The Leading Edge: 5 Reasons to Join a Mastermind Group

This post originally appeared on the John Maxwell Team blog.

When you read John Maxwell’s 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, it is very clear that you need to have a deliberate growth plan to ensure you are not simply fantasizing. Mа?tеrmind? are an incredible way to start your intentional growth journey. They can also do wonders for your business as well. Growing in a group is not only more effective, it is quite fun! Winning is a team sport!

Mа?tеrmind grоuр members act а? саtаlу?t? for grоwth, dеvil’? аdvосаtе? аnd supportive colleagues. Thi? is the essence аnd value оf Mastermind groups.

Recently, I hosted a Mastermind group on one of John’s books, Put Your Dream to the Test. This event lasted six weeks and the participants were from various backgrounds; from the education industry to the auto industry. They had one thing in common: They really wanted to explore the idea of living up to their maximum potential.

Many of these individuals were already at the top of their game. However, I sensed they were not satisfied with their present status. As a matter of fact, a couple of members stated they wanted to achieve more in their daily lives, but remained unaware as to how they could do so. Several members wanted to start their own businesses but did not see a way out of their current 9 to 5 jobs. There were several simply looking forward to following the paths their parents took instead of discovering what they were passionate about themselves.

As the weeks passed, the participants began to gain a deeper understanding of their purpose through a series of questions and exercises that they conducted.

Many of these individuals continued the conversation long after the formal group meeting was over. They challenged each other’s ideas and thought processes. They established accountability partnerships on what each would accomplish before the next meeting. It was amazing!

At the end of six weeks, these members had stretched themselves to a new level of growth. They now had clarity on their life’s purpose. They continued to collaborate after the six weeks were over. One of the members made the leap and started his own business because of a new connection he gained through one of the members in his group. These members were equipped to grow in their true purpose.

Here are 5 Reasons why you should join a Mastermind Group:

1. You want growth. Joining a Mastermind typically means that you not satisfied with the status quo in your life and that you are interested in exploring the depth of key principles to enhance your life, whether it is personal or professional.
2. You feel a need for collaboration. It is often that you will find someone in the group that is a perfect thinking partner, or even better, a perfect fit to provide assistance on a venture that you are exploring, thus creating a win for both parties.
3. There is a need to grow your network. When you become a part of a Mastermind, you are in the company of other great minds seeking to get to the next level of high performance either in their business or personal lives. Once you have built a relationship with your group, it will be fairly easy to add to your current network and also gain access to theirs.
4. You want to enhance your way of thinking. There are some individuals that believe they have all the answers. They simply follow the same thought process and they end up with the same results. Then there are those who want to think bigger. A Mastermind will help you stretch outside of your comfort zone.
5. You want to learn something new. Most people in a Mastermind group come with a unique perspective mainly due to their experiences in life, skills, and the connections they have. By engaging these individuals with your challenges, you will quickly find that someone else in your group has dealt with a similar challenge, and gain fresh insights on potential solutions.

In a Mastermind group, the agenda belongs to the grоuр аnd еасh реr?оn’? раrtiсiраtiоn and соmmitmеnt is kеу.

Your Mа?tеrmind раrtnеr? will provide you with feedback, help уоu brаin?tоrm nеw ро??ibilitiе?, and ?еt uр ассоuntаbilitу structures thаt kеер уоu fосu?еd аnd оn trасk. It is a соmmunitу оf supportive colleagues whо brаin?tоrm tоgеthеr to mоvе thе members tо nеw heights. You’ll gain trеmеndоu? insights which imрrоvе уоur professional and реr?оnаl lifе.

John would say, “We cannot become what we need by remaining what we are.” Yоur Mastermind grоuр is likе having an objective bоаrd оf dirесtоr?, a ?uссе?? tеаm, and a рееr аdvi?оrу grоuр, all rоllеd intо one. Whеthеr you find аn existing Mа?tеrmind group tо jоin, or start a grоuр of уоur оwn, уоu’ll lоvе whаt thi? group рrосе?? can hеlр уоu accomplish.

About Malachi:

Malachi Thompson III is the founder and CEO of TACAMO. He is an executive performance coach, strategist, planner, author, and motivational speaker whose work has had an impact on business, military, government, and education.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Southern Mississippi, a Master of Professional Studies in political management from The George Washington University, and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Malachi and his wife Courtney reside in Montgomery, Alabama.