If you’ve ever wondered what happens inside a TCIA peer-group meeting, the answer is surprisingly simple: Tree care leaders come together to solve the same challenges keeping many of them awake at night.

Running a tree care company has never been simple. Every day brings decisions about people, profitability, safety, equipment, customers and growth.

TCIA’s peer groups, operating within its Peer-to-Peer Program, create a structured, confidential forum where company leaders can step away from the day to day and work on their business alongside others who understand the realities of professional tree care. Through facilitated discussions and shared experiences, participants gain perspective, accountability and practical ideas they can then take back to their own organizations.

Although the conversations themselves remain confidential, common themes continue to emerge across the industry. Peer-group members regularly explore questions like:

• How do we create stronger onboarding experiences?
• How do we retain great employees?
• How do we build leadership capacity throughout our organization?
• How do we improve profitability while continuing to grow?
• How do we create scalable and sustainable business systems?

More alike than different

TCIA’s growth-focused peer group, meeting at a member company in Washington. Photo courtesy of Bob Rouse.

Many tree care business owners built successful companies through hard work, technical expertise and a willingness to solve every problem that came their way. As organizations grow, however, success depends less on doing everything yourself and more on developing others to lead alongside you. Delegation, accountability, communication, organizational structure and succession planning are essential to building a business that thrives beyond any single individual.

One member recently shared that before joining a peer group, they were hesitant to participate because their company was smaller than many others. They assumed they would spend most of their time learning from larger organizations and wondered whether they would have much to contribute themselves.

As conversations unfolded, they realized that, while companies may differ in size, many of the challenges are remarkably similar. Larger organizations weren’t facing different problems – they were often facing the same problems on a different scale. Just as important, the member discovered that their own experiences, ideas and questions added meaningful value to the conversation. Every participant brought a unique perspective, and together the group explored challenges, compared approaches and helped one another identify the best path forward.

That story captures what makes these peer groups so valuable. The strength of the discussion isn’t necessarily determined by a company’s size; it’s built on members’ willingness to share openly, learn from one another and grow together.

When a member brings a challenge to the group, they’re not receiving advice from a consultant or study. They’re hearing from fellow tree care leaders who have faced similar situations, tested different approaches, made mistakes and learned lessons along the way. The result is something difficult to find elsewhere: practical, real-world insight from people who truly understand the business.

You’re not alone

Peer groups also provide accountability. Most business owners can identify opportunities for improvement. The difficult part is finding the time, focus and discipline to make those improvements happen. When members share goals, report progress and revisit challenges with trusted peers, ideas become actions, and actions become results.

In one peer group, accountability helped a member struggling with an underperforming manager. Over several meetings, the group held the member accountable by requesting progress updates, challenging him to take action and following up on the results.

Eventually, the issue was resolved by moving the manager to a different role that they were better suited for and thrived in, and a new manager was hired who excelled in the position. The member credited their peer group with the success, as it was the accountability to the peer group that motivated the member to address the issue head on and take action.

Participation helps leaders grow personally as well. Conversations often extend beyond business tactics to topics like burnout, delegation, leadership confidence, company culture and the emotional weight of carrying a business. That level of trust is difficult to find in a competitive marketplace. Members aren’t simply comparing numbers, they’re building lasting relationships with people who offer encouragement, honest feedback and support through both business and personal leadership challenges.

Perhaps that’s the greatest takeaway from being in the TCIA Peer-to-Peer Program: leadership doesn’t have to happen alone. The topics discussed may evolve as the industry changes, but the value remains the same. Through shared knowledge, honest conversations and trusted relationships, TCIA peer groups help leaders build stronger businesses and, ultimately, a stronger tree care industry.

Bob Rouse is TCIA’s senior vice president of business support. Seneca Eldredge is the business solutions manager at TCIA. To learn more about TCIA’s Mentoring Ecosystem, please visit tcia.org/mentoring.