Running a mastermind group can be very rewarding but there are a few simple things that can help ensure everyone gets the most out of each meeting. Here are four of the most important things to consider:
- Meeting agenda/structure
- Note taking
- Moderator
- Mid-week updates / check-ins
Meeting agenda/structure
You can define any agenda you like for your group, but if you don’t have one – here’s a good structure to start with:
- Progress report / achievements (10 minutes)
- Hot seat(s) (40 minutes)
- Next steps / key take-aways (10 minutes)
- Warp-up
Let’s look into each one of those in a bit more detail.
Progress report / achievements
Use the round-robin method where each participant takes turns sharing their progress or achievements since last meeting. This is also a good time to keep everyone accountable to their goals set during the previous meeting. Make sure everyone have a time to speak. Questions to ask: – what have you achieved in the last week? – what are your major wins since our last meeting? – what blocks you from reaching the goals you have set for yourself for the week?
If it’s the first group meeting it’s a good idea to briefly introduce yourself to the group and describe your objectives and current challenges.
Hot seat
A hot seat is when one of participants shares a current challenge they are having with achieving their goals and the whole group asks questions, shares their experience, brainstorms solutions to help with this challenge and give honest feedback. If there’s no specific challenge you need help with – share your plans and receive feedback. Thus this block consists of two parts: Problem statement and Discussing solutions.
Problem statement:
If it’s your turn to be in the hot seat you should prepare for the meeting beforehand to make most out of your time with the group. Ask yourself following questions at least 1 day before the meeting: – what is the biggest challenge I face now that is preventing me (or slowing me down) from reaching my goal? – what I have tried already? – what was the outcome? – if there would be only one thing I can take from this meeting – what would it be? The more specific you are with the answers the better.
The essence of this part of the meeting is for rest of the group to understand your challenge in detail so everyone is on the same page and can contribute useful ideas and feedback.
Discussing solutions:
After the challenge is presented the rest of the group will proceed with providing their feedback, sharing their own experience, suggest solutions and share useful resources. Be polite but be honest. Prompting questions: – have you had an experience of successfully overcoming a similar challenge? – have you been in a similar situation? – what have you done? – what was the outcome? – can you think of any resources that can help person in the hot seat? – where else might they discover resources?
As a person in a hot seat you should listen carefully and take a notes. If the meeting is held on-line you might want to record the meeting, but first obtain permission from all the other participants.
Next steps / Action items
The last step is to agree on everyone’s commitments. Again, go round-robin, where each participant defines what actions he or she must take before next meeting, that will move them closer to their goal. Questions to ask during this round: – what is the smallest step you can take next week which will move you in the right direction? – what else can you achieve? – what actions you are committed to take next week? – what are your key take-aways from this meeting? – what have you learned today?
Make sure document the action items so everyone can see each other’s targets for next week.
Wrap-up
The final thing to do before everyone leaves is to confirm who will be in the hot seat during next meeting to make sure they come prepared.
Note taking
Taking notes during meeting or making recording (if everyone agrees) allows you to document the ideas and resources shared during the meeting and will increase accountability. You’ll want to capture at least three things:
- Your next steps
- New ideas / perspectives
- Resources shared
Moderator
In meetings with more than two participants it can be helpful to assign one person as the moderator or facilitator. This could be a person who was in the hot seat last week. If you hold this role during the meeting, here’s a short guide for you to keep everything on track. As a meeting moderator you need to:
- Help the group to follow the agenda and control timing
- Make sure all conversations are kept on topic
- Make sure everyone has a chance to speak
- Prompt those group members who are quiet
- Make sure the next steps stated by participants are actionable
- Remind everyone to put their next steps on the group worksheet
Remember, these meetings are not meant for general chit-chat or socializing – it’s a formal and structured event focused on specific goals.
Mid-week updates / check-ins
It might be helpful for the group to have a place to ask a quick question or get feedback between the meetings. You can use things like Facebook groups, WhatsApp, Telegram or even email or text.
What’s next?
The suggestions above should give you a good understanding of how your Mastermind meetings should be run. The group should agree on the structure or agenda to use during the first meeting. Remember, these is are just guidelines and can make adjustment baed on the group dynamics as needed.
