Follow the Leaders
Guided by the Gestalt Protocol, Peer Groups Offer VACEOs Members a Safe Haven
Imagine seated to your right is someone who has made the Inc. 5000 list not once, but EIGHT times. Seated around the table to your left are several RVA 25 CEOs representing the technology, consumer products and staffing industries. Each is focused on your question, issue or opportunity. You finally realize: you are not alone. This is the feeling each VACEOs member has experienced during a Roundtable or Forum session.
All new VACEOs members are assigned to a peer roundtable. It quickly becomes a safe haven – a place to vent, ask questions, release fears and build life-long friendships.
“Peer roundtables are important because they provide a unique opportunity to share and learn with a group of peers in a completely safe environment,” says Mo Fathelbab, Forum Resources Network president and author of Forum: The Secret Advantage of Successful Leaders.
“As a CEO, it’s often lonely at the top. You can’t share everything with your employees, partners, board members or investors. Members of a Roundtable have no personal interest in your decisions,” he adds.
Forum: The Secret Advantage of Successful Leaders explains Roundtable methodology and is required reading for all new VACEOs members.
“The Council’s Roundtables have been designed intentionally around the principles found in Fathelbab’s book,” says Scot McRoberts, executive director, VACEOs. “Each member is trained about our disciplined meeting process, which follows very specific language and meeting protocols. This is to ensure that every member gets the most out of the Roundtable or Forum meetings.”
“NO ADVICE” POLICY (GESTALT LANGUAGE PROTOCOL) IS KEY
All VACEOs Roundtables adhere to a set of ground rules by which the group must abide. Chief among them is strict adherence to a code of confidentiality and Gestalt Language Protocol.
“The Gestalt Protocol is based on the theory that as children we were always told what to do by our parents,” explains Fathelbab. “As a result, adults – especially entrepreneurs – resent being told what to do by anyone.”
The guiding principle of the protocol is to never give advice, but to share related experiences instead. Participants are careful to avoid phrases such as “If I were you…” when another group member presents his or her challenge. Learning to participate in a group this way takes effort and practice, but it’s essential for creating a safe, rewarding experience.
“Advice can be flat-out wrong,” says Fathelbab. “It can be judgmental. Advice creates an unsafe environment in a Roundtable, Peer Exchange Group or Forum. Each of us is best equipped to solve our own problem. The best anyone can do is to share their experience, allowing the person with the problem to glean from that experience what is best for him or her.”
“Sharing experiences allows members of a group to get closer by learning more about one another,” he continues. “By contrast, giving advice to a single member robs the group of all of the stories that can be so educational and socially bonding.”
ARE YOU IN NEED OF A SAFE HAVEN?
The Council is one of a handful of independent regional organizations of its kind in existence. Members enjoy the benefits of networking, camaraderie and the “safe haven” found in their roundtables and in their interactions with 180 other CEOs. Ready to learn more? View VACEOs membership info today.
It’s Confidential. It’s Safe. It’s Good Stuff.
We admit it. We ask our membership for feedback often. Call us crazy, but we want to know. We want to know things like: How’s your business doing? (Quarterly Economic Survey). Did this topic resonate with you? (Quarterly Luncheon surveys). How would you rate this speaker? (Annual Retreat Q&A).
Recently we asked, What about your VACEOs Roundtable or Forum experience is most valuable and meaningful to you? Seems our members are all on the same page. Almost every response included phrases about confidentiality, knowledge sharing and making connections.
Here’s a snap shot of some of the unedited feedback we gathered. Contact us today if you’d like to see the full set of the 100+ responses.
Breaking Routine
One of the best things about routine is breaking it. While our rhythm of highly structured and disciplined monthly CEO roundtable meetings produces great results for members, it is good change things up! That’s where roundtable retreats come in. Every roundtable gets away together once a year for a one to two night retreat. Some stay close, heading to the lake, the river, or a nearby resort. Others travel farther, as seen in this photo.
Roundtable Retreat in NYC
Regardless of the destination, what matters about a roundtable retreat is the chance to learn more about one another, build stronger relationships and become a more productive roundtable. Many roundtables include a regular meeting in their retreat, some build in roundtable-specific training, and others bring in a facilitator lead a learning experience. The important thing is that you break the routine together.
Our membership includes award-winning companies across industries like IT Services, Marketing & Advertising, Logistics & Transportation, Business Products & Services, Consumer Products, Human Resources, Finance, Health Services and more. Imagine what you can achieve, surrounded by CEOs like these! Learn about VACEOs membership here.
Why Join VACEOs? Hear What Members Have to Say (Video)
Interested in joining the VACEOs, but just not sure what you will get out of it? Maybe this video will help. It’s a brief introduction to the Virginia Council of CEOs. View About the Roundtable Experience video to learn even more.
About the Roundtable Experience (Video)
Interested in the Virginia Council of CEOs, but just not sure if it’s for you? Maybe this video will help. It’s a brief explanation of the benefits and responsibilities of Virginia Council of CEOs membership; along with an explanation of the CEO Roundtable program.
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