Because we share similar types of students, faculty, size and mission, we implicitly realized that we were all aiming for the same outcomes for our students, which we did not then need to elaborate on. We have since shared materials with one another in the hopes of strengthening our own programs and each other's.
Along the same lines, I am able to receive encouragement, support, and constructive criticism on the papers I present. There are too many horror stories of young professors and even graduate students who have been flayed by the questioning at national conferences.