For Professionals Returning to Work, There’s Power in the Cohort.
I am a huge fan of the use of cohorts in professional development programs. This love of cohorts dates back to my own first job out of college when I was in a “training class” of 14 people. Later, I was in a specialized Masters Program at Columbia in a cohort of 19.
Cohorts provide the opportunity for camaraderie, support, and shared learning, all in a cost-effective manner for the organizational sponsor. I have designed programming for, and delivered coaching to, many types of cohorts: women returning to their jobs at JP Morgan after maternity leave, groups of entrepreneurs, and professionals re-entering the workforce at Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. In all cases, members of these cohorts found the group to be a huge factor in their individual success. In this article, HBR looks more closely at the use of cohorts for re-entering professionals.
[PDF] For Professionals Returning to Work, There’s Power in the Cohort – Harvard Business Review [Link] to article on the Harvard Business Review