Together We Win: Grow Faster in Peer Groups

At Emerging Leaders, one of our mottos says it best: Together We Win. We help each other grow by building community, and our peer groups are where that community comes to life. This post is about the people you grow alongside, and why they may be the most important ingredient of all.

Why Peer Groups Work, Especially for Emerging Leaders

Peer groups have been a passion of mine for more than twenty years, from my early days at Georgia-Pacific, to leading a forum of CEOs and COOs today, to building the Emerging Leaders Peer Group. Collaboration and elevation are my two defining values, and I've never seen them come together more powerfully than in a well-run peer group. In our peer groups, we bring together cohorts of 10 to 12 leaders from different companies, industries, and functions. We meet once a month for two hours, and each session centers on one domain of the Emerging Leaders Growth Model. Almost half of every session is spent in peer share-outs, where members bring a real challenge, talk through what they're trying, and get honest input from leaders who understand the pressure of the middle. We hear it from nearly every cohort: those share-outs are one of the most impactful parts of the entire program. The model gives leaders a language for growth. Their peers make it real.

Here's what I see happen again and again:

• Perspective. A finance leader at a hospital and a marketing leader at a tech company are often wrestling with the same challenge: a stretched team, a boss with no time, and too much change at once. Hearing how someone outside your industry handles it opens up options you couldn't see from inside your own walls.

• Accountability. When you tell a room of respected peers what you're going to work on, you show up differently the next month. Commitment shared is commitment kept.

• Sustained growth. Skills are built over months, not in a single workshop. A peer group gives you a steady rhythm to practice, reflect, and keep sharpening.

• Relief. Perhaps most important of all: the simple realization that you are not alone. One of the most common things I hear from our members is, "It was so helpful to know others are facing the same things I am."

Why It Matters for Your Performance

When leaders stop feeling isolated, they stop playing defense. They take smarter risks, have the difficult conversations sooner, and bring more energy to their teams. A peer group doesn't add one more thing to your plate. It helps you carry what's already on it, and carry it better.

Find Your Group

Our next Emerging Leaders Peer Group launches in January 2027: six months of monthly peer sessions and one-on-one coaching with a small group of committed leaders from different companies and industries. Let this coming year be one where you lean into the power of peer groups.