Authenticity Consulting, LLC Provide Powerful, Practical Peer Learning Programs to Your Learners, Clients, Members and Employees Peer Learning Programs | Nonprofit Capacity Building | Nonprofit Business Development Free Nonprofit Micro-eMBA(SM) | Free Micro-eMBA(SM) | Free Management Library(SM) Who We Are | Trainings | Publications | Contact Us "Authenticity's peer Circles were incredibly successful and surpassed our expectations!" -- Shannon Wallis, Director Microsoft Worldwide Leadership Programs Whether yours is a small organization and you want to develop two to three groups, or yours is one of the largest companies in the world and you want to roll out 150 groups around the world, we've worked with your kind of organization before! No matter where you're located, we have strategic alliances in all of the regions of the world. Some Applications of Our Peer Programs (Peer Learning, Peer Circles, Action Learning, etc.) Our approach to peer learning has been carefully designed to be highly adaptable for a wide range of applications and outcomes, including to: Ensure that trainings are actually applied in the workplace How often have you noticed that people attend trainings, but then rarely apply the new information and materials from the trainings? Increase accountabilities to get things done Is your organization continually behind schedule? Are plans and policies ignored? Spread low-cost, core coaching skills across the organization Rather than expensive one-on-one coaching sessions, instead ensure that everyone gets coached -- and learns how to coach -- at much lower cost. Decrease burnout and employee turnover In peer groups, employees share support and accountabilities to take ongoing realistic actions to address current issues. Develop close networking and collaboration Research suggests that to advance in your career, it's who you know as much as what you know. Also, you need to know about the other roles in your organization. We have customized peer learning programs for a wide range of organizations, including for: An association to provide peer coaching groups as a service to its members. A public development commission to ensure accountability among organizations that receive funding from the commission. A county's leadership and management teams to ensure application and learning from its various leadership development programs. A residential care facility to change the culture among its staff. Charitable nonprofits to obtain highly accessible and low-cost networking among Executive Directors. A consulting firm to provide peer coaching groups to its clients. Trainers to deepen and enrich their one-shot training sessions. Coaches to expand the power of personal and professional coaching beyond the traditional one-on-one coaching format. A training center to deepen and enrich their courses, workshops and seminars. Individuals to obtain ongoing support and reflection for continuing professional development. There are numerous types of peer learning activities. Some are so common that they might not be recognized as peer learning, for example: collaborations between organizations, debates, dialogues, discussions, round tables, self-help groups, study groups, etc. While these are common types of peer learning, they often are not the most powerful, reliable forms of peer learning. That's where we come in. Sample List of Our Peer-Learning Clients We are the world's leader in customizing powerful, practical peer learning programs for service providers to provide to their stakeholders. Programs can be used as low-cost, free-standing programs or as convenient means to substantially deepen and enrich other peer learning activities. A sample of our firm’s clients over the past several years include Allianz Life Insurance, American Society for Training and Development, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, Boston Scientific, British Petroleum, CompassPoint Consulting, Fieldstone Alliance Consulting Group, Gunderson Lutheran Hospitals, Hennepin County, Illinois Arts Alliance, International Association of Facilitators, Microsoft Corporation, Minnesota Career Development Association, New York Foundation for the Arts, Nonprofit Mentorship Program in British Columbia, North Ridge Masonic Homes, Opportunity Partners, Search Institute, South Eastern New York Library Resources Council, state of Alaska and Thomson West Group Publishing. What is Peer Learning? The concept of peer learning is very popular in personal, professional and organizational development today. It's highly valued by business leaders and managers, whether for-profit or nonprofit. It's written about by educators, researchers, writers and consultants. It's used by consulting services, training centers, associations, businesses and citizens. While the phrase "peer learning" is used a great deal, it can mean many different things to many different people. Perhaps the best definition is simply that "peer learning" means peers learning from each other. All of the people in a peer learning program are equally dedicated to helping other members in the program. In that sense, they all are "peers" to each other, regardless of their status in life or work. Why Is Peer Learning So Popular Today? There are numerous advantages to providing peer learning programs, depending on the particular design of your program. Ideal for adult learning. Peter Senge, in his seminal book, The Fifth Discipline (Doubleday, 1990), points out that adults learn best when they are 1) working on current, real-life challenges and 2) exchanging feedback with others in similar situations. Various forms of peer learning, especially when applied to real-life challenges, provide ideal conditions for adult learning. Can expand, deepen and enrich traditional forms of services. Peer learning programs can be used to make traditional forms of training and development much more powerful, for example, courses, workshops, seminars, consultations, etc. Rather than one-shot sessions in which experts talk at learners, peer learning programs encourage peers to share feedback, materials and support among themselves. Peers can manage their own learning and development -- their continuous learning. Peers can manage their own learning, including setting their own learning goals, methods and means to evaluation. Thus, forms of peer learning can set the foundation for very successful self-directed and continuous learning in life and work. Programs can be very cost-effective. Peers often do most of the work. Expensive consultants and materials often aren't needed. Thus, the learning can be quite cost-effective, especially when designed to complement other traditional forms of services. This can be very valuable to organizations with very limited resources, such as nonprofit organizations. Programs accommodate the busy schedules of peers. One of the most frequent complaints among adult learners is that they can't find the time to attend professional development sessions. In peer learning programs, peers often can schedule and locate their own learning sessions which makes the sessions very accommodating to busy schedules. Why You Should Choose Our Firm to Customize Your Peer Learning Program We are the world's leader in customizing powerful, practical peer learning programs. We understand organizational development and change. Our firm has extensive experience in helping clients to customize peer learning programs to expand, deepen and enrich their services to learners, members, clients, fellow employees, etc. We've worked with 100s of clients and taught 100s of professionals how to customize peer learning programs, as well. We have customized programs for for-profits, nonprofits and government agencies. We provide a range of highly affordable service options to help you to customize, implement and evaluate a peer learning program that suits the nature and needs of your organization and the people it serves. Benefits of our peer learning designs: Easy to start, low cost, little overhead Free-standing or integrate with other programs Peers share focused feedback, materials and support Ideal for adult learning, networking and collaboration Can use facilitator or be self-facilitated Our proven, peer learning services: Customize complete program design Guide staffing, marketing, evaluation planning Quickly train staff and facilitators, if needed Provide ongoing guidance and support Provide step-by-step, time-tested materials Feedback From Our Clients We continue to get powerful testimonials from our clients about the quality of our peer learning programs. "Our program is working wonderfully! It's the highlight of my work life!" -- Russanne Kelly, Management Assistance Program, United Way Texas Gulf Coast "I can't begin to tell you how useful the Circles are to our service supervisors!" -- Patricia Brinton, Human Resource Development, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota "We have had great success, incredible bonding and have created a wonderful means for support and motivation. … I have found that there is something almost magical that happens when things are just right...after the trust develops, the bonding occurs and people allow themselves to enter the group "fully." It's amazing and powerful!" -- Annie Bullert, peer learning program facilitator, American Society for Training and Development "Your program is one of the best things we've ever done for our arts administrators!" -- Janice Shapiro, Senior Program Officer, Services, New York Foundation for the Arts "The depth and breadth of involvement provide a rich resource base. I know of no other forum that provides this kind of cross-pollination." -- Abby Struck, Executive Director, St. Anthony Park Community Council To read more testimonials, click here. Contact Us! We will work with you to customize a variety of service options to meet your budget. You can contact us by calling toll-free from anywhere in Canada or the USA to 1-800-971-2250 or by e-mail. Contact Us. To Learn More The following links will help you to learn more about: Whom our peer learning services can serve and how we can serve them Peer coaching groups and Action Learning process Trainings we can customize for you Publications about our peer coaching groups And don't forget ... Please visit our Free Management Library(SM). It's one of the world's largest collections of well-organized, free resources for personal, professional and organizational development. We hope the Library will be useful to you in your life and work. Thank you! Note on intellectual property Authenticity Circles is a service mark of Authenticity Consulting, LLC, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. © Copyright, 2000-03, Authenticity Consulting, LLC