vistage Florida CEO peer group. Good Luck!

About Les Deck

Les is a Vistage Chair and Executive Coach in South Florida. He serves as Executive in Residence for the FAU College of Business. His current work follows a diverse business career as a serial entrepreneur and corporate executive. Les is always interested in talking with people who are considering advisory group membership.