Since the last issue of the Ayers Report, four new Peak Performance Teams (PPTs) have been formed and completed a cycle. Nearly half the 36 participating candidates landed during or shortly after the eight-to-ten-week program. In addition, 75 percent of those participating in the original, ongoing CEO-level team have landed in recent months.  A new set of teams is now meeting.

What are Peak Performance Teams? PPTs are structured networking groups that provide members with mutual job-search support, including project-management support, market intelligence, leads, contacts, advice, and encouragement. Each team comprises comparable-level executives—from manager to CEO—in different disciplines. Ayers candidates who meet certain qualifications and commit to attending weekly meetings, setting goals and targets, and reporting on progress are eligible to participate. The teams, which meet in the firm’s offices, are self-directed but facilitated by an Ayers consultant.

  

The Facilitator’s View

 We asked the Ayers consultants who serve as team facilitators to talk about the value of structured networking.

“Peak Performance Teams take people beyond the traditional outplacement box,” says Dr. Peter Olsinski. “It’s about getting attitudinally and psychologically focused. Participation helps job seekers recognize that others are going through the same experience and the value of interacting with those people.”

“Job search is a lonely, intensely psychological process, and people who pursue it in isolation are at a disadvantage,” Damon Montal observes. “The teams provide members with emotional support and competition in a positive sense.  Seeing one person’s success motivates and stimulates the others.”

“The team structure fosters an exchange of advice and feedback,” adds Doug O’Connor. “The intelligence and strategies participants pick up can save months of trying to figure out on their own what works and what doesn’t.” 

“People don’t usually grow and change unless they’re challenged, which is difficult when they’re no longer working,” says Donna Schwarz. “The team takes the place of the work environment, providing stimulation and a set of deliverables.  It helps participants stay fresh and flexible by encouraging new behaviors and a change of attitude.”   

“There’s a lot of peer interaction, pressure, and responsibility,” says Bill Clark.  “Participants promise things to the group in terms of progress and plans and feel obligated to deliver.”

The facilitator’s role requires a deft touch. “The challenge is to give the group just enough attention to keep it on track yet leave everyone with the feeling of ownership, satisfaction, and accomplishment,” Bill Clark observes. “Our job is to create an environment conducive to emotional enrichment and mutual supportiveness while fostering individual accountability and productive use of time in the job search,” adds Dr. Olsinski. 

It’s a job that entails understanding the group dynamic; encouraging interaction and full participation; eliciting reactions, solutions, and suggestions; and regulating the advice and information participants exchange. At the same time, the facilitator tactfully prevents counterproductive discussion. “We don’t talk too much about emotions and feelings,” says Damon Montal. ”It’s more about strategies, actions, and overcoming challenges.”

As Donna Schwarz summarizes, “The skill of the facilitator is in turning a group of strangers into a cohesive team that’s willing to share information and work for each other.”

The Participant’s Perspective

 According to one recent PPT graduate, participating “provided a level of discipline beyond what I was doing on my own and perspectives I wouldn’t otherwise have had. It gave me other people’s impressions and opinions regarding the best way to proceed at different junctions of my search process.

“As we reported on our weekly progress, the facilitator would call us to task in a supportive way and give advice on how to structure our searches and improve our interviewing techniques and presentation. Our facilitator made most of us better. Networking wasn’t something most of us were used to doing. And we weren’t prepared for the dynamic of the current market. The facilitator taught us the ‘religion’ of networking.  Being on the team demystified networking by demonstrating it and its value on a small scale, which has made me more comfortable doing it in a larger arena.

“Individuals who were more reserved became motivated to expand themselves.  I know I developed.  It motivated me to try harder and to be hopeful.  Certainly, the individuals who got jobs provided a lift for the rest of us.”

On the subject of lead and contact sharing, he observed that members of his group were forthcoming. Since the PPT ended, he has continued to pass on resumés and network on behalf of other team members.