When top-shelf CEOs have a problem to solve, they never stop probing, even after they've hit on a solution.
Truly effective chief executives dig beneath the surface of the issue. They not only answer the questions, they question the answers.
At the same time, the most accomplished senior executives know that it gets lonely at the top. Frequently, such leaders are faced with overwhelmingly difficult choices. Those are the times when an opportunity to bounce ideas off a group of like-minded peers would be more than welcome. But where can today's president or CEO turn to find such high-level support?
The answer is just a phone call away: it's T.E.C. (The Executive Committee) Ltd., otherwise known as TEC Canada.
Because, unless you've tried on the shoes of a chief executive, you can't understand the pressures, the demands and the multitude of tough calls one senior person may have to make during the course of a single business day.
"Being in the position of bottom-line accountability is lonely and difficult. The success and failure of each decision can put not only the future of an organization at stake, but the lives of its suppliers, each of its employees and their families," explains W. Lynn Tanner, president of TEC Canada.
"So, how do our chief executives know they're making the right calls? By having them challenged by 15 other CEOs and presidents who don't have a vested interest, outside of wanting to ensure the right decision is made."
And that's where TEC comes in. It's a peer and support group made up of the most dynamic business leaders around. Because not even the most accomplished decision-makers can come up with ALL the right answers, 100 per cent of the time.
Originally organized in 1957, TEC invites the chief executives of small and mid-sized companies to apply for membership. When they join, they'll find an enormous weight has been lifted from their shoulders. More than 700 Canadian leaders (and 12,000 internationally) have already come aboard, engaging and challenging each other in 14 cities from coast to coast.
Here is how it works: A group of no more than 16 member-leaders comes together once a month to share insights, ideas and information during a day-long session, presided over by a fully qualified TEC chair. These are experienced experts with proven leadership skills and extensive specialized training.
"In addition, the chair offers plenty of opportunities for one-on-one exchanges," explains Jakub Grigar, TEC Canada's marketing co-ordinator.
"Each member can count on two hours of personal time with the chair every month."
TEC meetings offer each member a priceless opportunity to beef up his or her personal tool kit. Your associates in TEC offer you support that can be extremely useful in terms of your personal life as well. An important long-term goal: to help each member to develop an ideal work-life balance.
On the business front, your TEC group can help you come to grips with a broad range of issues from hostile takeovers to succession plans to deteriorating partnerships, with the chair discreetly and efficiently making sure the discussion stays on topic.
Special-guest resource speakers from the international business community are frequently invited to share their insights with members. More than 120 such speakers have already been booked for Canadian TEC groups during spring and summer, 2006.
Speakers are carefully chosen to address members on an issue-specific basis. A strict limit on group size is intended to ensure that every member can get the most from each session.
But TEC offers more than merely an exchange of ideas and strategies.
At TEC, members are held accountable. When a particular course of action is decided upon, your peers will keep you honest, "keeping your feet to the fire," in the words of TEC's director of marketing Michael W. Palmer.
"They simply won't allow you to let yourself, your employees or your customers down," he adds.
But there is no more convincing evidence than the testimony of the members themselves. A quick glance at the organization's website (www.tec-canada.com' target='_new'>www.tec-canada.com) is the best way to demonstrate how well the system works. Simply move your cursor to the heading, "Is TEC For You" and follow it to a number of recent testimonials.
But let's leave the final word to W. Lynn Tanner: "To lead is to inspire. So, where do leaders go to get inspired? TEC. Because that's where leaders find unbiased peer support, refurbish their intellectual capital and find peers who are solely concerned with ensuring each other's success."
Membership in TEC is by invitation only. Qualified presidents and CEOs are invited to attend an introductory event or be introduced to a TEC chair for a personal orientation session.
For information across Canada, call this toll-free number: 1-800-661-9209. Or follow the easy instructions found at: www.tec-canada.com' target='_new'>www.tec-canada.com.
