Today, I want to talk about leveraging the power of groups for self-improvement. Specifically, the role of accountability partners in helping us be successful. I'm very interested in MasterMind groups.
How to Make MasterMind Groups Work for You
A MasterMind group is a group of like-minded individuals who join together for the purpose of growth: business, personal, and/or professional. While the concept of a mastermind group is an old one — Ben Franklin belonged to a club for mutual improvement and Henry Ford and Thomas Edison established a supportive partnership — the term was coined in 1937 by Napoleon Hill in his book, "Think and Grow Rich."
Part of a mastermind group is setting up rules and procedures that work for the individuals within the group. The groups generally work by meeting regularly and discussing goals, problems, and solutions. Typically, groups met face-to-face but with today's busy world and the ease of online communication, many meet over the phone or via video conferencing software.
There are numerous valuable benefits to joining a mastermind group:
- They provide the opportunity to be heard by safe and non-judgmental associates.
- You are provided with helpful feedback before you take a course of action.
- You are motivated by accountability when you establish goals with a group.
- You are offered solutions to problems from objective and positive people who want you to succeed.
- You are offered the opportunity to develop long lasting and meaningful relationships with like-minded individuals.
The above is only possible if you are able to build a group of passionate, supportive, like-minded individuals. So how do you ensure that your mastermind group members are the right ones for you? Often, you meet individuals in networking groups our other associations. If you feel a positive chemistry with these people, ask them about joining a mastermind group with you. Remember a group can be as small as two people. Ask potential members if they have a personal or business mission statement and see if it matches your own goals.
Many groups find it helpful to have a meeting facilitator. This can be the same person each time, it can be outsourced, or members can rotate the responsibility. In each meeting, it is important that all members have the opportunity to share. It is also valuable if a set topic is established prior to the meeting that members bring information to share with the group relating to the topic, articles, and books, etc.
For example, if the meeting's topic is goal setting for your resume writing business, then everyone would bring their own goals as well as materials that they found that offered information and solutions to the topic.
Make sure that all members are committed to meeting on a regular basis; if members often miss meetings, then it weakens the group as a whole. Make sure that members have a strong desire to meet or exceed their goals. Members also need to have a desire to share their experiences and support all members of the group.
Members need to have a commitment to themselves to move forward in their business and personal life. All members, including you, need to be open to the thoughts, comments, and honest feedback of fellow members. You need to let go of the fear of change and diversity. The strength of the group lies both in their similarities and their differences. Each person brings their own experiences and background to learn from.
Questions to ask if you are considering starting or joining a mastermind group:
- Do you wonder if you're making the right decisions?
- Do you want to grow your business or your career but you aren't sure how?
- Do you have business problems that are too big to solve alone?
- Do you wonder how other business professionals operate?
- Do you feel alone in your business and desire a sounding board?
If you answered yes to any of the above answers, then a MasterMind group may be exactly what you need. I am working on putting together a MasterMind group for Bronze members on BeAResumeWriter.com. If you are interested in learning more, contact me.
