Why Every Leader Needs a Peer Group
By Steve Ziegler, Managing Partner – Z3Talent
If you’re a CEO, founder, or executive and you don’t have a structured peer group, you’re missing a critical lever for growth.
Success can be isolating. As entrepreneurs, executives, and business owners, we are expected to have all the answers, make the tough calls, and push forward—even when the weight of leadership feels overwhelming. But here’s the truth: no one succeeds alone.
As a business leader, there are plenty of things you can outsource—finance, marketing, operations. But there’s one thing you can’t: decision-making at the top. The weight of leadership is something you have to carry, and most of the time, there’s no playbook for the challenges that come your way.
For years, I tried to navigate those challenges on my own. I had mentors, employees, and friends I could turn to, but there was always a gap—a missing space where I could be completely open about the real struggles of running a business and making high-stakes decisions.
That changed when I joined a peer group.
I spent 18 years in EO (Entrepreneurs’ Organization), currently going on 5 years as a Strategic Resource Partner for YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization), and participated in Leadership Denver, which is its own version of a regional peer community. These experiences weren’t just a helpful resource—they were and continue to be transformational.
They changed how I think as a businessman. They expanded my worldview, improved my decision-making, and introduced me to a network of high-integrity leaders I now count as friends. They were game changers—not just for me as an entrepreneur, but for my entire family.
The Value of a Peer Group
- Experience You Can’t Buy
You can outsource finance, operations, and marketing. You can’t outsource decision-making. Leadership requires judgment, and judgment is refined through experience.
Peer groups bring together leaders who’ve been through acquisitions, pivots, culture shifts, and hiring mistakes. Their insights can help you avoid critical missteps—and see opportunities you might miss on your own.
In my peer groups, I sat down with CEOs, founders, and executives who’d navigated acquisitions, cash flow crises, hiring missteps, succession planning, and strategic pivots. Their lessons helped me avoid multi-million-dollar mistakes and gave me perspective when it mattered most.
- Confidentiality Creates Honesty
Most senior leaders don’t have a safe space. Peer groups offer something few environments do: radical transparency. You can share what’s actually keeping you up at night—whether it’s stress over a key hire, tension with your board, or burnout. There’s no posturing. Just real, unfiltered dialogue among people who’ve been there.
- Real Accountability
High-performing people often don’t get held accountable—they are the accountability. Peer groups change that dynamic. When you tell a group of respected peers what you plan to do, you follow through. The external accountability sharpens your focus and drives results.
- Fresh Perspective from Outside Your Industry
Most business problems aren’t unique. But when you’re surrounded by people from your own space, you tend to approach them the same way.
Peer groups often include leaders from diverse industries, which creates more creative, tested solutions. Some of the most valuable strategies I’ve implemented came from people running very different companies.
- Leadership Includes the Personal Side
What I didn’t expect—but came to value the most—was how much these groups focused on the full picture of leadership: family, relationships, health, mindset.
These peer groups created space for my whole life—not just business. Our family benefited from global learning events, retreats, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. EO and YPO in particular are intentional about including spouses, kids, and families as part of the journey.
- Thinking Beyond Your Industry
One of the biggest values: exposure to how leaders in other industries solve problems.
In EO and YPO, I shared rooms with tech founders, healthcare operators, manufacturers, investors, and family-business CEOs. They asked better questions and pushed me out of my echo chamber.
- Growth Beyond Business
Peer groups don’t just make you a better executive—they push you to be a better parent, partner, and person.
Many groups include structured time to talk about personal leadership: relationships, health, family. Ignoring those areas catches up with even the best leaders. Integrating them creates longevity.
- Access to Thought Leaders You Can’t Find Anywhere Else
These communities gave me opportunities I never imagined. I traveled around the world with leaders I admired. I sat in private sessions with business icons like:
- Dan Cathy, Chairman of Chick-fil-A
- Kendra Scott, Founder of Kendra Scott Jewelry
- Tony Hsieh, the late CEO of Zappos
- Brad Feld, Founder of Foundry Group
I was invited to sit with Heads of state and governors including Jared Polis, Bill Owens, Bill Ritter as well as the former President of Columbia, Álvaro Uribe Vélez
The exposure to world-class leadership and thinking was unmatched—and it fundamentally changed the way I show up in business and in life.
10 Peer Groups Worth Exploring
- YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization): Global network for CEOs under 45
- EO (Entrepreneurs’ Organization): Founders with $1M+ in revenue
- Vistage: CEO and executive peer groups with professional facilitators
- Tiger 21: High-net-worth group focused on wealth and legacy
- ManUprising: Midlife men ready to realize true success in all aspects of life
- Chief: Executive network for women (VP and above)
- Renaissance Executive Forums: Strategic growth for SMB leaders
- Strategic Coach: Coaching for growth-stage entrepreneurs
- WPO (Women Presidents Organization): Women-led businesses $2M+
- Convene: Peer groups for Christian business leaders
Final Thought: Leadership is a Team Sport
The most successful leaders aren’t the ones who try to do everything alone—they are the ones who surround themselves with the right people, seek out guidance, and embrace continuous learning.
If you’re not already part of a peer group, ask yourself: Where do you go for real, honest advice? Who holds you accountable to your biggest goals? Who challenges you to be better?
If you can’t answer those questions, it’s time to find your group. Because leadership isn’t meant to be a solo journey. It’s meant to be shared.
