The Importance of Peer Groups for Executives
According to a study done by Harvard Business Review, half of chief executive officers (CEOs) experience the feeling of loneliness and 61% of them state that the issue hindered their performance at work.
It shouldn’t be lonely for leaders and finding a group of like-minded people can help emotionally and professionally.
This is one of the reasons ESA started the Executive Management Professionals (EMP) Group.
This importance of peer groups for executives and its community is designed to provide security professionals charged with leading security integration and monitoring companies with a support group of their peers.
This year the community will be led by Scott Hightower, president of Verified Security in Atlanta, Georgia who will serve as EMP Chairman. In addition to Scott, Michael Barnes, president of Barnes Associates in Chesterfield, Missouri will serve as the liaison to the ESA board of directors.
As a member of this community, you gain invaluable information, ideas and networking opportunities. Membership for individuals in the EMP community is free of charge and open to employees in a leadership role of ESA member companies.
The importance of peer groups for executives and the community is also because it supports programming on a national level and for smaller peer groups. EMP Small Groups are thought-leadership discussions between senior corporate leaders using video conferencing technology.
They offer a digital alternative to physical business events and roundtable networking dinners. Virtual roundtables help professionals to identify actionable solutions to their key challenges without the need to leave their office.
The key benefits of EMP Small Groups include:
- No need to travel – Recent events including national flooding and the global coronavirus outbreak have shown that travelling to an event is not always possible. Small Groups ensure valuable business conversations can continue as normal throughout travel restrictions, social distancing, transport difficulties and other unforeseen circumstances.
- Time and cost-efficient – Small Groups enable senior executives to address their key business challenges more efficiently, gaining insight and solutions from an industry leader without the time and resources usually spent on research.
- Connect with a national executive network – With no limit to the distance between participants, Small Groups make it possible to connect with business leaders from anywhere in the country. The digital sessions bring together senior decision-makers that may not have had the opportunity to meet in person, widening their professional network.
The structure of a Small Group meeting allows time for a planned topic presentation followed by discussion regarding an issue faced by one of the members.
Conversation revolves around a results-oriented process, where ego and emotion are removed to better focus on uncovering and solving the issues that lie behind the problems.
To participate in the EMP community and join a Small Group visit: www.esaweb.org/programs/professional-groups/emp/emp-forum
