The Whole Is Greater Than The Sum Of The Parts

Guest Contributor: Kirsten Harrell
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You've heard the expression "two heads are better than one." Imagine how powerful it can be to have an entire group of people focusing on a question or problem you have. When you have a cohesive mastermind group with people who are truly invested in helping and supporting each other, the results are amazing. The whole truly is greater than the sum of the parts!

In recent mastermind meetings, I have experienced this power. It is great to be a part of something that feels so wonderful and meaningful. When someone presents an issue or problem, you can feel the energy build as the group begins to brainstorm and share ideas and suggestions. One idea builds on another, creating a fabulous array of possibilities and opportunities. I find the creative process helpful to me even when we are discussing someone else's issue.

It is during this brainstorming that the magic of masterminding develops. It is important to create a safe atmosphere in your mastermind group so that everyone feels good about participating in this process. When it is your turn to present a problem or question to the group, it is important to be open to all the ideas generated by your mastermind group. Keep an open mind and don't judge any ideas (at least not yet, you can filter through them later). Let everyone participate and recognize that all ideas are important and have value in the process.

When you are brainstorming to help another member, listen to your intuition and honor your inner wisdom by speaking your ideas - even if they seem silly. Try not to censor your ideas. You never know how your idea might spark another person or how your idea could be built upon to create a great solution. So be active and make suggestions - every voice in a mastermind group is important. Remember... the whole is greater than the sum of the parts!

Setting ground rules

Guest Contributor: Kirsten Harrell
Kirsten's Posts - Kirsten's Blog

It is important to set up ground rules when you start a Mastermind group. Having ground rules in place before the group starts is a good way to minimize or avoid trouble down the road. The Mastermind group (7 members) that I started has the following ground rules that we all agreed to before we began our first meeting.

Ground Rules
- Start meetings on time. In the interest of keeping our calls to 75- 90 minutes, we won't backtrack to fill in a member who is late. If someone knows they will be late, they will inform the group or group leader.

- End meetings on time. We are all very busy and time is precious. In order to keep the meetings to 75-90 minutes we will need to keep to a time schedule (10 minutes per person) so that we can end the meetings on time.

- Absences - Notify the group if you will miss a meeting.

- Time limits. Each group member will have 10 minutes at each meeting. We will need to have a timekeeper at each meeting to keep us on track. If someone needs more time at a particular meeting it is possible to ask for another person's time.

- Confidentiality. We will all agree to keep the details of each meeting confidential. If we choose to share our own experiences in the group we can; however, we are not allowed to share details about another member's experience.

- Order of participation. We will rotate alphabetically the order of participation to make sure we are clear about who's turn it is.

- Respect. Only one person talking at a time. We will respect the person talking by listening and not interrupting.

- Leaving the group. If a group member wants to quit the MM group he/she will let the group know ahead of time.

- Terminating membership. If the group feels that a member is not participating, the group can decide to terminate the person's membership.

- Adding members. Before adding any new members, the group must unanimously agree to do so.

Meeting format
Each person will have a turn to share and get feedback at every meeting. We will each have 10 minutes of mastermind time. During our ten minutes we will 1) update the group on our wins/progress, 2) ask for assistance/answers/support, and 3) announce our new goals. We will stick to 10 minutes per person.

These ground rules are just one example ground rules for a Mastermind group. You may want to use something similar or create your own from scratch. The important thing is that everyone in the group agrees to the ground rules. If you started your group without ground rules, it's not too late... you can create the ground rules and implement them now.

Starting A Mastermind Group

Guest Contributor: Kirsten Harrell
Kirsten's Posts - Kirsten's Blog

If you are not currently in a Mastermind group, I suggest you take the initiative to start one. A Master Mind group is a powerful way for people to support each other as they get clear about their goals and define what they need to do to accomplish them. The idea is that there is a powerful synergistic affect when 2 or more people come together in a harmonious alliance to assist each other.

I recommend 5-8 people to start a Mastermind group. If a group is larger than this it can become difficult to manage time and still give each person a chance to share and ask for input at each meeting. A smaller group can run into problems and lose energy when one or two people can't make a meeting.

One of the important points to consider when you are forming a Mastermind group is to make sure that you get a group of positive people who are goal-oriented and motivated. Negative people or people who are always saying "yes, but..." will tend to stifle the energy of a Mastermind group and can result in a less harmonious and productive group.

You might want to start by asking people you already know and trust to join your group. Then ask new members if they know anyone who would be a good fit. If you are starting from scratch, I recommend that you screen potential new members over the phone or in person to make sure they fit with the overall spirit of your Mastermind group. It is much better to discover a mismatch before accepting the person than to discover this once the group is rolling.

I started a Mastermind group by posting an invitation to join on my blog. I wasn't sure if I would get any responses, so I was delighted when I ended up with 6 wonderful bloggers (Chris Cree, Phil Gerbyshak, Kammie Kobyleski, Tony D. Clark, Thom Quinn, and Troy Worman) who were willing to join. All 6 write blogs that I subscribe to and read regularly so I had a good sense that we would all fit well together.

Our group decided to meet monthly via a teleconference call. The calls will be recorded so that each member can replay the meeting anytime they want. We will support each other between calls through email and a private online forum I set up in www.gather.com.