Expanding Your Personal Growth through Peer Groups

A TIGER 21 Chair’s Perspective

Learning and growing are two keys to leading a fulfilling life, even for people that have achieved great financial success. In fact, once one or more career “mountains” have been climbed, wealth creators often look for additional sources of fulfillment in their lives. Joining a peer group, network, or learning community can be a great way to expand your personal growth and network of friendships. Peer groups can be a great resource to discuss life’s opportunities and challenges in an intimate setting.     

What Sets a TIGER 21 Peer Group Apart

Collective knowledge always trumps individual knowledge. This concept becomes even more powerful when you assemble a group of smart, talented people from diverse backgrounds and industries. When a peer group listens actively to a member and conducts supportive inquiry into what lies underneath the member’s problem or question, they can uncover the fundamental components of what is really happening. With this art of inquiry and discovery, the group can help define the true question or problem, and then offer ideas for how      the member can act on a solution or answer. Perspective, knowledge, trust, sharing, and caring are ingredients that make peer group interactions even more than the sum of the individuals.

Support & Encouragement with Accountability

The power of TIGER 21 Group discussion can be incredibly high, with the right people engaging with one another in a supportive and non-judgmental way. In the highest performing groups, Members not only support and encourage one another, but also hold each other accountable. When the Group helps a Member on an issue or opportunity, it is important that the Member reports back in a subsequent meeting about what actions they have taken and what results have come from those actions. This encourages each Member to address key aspects of their personal, family or business lives where change or growth is needed. This process can be seen in the TIGER 21 Portfolio Defense exercise, a pillar of Membership.

Friendship & Learning

Sharing highs and lows and being vulnerable in a safe, confidential setting allows people to get to know one another extremely well and build deep friendships. These friendships can transcend the Group itself, as some TIGER 21 Members choose to spend significant time with one another outside of the meetings. Also, shared learning topics enable a peer group to go on journeys of discovery and discussion together – this is both fulfilling and fun for the group. Over time, the connections and shared learnings become important elements of a strong group fabric.

Confidentiality, Trust & Caring

For people to be open and honest with one another, it is critical that they feel 100% confident that what they share with the group will be kept confidential. Additionally, the more members trust one another and know that the others care about their well-being, the more willing they will be to share about their lives and be vulnerable. No one is flawless, no family is perfect, and no career is always flourishing. There are always problems to address, and some of them can be difficult. This is all the more reason why being comfortable sharing issues with others that you trust and respect deeply can be a powerful means to improve your life and yourself, or improve the lives of your TIGER 21 peers.

Group Facilitation Can Be Critical

The highest performing peer groups have rules and norms that are respected and followed. Their purpose is to make the group function most effectively, so that all members are both contributing and benefiting in a balanced way. A TIGER 21 Group’s Chair is responsible for enforcing those rules and norms, as well as facilitating the conversations and inquiry within the Group. The Chair is both referee and conductor, and while the former is hopefully not needed much, it is important that a Group Chair mitigates problems early. Group facilitation is more of an artistic skill, like that of an orchestra conductor. Great facilitation brings out the deepest sharing, inquiries, and conversation amongst TIGER 21 Group Members.

Climbing The Next Mountain

Perhaps you have achieved real success in your career and are fortunate enough to have built significant wealth. What’s next for you? Start another business? Engage in philanthropy? Focus more on family, health, or travel? It is nice to have options, but sometimes hard to decide what to do next. Joining a TIGER 21 Group of other successful wealth creators gives you a great setting to ask key life questions and talk through what you want to do next, how to expand your personal growth, and tackle life’s thorny challenges.

Learn, Access, Connect with TIGER 21

TIGER 21 is the premier peer-to-peer network for ultra-high-net worth entrepreneurs and executives – designed to help navigate the challenges and opportunities that significant wealth creates. Membership in TIGER 21, a global network of 1300 Members that meet monthly in a Group setting, is like having your own personal board of directors.

TIGER 21 is similar in approach to YPO and Vistage, but its focus is the Member’s overall life rather than just their business or finances. In fact, it is very common for people that have been members of business leadership peer groups to join TIGER 21 after they have achieved financial success. They understand the power and benefits of a strong peer group.

To find out if TIGER 21 Membership is right for you, click here.

About the Author

Pete Wilson is a TIGER 21 Chair in the San Francisco Bay Area, well as a seasoned investor and business advisor. He has led teams in capital markets and institutional investment management for more than 25 years, working with BARRA, Montgomery Asset Management, BGI and BlackRock.

Connect with Pete Wilson on LinkedIn. If you are located in San Francisco and are interested in learning more about the local TIGER 21 Group and Chapter activities, click here.