Is it a true mastermind group if people don’t get to be in the Hot Seat at every meeting?

The key indicator of a “true mastermind group” is that each person regularly gets to be in the Hot Seat and the entire group brainstorms with that person. That means you need to schedule each member to be in the Hot Seat in every meeting (or every other meeting).

Some facilitators want to scale their mastermind group business and cut corners by making members wait months to get in the Hot Seat.

Or they call it a mastermind group, but conduct it more like a question-and-answer session where the mentor provides all the answers.

Here are some tips and solutions to help you deliver the highest value to your mastermind group members.

The strongest value a member gets out of a mastermind group is the chance to be in the Hot Seat

When the member gets to pose their problem or question, it forces them to gain clarity about what specific help they’re asking for. Then, having a small group of people brainstorm around that problem/question brings tons of creativity to the process, yielding innovative solutions and insights. The member in the Hot Seat walks away with many more ideas and solutions than he could generate on his own. That is why people join mastermind groups.

Imagine that you have one meeting a month, but your group is so large that only one-third can be in the Hot Seat each month. That means each member gets a turn every three months. I can’t see how they’d find enough value to pay for a group where they’re only getting in the Hot Seat every three months. (In this case, consider running your group every 2 weeks so that members of a large group can get in the Hot Seat more often during the month.)

Want to learn how to start a mastermind group? Click here to get my free video tutorial on how to create a mastermind group of your own. No signup required.

Is listening enough?

It’s true: there is a ton of value members get from listening to all the ideas and solutions generated for others. I often watch a table full of members furiously taking notes during someone else’s Hot Seat. Remember, the members of a mastermind group are peers and often have similar situations. One member’s Hot Seat can be helpful to the entire group.

But…listening to someone else’s Hot Seat is like standing under an apple tree and hoping an apple will fall just when you want one. The topic one member wants to discuss might not be important to you. Being in the Hot Seat is like climbing a ladder and plucking an apple — just the right apple — when it’s the perfect time to eat an apple.

What about shorter Hot Seats?

One solution is to reduce the time for each Hot Seat. I’ve seen people get much value from a 10-minute Hot Seats. The trick is for members to be concise — the person in the Hot Seat can only take one or two minutes to describe his situation. Otherwise, too much time is taken explaining the challenge or need, and not enough time is spent brainstorming ideas and solutions.

Super-short Hot Seats are problematic for several reasons:

• The person in the Hot Seat cannot fully explain his situation. This leads to misunderstandings about the help he’s seeking.
• The other members can share the main concept of their idea or solution, but they can’t get to the details. It’s frustrating for everyone to get a taste but not the full meal!
• People aren’t always skilled at delivering concise ideas. Unless you prep the group well, members are going to think on their feet, which means they need time to talk through their ideas. (And you always have the dreaded problem of people who talk too much.)
• There’s no room for discussion, for broadening ideas or deep-diving into topics.
• Some members might not be able to participate because you run out of time. One of the values of membership is that you get to help the other members.

Because of these drawbacks, I find these short Hot Seats do more harm than good and should be used sparingly or in another setting, like a Jam Session.

The challenge of scalability

Some of my clients want to scale their mastermind group business and have large groups. But if you have 20 or 40 people in a group, it brings up logistic problems and can limit true masterminding and brainstorming discussions.

In some groups, especially very large ones, it’s more like a group coaching program than a mastermind group: one person is in the Hot Seat, the mentor does laser coaching with that person, and all the other people sit silently and observe. In a true mastermind group, everyone gets involved in the conversation. That’s the power of peer brainstorming!

It’s not masterminding if there’s no peer brainstorming in every meeting. Otherwise, it’s really group coaching or a Q+A session, that’s being called a mastermind group.

Overall, my best advice is to design your mastermind group so that members get to rotate through the Hot Seat as often as possible. It might mean you need to re-think your group design or the way you facilitate meetings!

Want to learn how to start a mastermind group? Click here to get my free video tutorial on how to create a mastermind group of your own. No signup required.