Delving into the ethos of CorporateConnections® UAE, Chirantan Joshi, the National Director, unveils the network’s dynamic approach to fostering a collaborative ecosystem for business leaders. Through structured forums and a stringent induction process, Joshi details how the organization creates a confidential space for shared experiences, ensuring members of equal caliber facilitate accelerated growth through mutual support and opportunity creation.
How does Corporate Connections UAE chapters address the unique challenge of business leaders feeling “lonely at the top,” and how does the network facilitate the creation of a supportive peer community?
In every Corporate Connections chapter, a forum is created that has usually 5 to 8 members. This is a confidential, non-judgemental and structured space for members to discuss either an opportunity or a challenge that they are facing in their business or personal life. Members become vulnerable to share their private feelings because they trust their forum buddies who are of equal stature. In return they get to hear the experiences of others, so the member gets multiple perspectives and this has tremendous value. How powerful is that.
In what specific ways does Corporate Connections assist business leaders in surrounding themselves with members of equal calibre, and how does this collaborative environment contribute to the accelerated growth of their respective businesses?
It is said that you become average of people you surround yourself with. And you learn and get inspired when you are in the company of other people on par or better than you. At Corporate Connections a new member is inducted through a stringent interview process where the membership committee checks their experience, their value system and their ability to contribute to the group. The ensures that everyone who is a member in the chapter is already qualified. When these members share their learnings, ideas and create opportunities for each other, everyone’s personal and professional growth is accelerated.
Could you elaborate on the strategies implemented by Corporate Connections to ensure that the members within its UAE chapters are of equal calibre, fostering an environment where business leaders can mutually benefit from shared experiences and expertise?
The process starts right at the beginning when we evaluate a prospective member before we invite to our meeting. A prospective member then fills in a form that sets the criteria for membership and after a board decision we set a committee of two members to meet the applicant. A positive outcome of the interview activates the next step of reference checks before acquiring a ‘No Conflict’ vote from members in similar vocations. This process ensures that we have the highest calibre of members that can help each other mutually benefit from shared experiences and expertise.
Considering the competitive business landscape, how does Corporate Connections tailor its approach to help business leaders “rise faster” in the UAE?
In the competitive business landscape, word of mouth plays a very important role. Once the trust is built, members start referring their strong connections to each other. They not only refer but also help them close these opportunities which contributes to accelerated growth. We are a business circle where we proactively seek opportunities for each other.
As a platform aiming to connect business leaders in the UAE, how does Corporate Connections navigate the diversity of industries and business challenges, ensuring that the support provided is relevant and valuable to members irrespective of their specific fields or sectors?
We have members from diverse industries, so we have access to a wide range of perspectives on topics of common interest. We ensure that there is a singular representation from each industry or profession which builds a trusted space for sharing views and information. Most business challenges are generic in nature making it possible for helping each other.
