By Karyn Greenstreet
Many of mastermind group facilitators try to fill a 10-person group, often ending up in hot water (or not being able to begin the group because they can’t find the 10 people).
Here’s a tip: Start with a core group of three or four people. Get your guidelines in place and have a few meetings. This will help to solidify the group and work out any kinks.
Next, take a vote on whether it’s time to add more people. If yes, how many? Don’t add too many all at once. I’d rather see you add only one or two new people at a time. This will help them to assimilate into the group and for the group to become cohesive. As the Facilitator, you want to help people to fit in and feel welcome, and not allow cliques to form among the “old members” versus the “new members.” It’s all about inclusiveness.
There are many things to consider when you add new members to an existing group. Personality traits and individual goals either help a group to be more cohesive, or can break apart a group. Consider creating an outline of what type of people you’re looking to add to your group, then interviewing people based on that checklist.
Keep repeating the addition of new members until everyone agrees the group is full. If someone drops out of the group, take a vote to see if the group should replace that person or simply stay the smaller size. As the group Facilitator, one of your jobs it to create rapport and trust among the group members, both the existing members and any new members that are added to the group. Voting on group size and who to include will make all the difference in the world.
Need help with how to select members for you group? Read my blog post How to Choose the Best Mastermind Group Members for ideas.
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I thought I wanted ten in my first group but I started with five. I have only added one more spot in almost three years. That number is perfect for me.
That’s a good idea, Carolyn: start small and keep adding until it feels perfect for you. I had a group once that started with eight people. Over the course of the first year, three dropped out. We all voted NOT to replace them with new members, and the five of us had a great mastermind group…perfect for us! 🙂
Great point, starting with a core group and then adding more! With my new book coming out, Running in High Heels I was planning to launch a women’s ceo’s mastermind, and a leadership group as well after having taken your excellent Mastermind class. I have been hesitating thinking I needed to do many talks and marketing events to fill the mastermind but you are right, I can start as a core group and vote people in and make that part of the guidelines, thank you for this!
Congratulations on your book, Debora! I think starting with small mastermind groups will give you space to tweak and play with them before opening them up to a larger audience. You may find, as people read your book, they’re inspired to find out more about you and your mastermind groups. Natural attraction in action!