Mastermind Groups

Zina has asked me via Twitter:

Would you have any suggestion on how to improve upon enhancing our MMG’s consistancy in being present and accountable?

Thanks Zina for the question! I’ve already sent an answer via Twitter in many installments, but the limited number of characters makes it difficult to get into any depth. Therefore here’s the answer again in a bit more detail.

First of all, an MMG can only be as good as its members. It the members are unreliable and not accountable in other areas of their life, it’s highly like that this spills into the Mastermind Group. “How you do anything is how you do everything” (old Zen wisdom).

But we assume here that the members have an average or above accountability level. If that doesn’t show within the MMG context, there might be a couple of reasons:

• The Mastermind Groups is not important enough for a member, s/he doesn’t see its potential or doesn’t know how to use it.
• The member is too busy or distracted, and he/she has a challenge simply meeting the time requirements.
• The member does not value the chance to progress in life and lacks a general commitment to improve.

If the latter is the case, a Mastermind Groups is probably not the right vehicle for the member at this time, and he or she should consider leaving the group for the group’s sake.

If one of the first two reasons is the case, there are ways to enhance the impact of the MMG on its members and to make it more valuable for them. This can help them to put the MMG higher on their prioritiy list, and then accountability and consistancy will likely improve fast as well.

Here are some suggestions for adding structure and ‘punch’ to your Mastermind Group:

• Have some ground rules regarding the participation that everybody has to agree with. How much no-show is acceptable? What happens if a member fails to show up? It’s my personal observation that the lack of commitment of one members only can hurt the whole group and its spirit. Therefore, for the sake of the other members, there must be consequences if the lack of participation exceeds the limit agreed upon.
• It must be clear that a Mastermind Group is not like a TV show that you switch on when you are in the mood or have some idle time. It’s a means to seriously improve your quality of life and that of all its members, and it should be regarded and valued as such. If the group as a whole doesn’t have that understanding, maybe you should consider looking for a different MMG.
• Members will look forward to meet with their MMG if they have left the previous sessions with a win. Such a win can be of many natures. Some members feel a win when they are appreciated and simply listened to. Some just want to help others. Some need a tangible idea or motiviation to take away to feel they got a win. What do the members of your Mastermind Group appreciate? How can you make sure everybody walks away with a win?
• Regarding the accountability, my MMGs use so-called ‘accountability sheets’. Such a sheet is an email or a post in some forum that features the following info:
  • What are the goals/topics of the member?
  • What has happened since the last call/meeting? Achievements, wins, something to celebrate?
  • What hasn’t worked out and why?
  • What did the member learn and take away?
  • What is on the plate for the time until the next call/meeting?
• An accountability sheet has two main functions: The member who writes a sheet really gets in the right state for the call/meeting. He or she will come in collected and prepared. Often, when I write my sheets, I get for the first time really clear about what has all happened and where I stand. Without such a preparation, my participation in the calls/meetings would be rather haphazard.    
• Second function: Only when the other members are constantly reminded of the goals and state of affairs of all other members can they keep their peers accountable. It’s in the human nature that we tend to more or less forget where our group peers are heading to, and where they currently are. We’re all busy and deal with lots of info, so keeping the goals and actions of the other members visually in front of everybody else in the group is vital for the group to fulfill its accountability function.
• When the MMG call/meeting draws to an end, add a round for saying thank you and figuring out the wins of the session. If the group is somewhat vibrant, there will always be at last one win for each member. In clarifying the wins and making them conscious and in speaking about them, the chance increases that the members want to come back to the group next time to collect even more wins.

I hope this suggestions are somewhat helpful to your MMG experience. Any wins?

Comments are of course welcome.

Frank

Posted by Frank on March 25th, 2009 at 6:09 am
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