Last week, I discussed how staying in your comfort zone for an extended period of time is a sure-fire way to stagnate, both personally and professionally. I identified speaking engagements as a perfect vehicle for branching out because it boosts personal confidence and establishes you (within the business community) as a person of expertise in your chosen field.
To keep the momentum going, you will likely need support–a way to challenge your thinking and infuse you with fresh new ideas! Nothing achieves this better than creating your own mastermind group! (Booster #2).
Someone once told me, “If you are the smartest person in the room, and your intention is to continue growing, you’d better find a different room–and fast!” When I first began speaking, I focused solely on developing my depth of knowledge and on building self-confidence and credibility– but almost to a fault. I was so busy becoming “an expert,” I lost sight of why I wanted to take up speaking in the first place–to continue to learn, stretch and grow.
To make things worse, I was totally lacking wisdom, overly-confident with my newly-acquired expertise and experience, and making all kinds of bonehead decisions as a result. There’s a name for this “syndrome.” It’s called: confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is the tendency to look for, deduce and prioritize your actions based only on whatever you’ve previously done that resulted in success or avoiding failure. Basically, you’ve convinced yourself you already know the best way to proceed in a given situation, so much so that you don’t even consider another approach. It’s the case of a full-blown blind spot, and it won’t even dawn on you that an optional approach even exists or that you’re in need of an outside perspective.
Here are four major benefits to be gained, personally and professionally, when working with a mastermind group:
Perspective
When you feel strongly about a particular course of action, if left to your own devices, there’s a potentially-hazardous likelihood you’ll become emotionally attached to your plans and proceed without caution. I made a hasty decision like that in the 90’s, and it cost me my job. If I’d had the opportunity to run that very same idea by a group of people and receive unbiased feedback and guidance, I might have come up with some creative solutions to the challenges I was facing. A mastermind group might have set me on a whole other course of action and saved me untold amounts of headache that haunted me for years.
Whether you’re brainstorming marketing ideas, making a critical business decision to expand into a new territory or just have some wild idea you feel passionate about; nothing can help you think it through from a variety of angles like a solid mastermind group.
Community
The one complaint I hear most often from my entrepreneurial clients is, “I wish I had someone to talk to who understands what I’m going through.” We’ve all heard the saying “It’s lonely at the top” and some of us have lived that phrase! If you create (or find) a mastermind group comprised of people who have walked, or are currently walking a similar path, they know EXACTLY what you’re going through. A professional peer-driven community can support you emotionally and help you move forward–especially when you’re feeling isolated and bogged down.
Accountability
I personally struggle with this one. I get paid to brainstorm with clients, to help them come up with action plans and to hold them accountable in terms of executing those plans. But who’s going to hold ME accountable for all the things I say I’m going to do? Of course, I have a business partner who constantly pushes me out of my comfort zone and holds me accountable for following through on my stated intentions. However, even with the Force of Will (Turner) behind me, I felt like I needed to expand my perspectives further, and when I created a mastermind group, my gains multiplied exponentially.
So here’s something to consider: In what ways would you proceed differently in your career if you had ongoing consultations with a handful of trusted business professionals who were guiding you, advising you and holding you accountable?
Networking opportunities
As soon as we hear the word networking, most of us have images of business cards flying back and forth at an open house mixer. A mastermind group can take the effectiveness of professional networking to a whole new level for you!
Think of a couple people in your life who are your biggest fans, who are very familiar with the many aspects of your particular business and would be doggedly dedicated to finding ways to help you. Now imagine if you had a core group of 3 to 5 of these kinds of friends and how effective they’d be if asked to help find a good bookkeeper for you, a new employee, a venue in an unfamiliar city or perhaps a reputable vender. What would those same people say about you in various networking situations when you weren’t even in the room? Your mastermind group can serve as a walking endorsement billboard for you, expanding your outreach and giving you 2 thumbs up in any number of circumstances. Who wouldn’t benefit from that kind of support?
There’s no question that a mastermind group is highly effective when it comes to holding your feet to the fire, pushing your creativity, and helping you make better decisions. However, when I suggest creating a mastermind to my clients, I always hear the same two questions: “How do I find the right one?” and “How can I do it without spending an arm and a leg?”
Finding the right mastermind group can take time, and there are some great networking groups available, offering mastermind sessions as part of their services; there are also standalone mastermind groups that can be a good option as well. Whether you choose to create your own group, or locate an already existing group, here are a few guidelines to consider:
– What is the primary purpose of the group? (e.g. to grow your business, expand your expertise, brainstorm, hold you accountable for goals and milestones or all of the above?)
– How many people would you like to have in your group? (I recommend no larger than 5.)
– Would you benefit best from people who are new to their professions, or seasoned veterans, or a combination?
– Would you like your group comprised of people from industries other than your own, similar industries, or exactly the same industries? Explore the advantages and disadvantages of each.
– Describe some personality traits you’d want to see in the individual group members?
– Where are you and they in terms of the company’s lifecycle? (new, ramp-up, mature, looking to sell)
– Does it make sense to meet them in person, online, on the phone or all of the above?
– How frequently do you want to meet with them? Quarterly? Monthly? Weekly?
– How long would you like your sessions to last? 90 minutes? 3 hours?
Napoleon Hill, the father of modern success principals summed it up best when he declared: You are the sum total of the five people with whom you spend the most time.
Imagine being part of a small private club comprised of a select group of sophisticated, business-savvy people– each dedicated to growing, challenging, and supporting each other?
What impact would this mastermind group have on creating a better and bolder YOU?
