Leo Bottary Launches Expanded Peer Advantage Initiative

SAN DIEGO - Aug. 7, 2016 - PRLog -- Leo Bottary will expand the thought leadership initiative he started during his six-year tenure at Vistage Worldwide to share what he calls "the boundless benefits of peer advantage" with business leaders in the US and around the world. He will do so as a keynote speaker, author, blogger, educator, and researcher, building on the narrative he created with coauthor Leon Shapiro in their recently released book The Power of Peers: How the Company You Keep Drives Leadership, Growth & Success.

Bottary describes peer advantage as what can be realized when CEOs and business leaders are more selective, strategic, and structured about how they engage their peers. "Peer influence is something you've experienced your entire life, often without giving it a second thought," Bottary says. "Going forward, I will expand my efforts - challenging business leaders at all levels to give it a second thought and help them harness peer advantage to improve as leaders, collaborate more effectively, and grow their organizations."

Since the start of 2016, as a keynote speaker, panelist and facilitator, Bottary has worked with students in academic environments at Northwestern (Kellogg) and University of Chicago (Booth) business schools, among others, and with business audiences in more than a dozen states and at the ANJE Conference in Porto, Portugal.

Miguel Dias, founder and CEO of CEO World, a company that facilitates online mastermind groups for business owners, said, "I met Leo Bottary online when I was looking to strengthen my inner circle with the best leaders in the peer-to-peer industry. I couldn't stop until I finished the last page of his book The Power of Peers. Some weeks later, we (CEO World and ANJE) invited him to come to Porto to deliver an incredible talk about Peer Advantage and to participate in two peer group sessions. Leo is definitely a peer evangelist, always willing to support his peers to grow every single day."

In addition to speaking, Bottary is drafting an outline for a second book. He writes weekly blog posts at leobottary.com and LinkedIn and plans to launch a podcast series in 2017. He is also pursuing an opportunity on the west coast to serve as a university faculty member to teach and collaborate on new research. Bottary is currently writing his dissertation on the topic of online mastermind groups and learning outcomes realized by early-stage company CEOs and business leaders - the first of many upcoming academic research projects.

Bottary believes that because peer influence is an intuitive concept and such a pervasive part of everyone's life, that in ten years, peer advantage will be as common to the business lexicon as emotional intelligence is today. Bottary added, "Peer advantage works, yet too few people are availing themselves of its true potential. It will take some hard work, but with the help of my peers, of course, I hope to bring peer advantage into the lives of millions more people."

To book Leo as a speaker at your next event or to secure his participation for an interview or podcast, please contact him at leobottary.com Next Step.

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Leo Bottary is a thought leader, speaker and educator on the topic of peer advantage. He recently coauthored a book on the subject with Leon Shapiro titled: The Power of Peers: How the Company You Keep Drives Leadership, Growth & Success. Leo also serves as an adjunct professor for Seton Hall University and, in 2015, was named adjunct teacher of the year for the College of Communication and the Arts.