1. Find three to five people that you trust, believe could work well as a group, are willing and able to help each other, and can make the commitment to meet on an ongoing basis. (that makes four to six people including you)
2. Create a standard meeting place and schedule (ex. at the local library on the second Wednesday evening of each month)
3. Define the group’s rules (ex. each person gets thirty minutes, everyone brings a question/issue they would like to discuss, all discussions are confidential, everyone does their best to help their fellow group members)
4. Pick a time keeper to assure that everyone gets a chance to ask their question during the meeting.
Over time, as your group jells as a team, the members will feel more and more comfortable raising questions of increased importance. The questions may start out related to simple things, like “Who knows a good vendor to do X?” and in time the questions will become more complex and career centric, such as “I was offered a job with company Y, should I take it?” or “I hate my boss, any suggestions on what I should do”.
Advice on these types of questions from a group of trusted peers can help accelerate your career, grow trusted life-long relationships, and help you and the others within your group successfully navigate your professional and sometimes personal journey.
If you have any questions about your career in IT, please email me at
eric@ManagerMechanics.com or find me on Twitter at @EricPBloom.
Until next time, work hard, work smart, and continue to grow.
Read more of Eric Bloom's Your IT Career blog and follow the latest IT news at ITworld. Follow Eric on Twitter at @EricPBloom. For the latest IT news, analysis and how-tos, follow ITworld on Twitter and Facebook.
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