View from the Summit

Do you long to see “next-level influence” among the people in your online mastermind group? It’s one thing to set up shop and invite people in. It’s quite another to create an environment in which everyone participates in each other’s growth.

As the leader of your mastermind group, every member is secretly hoping you know how to do this. They observe how you introduce concepts, hold conversations, and solve problems. 

Make sure your habits match your intentions to create space for others to improve their lives.

In our masterminds, we’re reading Stephen Covey’s classic, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. When I think about what great mastermind leaders do, I think of Habit #6: Synergy.

Synergy is the ability to combine knowledge, talents, and enthusiasm of others, to achieve together what they cannot do alone. It brings forth solutions that would remain hidden otherwise.

Synergy is the “secret sauce” of great leaders, if you ask me. But its biggest roadblocks are administrative details and operations. To bring synergy into your mastermind online, you’ll need a strong machine under the hood. Check out The Mastermind Playbook.

 Why 1+1=3…or More

I never received any school awards in math. Maybe the title of this section makes that obvious. It might drive my old math teacher crazy, but I’m fond of the idea that “one plus one can equal three,” or more.

Let me show you what I mean.

Imagine you have two boards. Each of them can hold 10 pounds of weight on their own. When you stack the two boards on top of each other, they can hold more than 30 pounds. How does that happen?

The two boards support one another. By combining their strength, they’re able to multiply the load they can carry. This is the inspirational fuel behind our drive to grow more mastermind groups online.

Plenty of people are talented and intelligent by themselves, but their potential skyrockets when they join forces. It’s always better to have multiple brains working on the same problem.

Marshal the thoughts and experiences of an entire group, to overwhelm a single problem. What’s difficult to figure out by yourself doesn’t stand a chance against the power of the group!

Synergy is a core principle of masterminds. If you want another resource that many facilitators use while building their foundations of synergy, you’ll want to grab The Mastermind Playbook.

How to Synergize Those Around You

As with any relationships, those in your business mastermind evolve over time. People start off as strangers. They get to know each other, become friends and power partners. 

As the relationship grows, so do trust and communication. This sets the stage for synergy. 

Holding space for others to express themselves freely is vital to synergy. When people feel comfortable around others, they’re less afraid of being judged. Ideas and solutions flow when trust is present.

Here are some ways you can create synergy in your mastermind.

• Encourage Members to Meet Outside of the Group

I want you to encourage people to get together outside of your mastermind. The reason for this is the same reason businesses welcome employees getting together for Happy Hour.

You get to know the real person when you meet one-on-one. You can learn more about who they are, their families, and what their interests are. These are the times where members turn into lifelong friends. It wouldn’t happen if people only meet once a week in a structured environment.

• Create a “Judgment Free Zone”

Something special happens when people are vulnerable. They share more about themselves when they know they won’t be lectured, shamed or attacked. 

Do you want the full engagement and participation of your members? Ask for their opinions. We live in an age where the wrong opinion can end someone’s career or business. People need a safe outlet to share how they think and feel. 

It’s the same for people who want to provide answers. Many people don’t share solutions, because they’re afraid of being judged and dismissed as “a know-it-all” or a “pencil-neck.”

• Ask Better Questions; Forget About The “Right Answer”

Have you ever needed to “vent”? Everything seems to be going wrong, so you look to a friend for support. Hopefully, your friend lends a listening ear and allows you to get it out.

But now and then, what happens? Some people start trying to “fix” you. They tell you exactly what you need to do, and how successful they were in getting through a similar situation. 

Does that get your goat, like it does mine? Even the best answers aren’t helpful when you feel overwhelmed.

Asking the right questions does more than solve the problem at hand. It lets the person facing the problem work through it, in their own mind. 

Good questions simply help someone arrive at the best solution. This creates ownership and confidence as they tackle the problem.

Your online mastermind group has the potential to create a massive “ripple effect” of positive change. If you’ll invest time and energy into making it synergistic, the sky is the limit! 

But you’ll need a powerful vehicle to manage the details on your way up. To get the building blocks for starting, growing and scaling your group, take a look at The Mastermind Playbook.