confidentiality, willingness to both give and receive advice and ideas, and support each other with total honesty, respect and compassion. Mastermind group members act as catalysts for growth, devil’s advocates and supportive colleagues; this is the essence and value of mastermind groups. What a Mastermind Group is NOT:
• It's not a class. While your group can vote to bring in guest speakers and teachers occasionally, the main focus of a mastermind group is the brainstorming and accountability support among the group members.
• It's not group coaching. Mastermind groups are about the MEMBERS sharing with each other, not about the Facilitator coaching individuals in a group setting. You get everyone's feedback, advice and support, if the facilitator is an expert on the topic, by all means chime in, but keep the conversation balanced between all members.
• It's not a networking group. While you may share leads and resources with each other, it is not the main focus of the meetings. However, through your connections with other members, you will find plenty of joint venture opportunities, lead sharing, and professional networking. What About These Mega Mastermind Groups? You'll see lots of people running group mentoring programs and calling them "mastermind groups." But are they really? Here's a three-part test:
1. Do they have individual Hot Seats for each member, where you get to talk about your challenges and your plans? Are your Hot Seats scheduled regularly, or do you have to wait a long time to bring your situation to the table, which defeats the whole purpose?
2. Does everyone in the group get to brainstorm together (sharing knowledge, insights and best practices), or is the focus on the mentor being the person with all the answers?
3. Is there a function for individual accountability reporting? (Is there someone on the staff who is holding your feet to the fire weekly?)
I have seen huge mega masterming groups (200-500 members) that are true mastermind groups. They're designed so that individuals can get personal attention and the brainstorming, problem-solving, and accountability power of the group. But it takes a lot of smart logistics (not to mention quite a few Facilitators to run the Hot Seats), so not every large group program can call itself a true mastermind group.
08/05/2017
