Not Just Any CEO Peer Group, Make Your Choice Wisely

Though it’s good to be the ultimate power, it can sometimes be devastating as well. Who can understand this statement better than a CEO of an organization? 

While reading an article on Forbes, ‘The Worst CEO Screw-ups Of 2012’, I got to know about some CEOs who have to lose their powers and influence for inefficient performance, continuous losses or for some decisions going wrong.

The list includes some reputed and renowned names including Aubrey McClendon, CEO of Chesapeake Energy; Brian Dunn, former CEO, Best Buy; Robert Diamond, CEO, Barclays; Stuart Gulliver, CEO, HSBC among others.

Though a CEO sits at the top in an organizational hierarchy and is the most powerful identity, he is lonely at the same time. He has a panel of experts and board members to seek advice and counseling but there are some situations when he would require the experience and expertise of someone of the same stature and role.

I am talking about CEO peer groups where CEOs can seek resolution to their problems and concerns from like-minded people. No doubt, a CEO association or CEO group is a great place to help CEOs deal with their woes but the purpose can be solved only if you knock at the right door. With so many CEO associations around, it gets very difficult to zero on the right one.

This article provides some suggestions on how you can choose a good CEO peer group.

Attract Varied Expertise

Look your CEO associations that offer a wide range of skills and expertise so that you can seek advice on different elements of business ranging from a how to build a start up to exit planning.

Stay Small

For a CEO group, the ideal size is 10-15 members. In a relatively larger group, it may have to wait for long to get heard or find a resolution to your query.

Secrets are meant to be kept

The clause of confidentiality is the most important factor to be considered before joining a CEO peer group. At times, you may have to disclose your secret strategies or plans to seek suggestions or feedback from the group.

Therefore, make sure you join a reputed CEO group that strictly follows the oath of confidentiality.

Non-competitors should join

It is very important to ensure that your peers in the group are from non-competitor businesses so as to avoid any conflict of interests.

Good Facilitators

The effectiveness of a CEO association is assessed by its facilitators. Know in advance the facilitators in your group and what expertise they possess.

Ideally a facilitator should be capable of making a conversation interesting, resolving conflicts, responding to queries and building a healthy atmosphere.

The Brain Trust is an Executive Peer Group constituted of up to 16 non-competing business owners/CEOs and top executives.

Brain Trust CEO Conferences benefit you through the combined experience of other business leaders from non-competitive domains and the expert facilitators.