As a CEO or executive, your managers and employees expect you to be strong and confident under any circumstance. As John C. Maxwell, American author and leadership expert, said “It’s lonely at the top, so you better know why you are there.”
That said, rather than keeping to yourself at the top, why not join a support network to talk about your challenges and successes?
Executive support groups or forums exist precisely for that reason: to help leaders break out of isolation. These support networks provide a place for leaders like you to open up and talk to others in similar situations, in complete confidence. The other members are not your employees or your competitors, so you can really speak openly about what you are going through and hear honest feedback while finding creative solutions for all your management challenges. These forums also help their members improve their performance with effective, action-oriented activities.
They are more than just networking organizations; these forums also provide members with an opportunity to create strategic connections—both professionally and personally—on a local, national or global scale, depending on the type of group.
There are different types of executive groups:
To choose the right group, think about the type of leaders who you would like to interact with and the benefits that you would like to gain from participating. Also look at what the different groups have to offer. Some are very exclusive and require their members to manage a certain number of employees or generate a certain annual revenue. If you meet the criteria, you can be sure that you will be joining a group that is at your level, which will help you grow as a leader. Some groups even require new members to be sponsored by an active member.
Before accepting you as a new member, the more exclusive forums will verify that you have no business connections (competitor, supplier, client or colleague) with existing members to ensure that everyone can speak freely.
You are not alone. The good news is that most forums account for their members’ packed schedules and provide adaptive solutions.
Many managers in executive groups say that they make these groups a priority, because the time that they invest in these meetings helps them make decisions more efficiently and build resilience. The mutual trust between group members (generally between 4 and 10 people) is a strong asset for managers, especially when they are going through periods of significant transformation.
Whatever your management style, your ambitions, or your business’s position in its market, there is an executive group that is right for you, where you will find peers you can share your highs and lows with, who will help you challenge your ideas, and lift you up—even if you are already at the top.
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