Mastermind Group Members - How to Find, Choose and Invite Them to Join Your Group

Once you know the purpose and type of mastermind group you wish to create, it's time to find, choose and invite prospective members. What kind of qualities are you looking for? Start with yourself. Take a good look at what you are bringing to the table, not only in experience and skills, but also values. A well-bonded mastermind group will often stay together for years while growing and evolving.

The following is a list of qualities and traits to refer to as a guideline when deciding who you want to invite into your own group. Use it as a starting point and add your own desired traits.


Creative
Open
Positive
Intuitive
Supportive
Committed
Confident
Generous
Good listener
High integrity
Achievement oriented
Willing to give and receive
Where do you find this wonderful people?

Everywhere. If the purpose for forming your mastermind group is for personal reasons such as pursuing a hobby, weight loss, self-improvement book group or creativity group, start with your friends and neighbors. Even a family member may be a good choice. If you can think of only one person who is a good candidate, start there and put your heads together to find more members.

Draw from people in your work, school, church, fitness club or exercise class, chamber of commerce, Rotary club, and other organizations you belong to. Consider people you see regularly and are friendly with in stores you frequent or other places you go, such as a dog park, farmers' markets or at concerts. If you regularly run into some of the same people, it could be a sign you have similar interests.

Run a classified ad seeking mastermind members in a weekly lifestyle or entertainment paper, local newspaper, area business journal, an organization's newsletter, or online at CraigsList.org or Meetup.com.

If you are open to a long-distance group, members can be located anywhere in the world as long as you can coordinate the meeting time to suit everyone.

Do an Internet search in your area of interest or type of group you have in mind. Check the Yahoo groups.

Ask, ask, ask everybody: " Who do you know that...?"

You want to choose carefully and find the right fit, but don't get stuck over-thinking this process. Often the best members for your group are closer than you think.

How do you screen and invite prospective members?

Now that you have some good prospective members in mind and are convinced the person would be right for your group, contact them by phone, in person, or even by email if far away. Explain the purpose of forming the mastermind, why you think they would be a great addition to the group, and invite them to join you.

This is the first conversation with this person, and you are feeling pretty good but not 100 percent sure yet that you want to issue an invitation. To further qualify this potential member, use some of the following questions. This isn't necessarily an interview or audition, especially from their point of view, so just work them into the conversation gently as questions. If an assessment is something you want to use, feel free to help yourself to any of these statements.


I appreciate the value of brainstorming new ideas with a trusted team.
I am willing to respect the privacy and protect the confidentiality of the group members.
I am open to learning from my peers.
I am willing and able to give as much as I receive.
I am committed to attending all meetings and treating them as a high priority.
I am able and willing to give myself permission to succeed.
I am a person of my word and will take the actions I say I will.
I see myself as a glass-half-full (positive) kind of person.
Next step, set a date for your first meeting and start inviting. If you think some people have agreed to attend the first meeting to check it out first before committing to join for the long haul, then invite more than your ideal size. You can then ask for a firm commitment after everyone has had a taste of what the group is about, what the ground rules are, and decided if it is a good fit for them.

Enjoy the process. If a person doesn't fit for the mastermind group, you still may have made a great new friend or business acquaintance.

Susan Henderson is a coach/consultant/mentor who assists creative entrepreneurs to take that seed of an idea you've been holding close to your heart and sprout it into the business of your dreams. I will guide you through the steps in discovering your purpose and creating a life you can love. One that includes the values that are most important to you-things like independence, flexibility, integrity, and creativity. To find out how, please visit: http://www.susanhenderson.com.

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