If It Ain't Broke, Why Fix It? Understanding the Unique Facilitative Power behind every successful CEO Chair

Introduction

As a CEO or Business Owner, you've successfully managed your top team for years, implementing strategies that have propelled your organization to new heights.?

So, why should you consider a different approach when it comes to chairing peer groups?

In this blog post, we'll explore the distinctive dynamics of CEO peer groups and shed light on why your tried-and-true management style may not be the best fit when you are chairing or moderating or facilitating your group meetings.?

One of the biggest shifts in the move from managing your own organization to charing a peer advisory group is that you are moving from directing to influencing, and from executing to cultivating support.?

Here are a few key ways to consider the transformative potential that lies within peer group interactions and why embracing a facilitative approach can guide your groups towards new horizons.

The Power of Collective Wisdom:

Managing a top team involves making critical decisions and providing direction based on your expertise. However, CEO peer groups offer an invaluable opportunity to tap into the collective wisdom of other successful leaders. By placing your own ideas, expertise and knowledge into the background, and engaging in meaningful discussions and exchanging insights that bring members’ wisdom to the foreground, you all gain fresh perspectives, uncover blind spots, and benefit from the diverse experiences of your peers.

Culture of Support, Empathy and Encouragement:

Leading a company can be a lonely journey, with few individuals who truly understand the unique challenges and pressures CEOs face. And when the need for execution and leading through uncertainty is first and foremost, your management style as a CEO may have focused on acting decisively with clarity and courage.?

Those who seek out peer groups are not necessarily lacking in their own ability to lead with resolve, but from time to time they use this trustworthy space to dive into big questions, explore their obstacles (inner and outer) and dilemmas, empathize with one another, share vulnerabilities, and offer advice and encouragement. The shared experiences and empathetic understanding within a peer group fosters an environment of camaraderie and genuine connections.?

So, as a facilitative chair, you hold space for the collective psychological safety and are responsible for ensuring group norms make it easy for everyone to navigate any emotional intensity that arises when pressures are high, especially from ‘make it or break it’ issues. You help the group navigate any interpersonal conflict that may arise, and correct and align behavior that conflicts with the group’s purpose.?

Unbiased Feedback:

While you led your top teams, they certainly provided valuable input, and in your CEO role, you were likely vigilant to notice the influence of internal dynamics or vested interests.??

Peer groups are more neutral environments, ideally, because by virtue of the groups’ composition, members can receive unbiased feedback from individuals who are not directly tied to their organization. They are more like externally-hired CEOS, who “tend to move with more boldness and speed than those hired within an organization, partly because of the social pressures that constrain internally promoted CEOs” (McKinsey: The CEO Moment).

However, we are all human.?

It’s up to the Chair to monitor the quality of feedback as it arises. It is not uncommon for well-meaning group members to offer what they believe are honest assessments, constructive criticism, and fresh perspectives while also being cloaked in biases and blind spots. As you facilitate, you can watch for biases and identify blind spots, skillfully ask for reframes when needed, enhancing decision-making and increasing the satisfaction of everyone involved.

Reimagining the context and continuous learning and growth:

But having a facilitator's communications skills and sensitivity to group dynamics is not sufficient.?

In a rapidly evolving business landscape, continuous learning is essential for staying ahead.?

Peer groups offer a unique platform for personal and professional growth. Engaging in thought-provoking conversations, learning from others' successes and failures, and embracing new approaches fuel innovation, expand skill sets, and enhance everyone’s leadership capabilities.

And you recognize that continuous improvement is no substitute for reinvention.? As Michael Fisher, CEO of Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center Hospital, says: “I keep pushing myself and our team to think about how we use this inflection point to reimagine our potential together, as opposed to allowing our organization to just go back to the comfort of ‘Let’s do what we’re doing.’ (McKinsey The CEO Moment)?

Facilitating any worthwhile exploration of what might lie beyond the status quo, especially across the multiple business environments and contexts you have in your group, is going to be nuanced and multidimensional. Your capacity to take and hold multiple perspectives, to support conversations that are more generative - problem seeking vs. constrained or problem solving - will be in high demand. Formulating impactful frameworks and conversational structures to guide the group towards more impactful outcomes is crucial.?

How can you also learn to help facilitate new powerful frames of reference that stimulate your members to reimagine the possible and recalibrate what can be achieved?

For example, their capacity to acknowledge and include the multiplicity of stakeholder needs and interests - to encompass community, customers and clients, employees and their families is becoming crucial for being adaptive.?

I facilitated a group retreat where we invested time in reflecting on ‘the moment’ of living through the pandemic. This opportunity for facilitated discussion brought forward not only personal revelations of agility and resilience, but also highlighted the increased obligation to acknowledge the whole system of strain and the contributions of their stakeholders. Those that took that to heart, and were able to extend beyond the boundaries of ‘life as normal’ company operations fared better and were more adaptive than others.? ~ Rebecca Colwell, MBA

Accountability and Goal Setting:

While your top team is accountable to you, by virtue of the reporting relationships and governed by business objectives, KPIs and other accountability structures, peer groups provide an additional layer of accountability through powerful collective dynamics and a social contract.?

By openly sharing goals, challenges, and progress amongst peers, you are facilitating your group to create a shared sense of responsibility and commitment. This shared responsibility is a powerful catalyst for achieving objectives and holding oneself to a higher standard, and becomes a hallmark of the groups’ culture.?

Conclusion:

While your tried-and-true management style may have served you well within your top team, the healthy and thriving functioning of your peer advisory groups call for a different and unique sort of collective experiences. Embracing the power of facilitating collective wisdom, support, unbiased feedback, continuous learning, and accountability can take your members’ leadership to new heights.?

So, dare to step out of your comfort zone and unlock the tremendous growth and personal development that await you in the world of being a more facilitative leader.

?? If you found this article insightful, share your thoughts and experiences with us. We would love to hear how you are learning the value of facilitative approaches and how that has made a difference in your peer advisory leadership journey.

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