How To Prevent Your Mastermind Group From Failing

I've had a number of people contact me from Mastermind Groups that are failing and what they can do about it. Most of the time it's because they have the wrong members in the group and conflicts arise.

This morning I came across a blog entry by Melanie Benson Strick where she discusses some of the common pitfalls of Mastermind Groups and how you can avoid them. I found it very useful and thought I would share some of the key points:

Most Common Mastermind Challenges

• The group gets comfortable and doesn't motivate each other for greater results.
  
  
• Someone in the group feels like the unwilling mentor and leader and spends more energy 'pulling the group up.'
  
  
• A member starts showing up late, missing calls or is routinely disinterested.
  
  
• The mastermind becomes a social club and loses sight of the original charter or focus.
  
  
• It's not challenging you in a good way and everyone in the group is grating your nerves and you hate going to the meetings.
  
  

How To Ensure A Successful Group

• Elect 'roles' that each member of the team will hold. For instance, time keeper, note taker, meeting scheduler, mediator, etc.
  
  
• Have written guidelines and agreements for how your program will be run. Include things like confidentiality, timeliness, regular meeting schedules, etc.
  
  
• Bring in an outside facilitator or join a third-party program. A few years ago, my group joined a three month intensive program. Boy, were we on fire!
  
  
• Identify written goals and check in with each other regularly. I suggest at least once a month.
  
  
• Uplevel the game - create unique challenges to each other to achieve more. Create some stakes that everyone can have fun with. This works well when someone needs to handle an issue or energy drain - like clutter.

Do you have any other suggestions for creating a successful Mastermind Group