Mastermind Groups: A Perfect Solution to Today’s Uncertainty
Photo by Hannah Busing
Years ago, I was invited to join a women’s mastermind group. It took place each week and followed a well-defined format that included a brief guided meditation, check-in, a designated amount of time for each member to share successes, challenges and receive input and support, and finally, intention-setting for the coming week. I found it inspiring, empowering and extremely helpful because it held me accountable and offered me genuine support and solutions.
Mastermind groups have grown extremely popular since the idea was introduced in 1937 (yes, it was that long ago) by best-selling author and prosperity guru, Napolean Hill. Hill observed the practices of highly successful people and recognized that not one of them got there alone, but in fact, had a team of people with diverse talents, skills and backgrounds working with them. It became clear to Hill that something greater was at work. He wrote, “No two minds ever come together without, thereby, creating a third, invisible, intangible force which may be likened to a third mind.”
I’ve been running groups for over thirty years, and I’ve had first-hand experience of the power of many minds joined in a common purpose. The shared wisdom of the group goes beyond the mere knowledge of each of its members. Instead, the greater collective is tapped and a fountain of new insights and ideas pours forth upon the group. The individual members are no longer limited by their personality or circumstances. This not only accelerates each member’s progress, but it literally makes room for the extraordinary to happen. Part of this is due to the simple awareness that others care about our progress.
My sense is that humans are naturally tribal, and we’ve lost touch with that in our modernized, technological world. We can check ourselves out at the store, drive through a machine-operated toll booth, check into the airport via machine, get out movies tickets via machine, pump our own gas and pay for it at the pump, get directions from a GPS, communicate with friends, family and co-workers via phone, texting or video chatting. We can literally go through large portions of our days without contact with another human being.
Now, with the pandemic and quarantine, our isolation has become even greater, which is why I believe it’s the perfect time for mastermind groups, especially for business owners who are not sure how to move forward as we reopen. The more I speak with other business owners and reflect on my own business goals, I realize how many of us feel paralyzed because there is still so much uncertainty. Many of the olds ways of doing things simply aren’t available or won’t work in the post-pandemic world.
It doesn’t make sense to try and forge ahead alone. Now, more than ever, we need the brain power and imagination of a group to navigate the unpredictable waters that lay ahead. We need people we can trust to help us make sound decisions. We need encouragement to take brave and bolder steps than we have in the past.
In addition, tapping into the collective wisdom of a group of people makes problem solving and troubleshooting so much easier. The problem moves rapid-fire through the minds of each person, and as each presents ideas, more ideas are born from each of those ideas and continue to multiply until a suitable solution is found.
With a group of people, the possibilities are infinite.
If you’d like to put together your own group, here are some tips to help you get started:
Invite business owners in your network to join (ideal size is 6 people)
Choose a day and time
Decide if you’ll meet weekly or every other week
Require each member to commit to attend meetings
Rotate the role of facilitator for each meeting
Nominate a timekeeper for each meeting
Determine the format of the group (brief check-in, timed individual sharing w/feedback from members, individual intentions (action steps by next meeting), etc.)
Celebrate wins and successes as they happen