Welcome to WITI Strategist's inaugural column on developing global leadership skills. This column is dedicated to those that recognize that the world has changed and either have adapted or are ready to. Globalization, sophisticated technologies, downsizing, outsourcing, astounding productivity expectations and the retirement wave are just some of the changes and trends profoundly impacting work as we know it. In this column we will discuss how to prepare for the impact on your company and your career, and those strategies and tactics you and others in your company can use to develop the highest value career, skill set and mind set for the future economy.

As a provider of leadership advice and council to executives from Mongolia to Cameroon, Albania to Vietnam, the commonality of the difficulties and needs is always amazing. Today's leaders are facing a world unlike any of their predecessors. As a result, there is a strong need for experienced mentorship and support. This need is magnified by the increasing speed, change and complexity of today's business environment.

Leaders Learning From Each Other
Who can a leader turn to? A leader must always look the part: confident and knowledgeable. The truth is, however, that they face situations and decisions that aren't taught in any classroom. How can they make sure all options have been discovered and thought through? The impact of their decisions can be dramatic on the business and their employees, and the stress can be tremendous. Who can they rely on that has been in their shoes before? It is only their peers that will truly understand and be able to help. The focus of our inaugural column is one way for leaders to learn from each other: Peer Advisory Boards.

Peer Advisory Boards are a safe haven where colleagues faced with similar personal and professional challenges gather to share experiences and consult with each other in absolute confidence. Group members provide one another objective, high quality, relevant professional counsel and direct insights. They hold each other accountable to their stated goals, and are committed to supporting each other's unique visions and to cheering their achievements.

Further Defining a Peer Advisory Board
A Peer Advisory Board is a small, carefully selected group of individuals who come together regularly to help each other. The participants may be from one or a variety of companies, small business owners, or professionals in any field. These groups are also known by other names, such as a 'group mind,' or 'board of personal directors,' and is called a "Mastermind Group" by Napoleon Hill. It was Mr. Hill who popularized the concept with his book "Think and Grow Rich" when he discovered that many of the top tier business and civic leaders of his day had created such groups to advise them.

The purpose of each group is unique because it sets its own goals, agenda and time frame. Typical reasons for Peer Advisory Boards include help achieving particular goals, solving problems, brainstorming opportunities, exchanging best practices and improving business performance. Valuable at all levels, for those at the top of their organizations, it is especially so.

Benefits of a Peer Advisory Board
There are multiple rewards for involvement in a Peer Advisory Board. For example, instead of accessing the knowledge and thinking of only one individual, as in having only one mentor, a Peer Advisory Board offers the wisdom of many minds and years of experience. By creating a think tank environment, group brainstorming and sharing best practices and tools can help solve problems and find opportunities that otherwise may have been overlooked. This is practical, affordable business and personal advice that can raise the performance of all participants.

Accountability is another key benefit. The group holds its members accountable to the plans they share with each other. Frequently the Peer Advisory Board is instrumental in the development of those plans. They recognize accomplishments, and inspire each other's progress. The group catalyzes achievement by helping develop plans and empower their implementation.

Another benefit of a Peer Advisory Board is that it is another way to serve others. There is gratification in assisting peers through mentorship. Participants enjoy teaching others as well as learning and collaboratively solving problems. This results in increasing self-confidence and developing coaching skills, which are valuable tools for any executive.

A U.S. based "Emerging Leaders" forum I have led in the past illustrates the benefits. High potential, fast-tracked women mid-level managers from large corporations are members. Each monthly session is professionally facilitated and has an educational component. Topics from the last year include building executive relationships, power and influence, self-promotion, and productivity, and represent skills development for career success. They also bring tools to share, problems for the group to solve, and commit to 30 day goals that are tracked meeting to meeting. Each of these components - education, solution brainstorming and accountability to goals - is highly valued by the participants. The sessions are sincere, productive and fun.

Another example is a group I facilitate for executives in banks over the world. A topic is selected, such as leadership development, and the group discusses issues they face and what has worked for them to solve them. Bringing together colleagues to learn from each other's successes and mistakes, and to benefit from each other's experience and perspective, means new solutions and better business for all involved. And in the end, the members build lasting, trusted relationships they can count on. It has evolved in to a community that share best practices and tools and actively work to help each other.

Some Peer Advisory Boards are set up for specific "affinity groups." For example, many large corporations across the globe have groups set up just for women or minorities. It has been my experience working with these groups that this is done in recognition that the issues they face may be similar or that they feel that they need a separate forum or safe haven for discussion. Certainly WITI has been successful because women value the venue it provides for sharing and supporting each other.

Peer Advisory Boards: Leading and Learning Together
Who can a leader turn to? A leader can turn most effectively to his or her peers. Peer Advisory Boards are a self-designed mentoring program to address problems, challenges, and opportunities with others in a confidential setting. They are a customized channel for self-improvement, encouragement and camaraderie that is enjoyable and rewarding.

No one should wait for a mentor. A Peer Advisory Board is a forum that provides an active supportive environment for each member to grow and to learn from each other. Key benefits to the member lie within the structure of the group: a safe environment for maximum interaction, open discussion and relationship-building with their peers. As colleagues share their similar experiences and offer their suggestions and tools, they quickly learn that a solution by all of us is better than by any one of us.