The majority of our groups are virtual.  With the pandemic, we all learned that effective meetings can occur virtually and the benefits gained far offset the lack of in-person contact.  We have one group that continues to meet in-person as requested by the group members.  However, virtual meetings open up the audience of potential members and with that groups gain the diversity, experience and insights found across the country, and potentially the world.

No matter how successful you become, there is always another level of growth… and another obstacle in your way.  From “solo-preneurs” to executives of Fortune-500 organizations, leadership is filled with challenges that Clark Leadership can help you navigate and support.  We offer different level peer groups that are geared to rising leaders of an organization, business owners past the start-up phase but still working “in the business” and not “on the business”, to CEOs of small/mid-sized companies in excess of 100 employees and/or annual revenues in excess of $40M.

Clark Leadership clients in our peer groups are truly loyal to their fellow group members.  Once a rapport and trust has been established within a group, members eagerly support each other and rely on that support.  As such, members continue in Clark Leadership peer groups for years.  Any turnover a group experiences is primarily due to changes in a member’s business role, sales of a company and the like. As such, as a new member to a group, you must give the experience time to “gel”, developing rapport and trust with your fellow members.

Issue processing is a proven approach to gain clarity and possible solutions to a challenge or opportunity.  Taken from the book, “Fierce Conversations” by Susan Scott, a member describes the issue in detail and expresses the help they want from the group.  The group then asks clarifying questions and finally provides recommendations.  Many times insights are achieved more from clarifying questions than from recommendations, ergo the power of the process.

Group meetings have three main components.  First, members share a check-in to update the group on where they are in their business and personal life.  Then, there is a leadership “learning topic” which focuses on three pillars of leadership — self-awareness, company growth and growing your team.  And finally, the facilitator uses the Socratic method to lead issue processing, whereby members gain insights from the group on specific challenges and opportunities.

Before the meeting, your facilitator will send an agenda and at times, learning topic materials to review before the meeting. You should spend time before the meeting to form a challenge or opportunity you want to discuss with the group, because the group is your space to process through your high-priority business issues. The value of the group is to learn from the different perspectives each member has on any topic. Discussion by the group around your needs is also foundational to the group.

Groups generally meet once a month on the same day/time throughout the year with time off during the summer.

Clark Leadership facilitators all have extensive experience running businesses of varying sizes and complexities.  The wisdom and insights they have gained from these experiences are what they share with our members – they’ve “been there, done that”.   In addition, you can expect your facilitator to constantly challenge and fully support each group member.

No, this is a member driven process where the group members help guide and direct the flow of learning, discovery, and discussions.  Each group has a core foundation of topics they can cover, however current events, economics, and group members’ concerns are what primarily drive the group meetings.

In general, group members come from across all industries.  We do, however, ensure that no two members in a group are from the same industry as we don’t want competitors in one group. Competitors and trust don’t go together – and we’re all about developing trust.

Our peer groups are facilitated by professionals who have many years of experience as business owners and executives.  Unlike mastermind groups, Clark Leadership teaches leadership topics that spark meaningful conversation in a supportive, collaborative learning environment. This is a place for business leaders to think strategically about their business and to get practical advice on tactics to improve execution.