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- Why Joining This Support Group Changed My Life
Have you ever been in a book club? If so, you know the universal truth that you go to talk about the book you’ve been assigned to read, and then you end up talking about everything else.
There’s nothing better than groups like this. Some people find them in churches, and others find them within their neighborhood communities. Others find them among parents in their children’s schools. When I first had a baby, I joined one of those mommy-and-me groups, and although infancy is such a fleeting time, that support network—for many—persists for 20, 30, or even 40 years, well after that baby has grown.
For the past 12 years, I’ve found this caliber of support in the form of Young Presidents’ Organization, or YPO.
A membership community of more than 30,000 CEOs worldwide, YPO connects and supports leaders who strive to grow in all aspects of their lives.
I joined it back in 2011 when I was running my company. As a chief executive, especially as a woman of color, I quickly realized that I had few people I could talk to about anything. It became incredibly isolating—until my first YPO meeting.
Joining this group fundamentally changed my life. Not just my career. My life.
Like a book club, our forum of 10 members meets monthly, and although there are often timely topics to be discussed, no conversation is off-limits. Yes, we often “talk shop” and work through one another’s current struggles, but more than any agenda item, it is a confidential space of vulnerability, empathy, and support.
We’ve all certainly moved in different directions, professionally, since we first synced up. Half the group is now in advisory roles; some are on boards, and others are running individual companies—like me—or are now CEOs of some major organizations. But we began with a shared experience, bonded over it, and fully expect to still get together for monthly meetings when we’re all 100. (That’s no exaggeration: We each created our Centenarian Decathlon training plans together!)
Of course, the power of these groups extends in every direction. You don’t need to be a CEO to reap the benefits.
YPO is certainly my lifeline, but many others exist, too. There’s EO, a community for entrepreneurs and business owners across every sector while Hampton is a new group focused on high growth founders. Summit Junto is a platform centered around finding and unlocking deep meaning and direction in our personal and professional selves.
Whenever I meet a female entrepreneur or an executive at any level, I encourage them to join Chief, a private membership network focused on women leaders. And I do the same for the men in my circles. Typically, men in my generation find it difficult to talk about themselves, so they benefit from having a safe space to be vulnerable.
No matter what group you join, there’s truly no greater honor than meeting other leaders, no greater privilege than learning from them, and no greater joy than sharing in community. My hope is that you will seek and find the support and community that best serves your leadership journey.
— Charlene
My Latest:
Are you a disruptive leader? Throughout my career researching disruption, I’ve asked leaders to assess their “disruption quotient,” and four archetypes emerged. Read my LinkedIn newsletter to discover which one you are. Or take The Disruptors Assessment to find out.
How do we create more time to do deep work? And no, I’m not talking about emails! In Leading Disruption, I explain the unappreciated art of calendar blocking and share advice on how to make time for this sacred, valuable work.
Organizing for AI: Organizations with review boards and formal AI Councils may seem like outliers now, but they won’t be for long. If you haven’t yet, it’s time to get your organization organized for AI. Tune into my next livestream on Tuesday, Sep. 12, at 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET on LinkedIn and Facebook Live as I walk you through setting up and rolling out an AI Council.
A Burning Man perspective: Don’t believe the media reports about Ebola and cannibalism at Burning Man! I was there, stuck in the rain and mud and enjoying the experience. Read more about my first-hand experience.
Online Course coming soon: I recently wrapped the filming of my latest course for LinkedIn Learning, and I can’t wait to share it with you. More details to come, but it’ll be about how generative AI transforms the future of work! (For now, here’s a sneak peek of me on set with director Jacob Cunningham, producer Nicole Mangona, and video production technician Sebastian Schrils—and a special shoutout to director of photography Becky Davis, who’s not pictured.)
Good Things:
What I’m referencing: AI Glossary from Andreessen Horowitz. One of the better glossaries out there, it provides succinct explanations. I also like the more basic glossary from The New York Times.
App I’m using: Rise Sleep. While I love using my Oura ring to track the quality of my sleep, Rise Sleep provides actionable data to plan my day by charting high and low-energy periods. It also integrates activities like strength and cardio workouts into its calculations. I’m using it to shift my natural chronotype so that I’m able to get up earlier without being groggy. The result: my sleep improved immensely over the past few weeks!
What I’m watching: Joan is Awful. The first episode of Netflix’s Black Mirror sixth season touches on various tech tropes, from using AI to generate content to the perils of not reading the terms of conditions accompanying apps and websites. Written and filmed before the debut of ChatGPT and the Hollywood strikes, it’s prescient and timely to watch.
Thank you for subscribing to the Disruption Dispatch, which goes out to thousands of disruptors every other week to help you on your disruption journey—plus a curated recommendation list of a few Good Things I’m enjoying.
Want more? Check out my weekly publication, Leading Disruption, on LinkedIn.
Charlene Li
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