Any tips for conducting a Mastermind Group (or really, ANY meeting)?

Discussions
#1

I’ve started a few mastermind groups. What I’ve learned so far is:

  1. Have an Agenda
  2. Have a dedicated moderator (we’re going to start rotating that position)
  3. Have a focus for each meeting, or group of meetings.
  4. Limit Checkins (for Accountablity) to every 2 months or so.
  5. Make sure everyone is heard and no one person dominates the conversation. (Not sure the best way to do that with video. I encourage folks to use the Chat, which would help introverts. So far doesn’t seem to be a problem (everyone chimes in at some point on nearly all discussions)

Any other thoughts?

#2

Hi Clay

Why do you think to limit accountability to every 2 months?

Also, if the group is already going for a while, I think it’s OK if there are some calls where there is a deeper dive into one person’s business, as long as it balances out in the long run.
Sometimes some people have bigger things to discuss and for someone else it’s just business as normal and nothing major right now.

Elisha

#3

Folks in my Mastermind said accountability every 2 weeks was wayy too often (not enough done).
I’m thinking something like once every month or two, so there’s something to report.

BTW, I think it’s VERY GOOD (beyond OK) to do a deep dive on one person’s business every few months.

My plan is to make each MM meeting a bit more focused (deeper). That can be b/c we are focusing on one person/member or one TOPIC.

#4

Practice and exposure to techniques.

Like everything being a good facilitator means you need to practice is again, and again and again - make mistakes and learn, continually assess yourself - and ask for feedback from others, even if this makes you feel uncomfortable.

Exposure, I have learnt so much when I have been part of workshops, and watched facilitators, how they do things, what there format is - techniques can be learnt, read books, watch workshop videos online, research industry specific techniques & styles.

#5

I like the process outlined on http://www.startupsfortherestofus.com/

I meet with 2 other founders once a month in person, we set 2 to 3 goals each month on trello, we also set annual goals, works for us, we also have a slack group.

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#6

We ran our own mastermind group for over two and a half years, and are just about to pull the plug now. I know a lot of people who are surprised it lasted this long.

We met in person, face to face every month, and hired a meeting room for the purpose.

We never had a moderator, but the format was that each person had a whole hour to bring whatever problem or issue they wanted to share. They also filled everyone in on their last month at the start.

It worked incredibly well because (a) we were so incredibly different from each other in terms of skills, personalities and businesses, (b) we had very clear ground rules (eg: no checking email or anything during someone else’s session), © we always had lunch together so got to know each other personally. Also (d) there were no egos involved, so no-one tried to run it. And I suppose (e) we were very lucky with the personalities involved.

We also had weekly accountability in a closed facebook group which helped.

To be honest it was always a pain in the arse to take a whole day off for it, but I always walked away enthused, charged-up with some seriously good ideas.

I’m going to miss it terribly! We have our final meeting next month - and then we’re all staying overnight at a hotel for a Christmas meal. It’ll be great - but also a little sad I think.

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