Phred Dvorak has an article in the Thursday Wall Street Journal titled: "Do-It-Yourself Consulting: CEOs Gather to Swap Tips." It's about peer support groups that CEOs have developed among themselves to help each other deal with difficult business problems.

According to Dvorak: "CEOs say it's tough to get advice they can trust. Consultants tend to be abstract and concerned with keeping their contracts, they say. Lower-level executives are too deferential. Friends often don't have the business experience."

This is not a new concept. To some extent these groups are a variant of the Master Mind groups that have been a staple recommendation of motivational speakers. And there are companies whose business is running peer support groups. Vistage (formerly TEC) has been organizing peer support groups for CEOs and Key Executives for years and charging them to participate.

This is not limited to top executives, either. In South Portland, Maine, for example, consultant Lynnelle Bianco runs groups called Ocular Forum ™. She describes one this way: "Ocular Forum is a confidential, non-competitive peer advisory group for self- employed and small business success. It is an exclusive venue for the serious-minded business person to devote time to the "business of succeeding'"

Peer support groups are great for reasons like the ones the CEOs outline in Dvorak's article. You can get knowledgeable advice and feedback. The setting is non-competitive.

In my book Performance Talk: The One-on-One Part of Leadership, the protagonist, Karen joins such a group, which I call a "Roundtable." The members of the group, with their different perspectives, skills and experience, help Karen learn the trade of management.

In my Working Supervisor's Support Kit, I recommend that supervisors establish or join such a group because they accelerate learning and growth. Over the years, I've found that peer support groups work best if they have the following characteristics.

The group needs to be non-competitive. If you have members who are competing for business or promotion, the trust breaks down.

The group needs to meet regularly. Monthly seems to be about right.

The group needs a basic agenda. Most meetings should follow the same pattern.

The group needs one person to be responsible. For groups I set up, I recommend that the coordinator be a peer and be compensated to the tune of the price of his/her meals and having out-of-pocket expenses covered.

If you're considering joining or establishing a peer support group, the next question is: paid or free? In other words, what do you pay for with a paid group?

Paid groups give you three advantages. There is someone to organize the group and handle administrative details. Selection and screening of members is usually more rigorous in paid groups. Facilitators in paid groups are often trained.

Consider a peer support group as a component of your personal development plan. If you'd like a free copy of my guidelines for setting one up, request them using the form at the end of this link.

Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.

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Wally Bock has helped people learn to be great bosses for more than a quarter century. His latest book, Performance Talk: The One-on-One Part of Leadership, makes learning key leadership principles almost effortless by teaching through a story and providing lists of resources for further growth.

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