I love Mastermind Groups so much, I currently run 3 of ‘em! One for the automotive supply chain on behalf of NEAA, one for NHS transplant specialists, and my own Corporate Sustainability Mastermind Group (CoSM), which is cross-sectoral. So what is a Mastermind Group and why do I like the format so much?

Another term for Mastermind Group is small group coaching. Coaching, in the personal development sense, is all about helping an individual improve themselves by working through problems and opportunities. In a Mastermind Group, the members help each other, guided by the facilitator. Some of this is very practical, eg “you should check out building management system X, it works a treat!”, some of it is more tactical, eg “if I bow to pressure to water down that target, then I might as well give up and go home” and much of it is the moral support from knowing that others are facing the same realities, even those who appear to be “smashing it” on LinkedIn.

The advantages for group members are that we get to dig into the topic in hand in much more detail and much more honestly than in bog-standard conference format of a presentation or three followed by a stilted Q&A. I generally don’t allow presentations in my Mastermind groups (the transplant one is an exception – it is half training, half mastermind) as presentations tend to be more about the presenter than the audience. Powerpoint also puts the audience into passive reception mode, rather than active thinking – I want everybody working. We use the Chatham House rule (and a good deal of trust) to encourage raw honesty and sharing (the ‘tactical’ example above is a genuine example of what someone would never say in an open forum).

For me, I learn a lot as I perform my role of structuring the conversation and recording generic takeaway points. The honesty and lack of pretension make the sessions much more rewarding than ‘public’ events. But I also see members developing in knowledge, confidence and ambition – and when I see them implement what they have learned from the group, that is the best feeling in the world!

We currently have a vacancy for another Corporate Sustainability Mastermind Group member. If you work on Sustainability in a medium/large organisation (but not as a consultant) and want to boost your performance, get in touch.