Mastermind Groups Should Be in Your Success Toolbox!
Being a small business owner or entrepreneur can be lonely. It can be hard to stay motivated. It isn’t necessary to struggle this way. Add a coach, mentor and mastermind group to your success toolbox! I’ve already written about mentoring and coaching in articles and on my site. It’s time we discussed the power of mastermind groups!
A mastermind group is a small group of 6 or 8 of your similarly situated peers or colleagues who gather to do brainstorming, goal-setting and to hold each other accountable for action steps. They do not have to be local and in many cases, if they are in very similar businesses, avoids the problem of potentially brainstorming with competitors. Many mastermind groups meet by phone for an hour or 90 minutes monthly.
Mastermind group members should be working in a similar role (entrepreneurs, online marketers, freelance writers, etc.). This allows for an effective exchange of ideas and information that everyone can contribute to. They should also be of an equal experience level to prevent experienced members from feeling there is no value in the group and less experienced members from feeling lost or intimidated.
A critical requirement of the group members is that they keep their commitment to meeting times. The ongoing appointment should be on every one’s calendars and considered as important as a client meeting. To keep everyone accountable, many groups charge a meeting fee. Everything discussed should be considered confidential as well.
When joining a group, inquire about the facilitator. This person’s primary role is to ensure conversation continues, stays on track and everyone gets involved. The facilitator is not a teacher and should not be doing coaching. They can certainly offer opinions if asked, but that is not their primary purpose in the group. It helps to have someone who is trained in group dynamics and/or has facilitated before.
In the first few meetings, groups should explore what their individual value systems are. You cannot build a success plan if you don’t know what you value in life and what you need for your own personal happiness. For many people, more time trumps more money. Everyone has a different set of values and they should not be judged. Having members understand your values allows them to hold you accountable for setting goals that don’t conflict with those values.
Once everyone has defined and shared their values system with the group, you can move on to setting individual goals. You should not be a part of a mastermind group that thinks small. You have to be in a group of individuals who dream BIG. Set goals to achieve those big dreams, but make sure they are short-term with action steps. One of the purposes of the group is to challenge you when you are routinely not meeting goals to determine whether or not you are on a path you really want to be on.
One of the best parts of belonging to a mastermind group is that you have many minds versus one. Group members can generate ideas and contacts that one individual is unable to come up with on their own. They can also spot blind spots and resistance where you might not see it.
I encourage you to take advantage of this powerful tool in your business!
