Tips on Creating or Joining a Professional Support Network
by Adele Sommers
Have you
worked on projects alone or with others and
wished for the chance to vet new ideas through
a supportive group of people who could provide constructive,
candid comments? This article offers an overview of
what various types of support groups or networks do, how they work, what to expect
if and when you choose to join or start a professional group of your own.
A Few Flavors of Support Networks
The following alliances represent some of the many ways people can support each other in pursuing short-term and long-term professional goals:
 Master mind groups.
These are groups of people who, over long periods of time, exchange ideas and viewpoints to help guide members through unfamiliar territory. This is different from friends
or colleagues meeting periodically over lunch to shoot
the breeze and casually compare notes. (See further details, below.)
R&D teams. Research and development teams can operate inside or
outside of an organizational structure. They act as
a think tank, providing feedback and strategic input
for designing, developing, testing, and refining something.
Unlike Master Mind groups, however, members might not
interact directly with one another; they might provide
comments or critiques to a certain person or team leader periodically, for example. (More information below.)
Executive peer
coaching networks. Organizations such as Vistage International, formerly known as TEC, The Executive Committee, support the needs of CEOs by providing a place for chief executives to draw on the experience and knowledge of their peers.
Special-purpose
exploration groups. These are people who meet to
investigate their mutual interests and opportunities
to cooperate or collaborate. They may or may not continue
their interactions after the initial exploration has
run its course.
Project support
partners. Creating a buddy system with a friend
or colleague to exchange project or business advice
can help maintain the momentum for both.
Mentoring and
coaching. People seeking a particular vein of guidance
might meet periodically with an advisory board, teacher,
mentor, coach, or group of peers.
Is a Master Mind Group Right for You?
 Popularized by Napoleon
Hill, the author of the 1937 classic "Think and
Grow Rich," the centuries-old practice of creating
Master Mind alliances is intrinsically linked
to business achievement. Its hallmarks include candid
but harmonious exchanges of ideas and viewpoints that
help guide members through uncharted waters.
Master Mind encounters
involve a structured meeting protocol and deeply
shared value system. Members have complementary
or overlapping interests and goals, and ideally embody
considerable diversity in their backgrounds and
viewpoints. A Master Mind group may contain three to
seven people, or even more.
My research revealed
that many Master Mind groups aim to continue into perpetuity,
so they primarily seek members interested in a long-term commitment to the higher purpose of the group. It may take months
-- or even years -- for all of the members to
become completely comfortable with one another. Therefore,
people looking for a quick fix idea or a few pieces
of advice usually aren't good candidates.
Shared
values of Master Mind members include harmony, unequivocal
integrity, trustworthiness, confidentiality, and a belief
that individual success can be guided by the wisdom
that emerges when people put their heads together for
mutual gain. To this end, some Master Mind groups derive
their charters from guidelines offered by spiritual
organizations.
 Reasons for
meeting can include providing mutual support and
encouragement for each person's
business or philosophical goals, brainstorming, offering
a group sounding board, exchanging feedback on product
samples or marketing materials, resource sharing,
networking, and solving business challenges.
Although
socializing also may be part of the agenda, the reasons
for meeting typically do not include resolving personal
crises or substituting as counseling or therapy.
Meeting duration is typically one to four hours,
depending on the number of participants and the frequency of encounters. Meetings might occur face-to-face,
telephonically, or using another electronic method. Some
groups assemble weekly; others converge on a biweekly,
monthly, bimonthly, or even quarterly basis.
Meeting rules stress confidentiality and the use of an established
protocol. Meeting facilitation techniques keep topics
and times on track. A note-taker can increase the individual
accountability and make it possible to share the outcome
with a member who wasn't present.
What Do R&D Teams Do?
My research revealed
that R&D teams act as a think tank, providing
feedback and strategic input for designing, developing,
testing, and refining something. The teams run by entrepreneurs
and professional associations often operate entirely
in a virtual mode. Participants might be asked
to do things such as:
- Validate or constructively criticize a new idea,
proposal, draft, or mockup.
- Accelerate the creative process by helping to brainstorm,
invent, or pioneer.
- Guide, shape, and refine tools, systems, programs,
or other intellectual
 property.
- Offer candid advice, feedback, opinions, suggestions,
reactions, corrections, strategies, or solutions to
problems.
- Visualize and co-create a new organization.
How Do R&D
Teams Work?
The R&D
team leader can kick off an R&D team by issuing a general invitation, such as
through a mailing list or a Web site.
Participation
is voluntary, which means that compensation to contributors
entails primarily intrinsic rewards rather than monetary
ones. One major reward would be working to produce a
visible result in an area of burning interest.
 Virtual
R&D teams usually "meet" to discuss
ideas via electronic means -- e-mail, telephone
conferencing, or Web conferencing. Participants might
receive e-mail requests up to several times per month,
depending on the project's needs. Not every project
will necessarily interest every team member; participants
generally pick and choose.
Team members should
expect to follow certain ethical standards regarding
the confidentiality of information and proprietary material.
R&D team members might even be asked to sign a nondisclosure
agreement.
In conclusion, professional support networks can provide tailor-made assistance to
people growing businesses or launching creative endeavors.
The variety of options means that at least one flavor of alliance could be right for you!
Copyright 2007 Adele Sommers
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Are
you seeking new ways to get your show on the
road, or your plane off the ground? Are you using trial and error to gauge how best to influence your colleagues and projects, but just
not seeing the results you want? Do you ever wish that you had
a team of coaches or advisors who can help you break through any obstacles and guide you to success?
