PDGs – a Unique Brand of Organizational Peer Group

Peer advisory groups, forums, mastermind groups, communities of practice, employee resource groups (ERGs), peer learning groups, peer development groups (PDGs), and other similar collectives operate under different names, yet what they are called doesn’t always tell us much about what they do and how they function. The inconsistent application of these terms makes it confusing for anyone trying to make apples-to-apples comparisons.

Scholars Roman Terekhin and S. R. Aurora offer the most precise definition of the kinds of Forums and Peer Advisory Groups led by Vistage, YPO, EO, etc. “PDGs are organized small groups consisting of members of perceived similar status and roles who regularly meet to foster mutual growth by providing a supportive environment and a flexible agenda.”

Unpacking the Elements of PDG Group Learning   

Watching a high-performing CEO Forum in action is like spending an evening at the Royal Ballet or watching a highlight reel of top plays on any given Sunday in the NFL. The efficacy of the engagement boils down to these five components:

1. Values
2. Visibility
3. Preparation
4. Psychological Safety
5. Play

Values  

It starts with values. As much as your purpose or your “why” can be central to what drives many of today’s most successful people and organizations, your why is a product of what you care about and prioritize. Well-defined values and their associated behaviors clarify what you expect of yourself and your fellow members. They define what bringing your best for one another looks like.

Visibility  

If groups are designed to benefit the individual members (versus teams assembled to create a shared work product), then it stands to reason that your fellow members understand what you need from them, and you understand their goals and aspirations as well. By creating a line of sight into one another’s needs and purpose, you create clarity about how to help each other. The better you get to know your fellow members as complete human beings, the more you will grow to care about being a partner in their success.

Preparation  

Group members who commit to one another to prepare for every group meeting receive more value from their time together. The better prepared they are, the more psychologically safe they feel, which means they’ll be more active and valuable participants. If you’re like me, you can recall a time or two when you showed up to class in high school without having read the homework assignment. During the entire class, you’re thinking, “Please don’t call on me.” Yet if you read the material and believed you had a command of the subject matter, you’d raise your hand to participate. It’s no different in forums or team meetings.

Psychological Safety 

Psychological Safety is listed fourth, not because of its relative importance, but because achieving clarity and agreement about values, getting to know one another well enough to break down personal barriers, and being prepared for every engagement all contribute to creating a safe environment. It inspires us to lean into our curiosity so that we’ll be far less inclined to jump to conclusions, make assumptions, or rush to judgment. Psychological safety is the key to driving healthy dialogue.

Play  

The concept of play was labeled flow in 1975 by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi.  A full-day meeting will feel like a half-day when the members engage in more play and less work. When it’s more work than play, it will appear to last every bit the whole day – and then some. However, getting to a state of play takes commitment to values, visibility, and preparation, which will drive the psychological safety necessary for making play possible. You will then experience the true joy of exchanging ideas and immersing yourself in helping your members with their most significant challenges and opportunities.

Bring These Five Elements to Your Team Meetings  

Now, think about your team. What are your values, and how frequently do you reference them? What if you also created a purpose statement and took a few moments to review your values at the start of every major meeting? Values and a purpose statement you created together as a solemn promise about how you will show up for each other.

At the end of the meeting, ask everyone how well the team lived up to that promise and identify what you could do better next time. Use those opportunities for improvement as a reminder for the start of your next meeting. Prepare for every meeting – not to please the leader, but because your professional currency with your peers depends on it.

It’s one small example of how you can take what PDGs have been doing so well for so long to help your team find a new gear.

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