By Ricky Harper, C12
“Behold the turtle; he only makes progress when he sticks his neck out.” —James Bryant Conant
How do you improve as a leader? How do you increase your business acumen? What is your process or strategy for growth? What I am really asking is, what is your defense against the tyranny of mediocrity?
One of the most important and overlooked aspects of leadership is professional development. The irony is that it is not hard to have and execute an effective plan for development as there are many options for business leaders and owners, college courses, leadership seminars, and truckloads of books. You do not have to look far to find opportunities for improvement, development, assistance and growth. But you must look.
And then there is coaching. Coaching comes in many forms, business, life, executive, health, leadership, spiritual and many more. Coaching is an intentional and disciplined path to professional development and is usually very effective. These programs have been professionally developed over decades and most are high-quality, results-driven systems that almost any leader will find helpful, if not life changing.
Of the many types of coaching available, I believe Peer Advisory is the most effective. Why? Because you are not placing your development into the hands of one person. When you join a Peer Advisory group, you receive coaching through collective wisdom. Joining a Peer Advisory group offers you a ‘sounding board’ of 10 or 12 or more experienced, successful and like-minded ‘coaches’ who are available to you every day, often for less than the price of a single business coach.
The C12 Group offers Peer Advisory based on what we call a ‘Buffalo Culture.’ Our philosophy is to run at or charge one’s storms before they intensify and become more difficult to overcome. Your Peer Advisory group becomes your ‘herd,’ running with you, watching your back. C12 is designed for Christian owners and CEOs. There are secular Peer Advisory groups as well such as Vistage which is an excellent choice.
At C12, we sharpen each other by ‘charging’ into each other’s issues and gaps and doing so with “truth in love,” which is a biblical concept that we live out every day. In a C12 Peer Advisory group, we learn together and from each other, we challenge and hold each other accountable, and we do it with boldness, directness and a focus on excellence that is born of our desire to serve and honor God.
Mark Farley, co-founder of Tile said in a 2017 Inc. article, “I’ve worked hard to build a strong board of directors, all of whom have relevant business experience. But your corporate board is not there to give you advice. They have a fiduciary duty to hold you accountable and keep you moving forward in the right direction. When you’re facing a hairy problem, you need to talk with someone who is 100 percent objective and doesn’t have his or her own agenda. That’s when you need your own personal sounding board.”
What will you do differently this year? How will you lead better? Visit a local C12 Peer Advisory group and start investing in yourself, your business, your marriage and your walk with God.
“Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you.” —Robin Sharma
