Gary Burlingame

Gary Burlingame recently published a meta-analysis of 40 studies that demonstrate the efficacy of groups for a number of conditions, and Dennis Kivlighan noted that group success is associated with participants’:

• Shared purpose
• Common identity
• Social support through interaction
• Reciprocal influence of the members on one another
• Interpersonal feedback to reduce idiosyncratic individual perspectives and attitudes.

Dennis Kivlighan

In addition, groups can benefit more people at lower cost than individual coaching.

An example of these principles at work was reported recently at a large Silicon Valley technology company.

Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson

Jennifer Hartnett-Henderson [@JHartnettHender] organized a “Greenlight Group”, based on Keith Ferrazzi’s model outlined in his book, Who’s Got Your Back?

Using a “snowball” recruitment strategy, she brought together five individuals from different internal organizations, in varied roles and job levels.

The goal was to meet six times as a team over a 90 day period, to help each other achieve their most challenging professional and personal goals by giving each other feedback, supporting each other, and holding each other accountable to progress.

She outlined the benefits of “Greenlight Groups”, and executives at the company were impressed with the value proposition when they learned about it via “word-of-mouth”:

• Self-manage career goals with no-cost peer support
• Achieve personal goals
• Access confidential peer support, feedback from trusted advisors

Over the six meetings:

• Two participants transferred to new internal roles at higher grade levels
• Two participants achieved greater work-life balance by reducing number of weekly work hours to less than 55 per week
• Two participants dramatically increased social media presence
• Two participants explored internal and external career opportunities
• Two participants explored monetizing entrepreneurial opportunities
• Two participants initiated weight-reduction program
• One participant initiated exercise program
• One participant increased exercise time and performance

This example suggests the value of self-organized, mutual-assistance groups to achieve professional and personal goals over a defined time period.

-*What self-managed career development programs have been effective in your workplaces?

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