All The Brains I Can Borrow

(Cont.)

How often should the SA Team meet?

How often a SA Team meets depends upon the group.  Some groups meet for one hour a week, every week.  Some groups meet for two hours every two weeks or and some once a month.  Some groups meet for half a day once a month or all day once a quarter.  Obviously, if you're meeting for half a day or a whole day, you would want to be doing that in person, rather than by telephone.

A group has a leader.  That leadership can rotate among the members of the group, or it can be an outside person who facilitates.  If you are new to groups like this, you would be well-served to get an outside facilitator… at least a first.

The leader has several roles in the group.  First he or she is a timekeeper.  He makes sure that each person has their allotted time to speak, to get help, to ask for advice.  The leader is also a diplomat, making sure that one person does not monopolize the conversation (giving advise or asking for help) and encouraging each member to contribute and participate in the group.  The leader is also a mediator should tensions run high, or disagreements about advice occur.

Normally, each member of the group brings a report of how they're doing, and a particular issue that they need help with during their turn.  The other members of the group do their best to help the individual, during his turn.  And each receives help from the members of the group in his own turn.

The content of each meeting is driven by the group as they bring their issues, problems, and advice.  Often times there will be five or 10 minutes set aside at the beginning of the meeting for members to check in, visit, and generally get to know each other a little better... especially during the early stages of the group's formation.

Let's run through a sample group meeting.

Here we have a sample group, small-business owners in different businesses, and in this case, they all live in the same town.  Even though they live in the same town, they meet by phone to eliminate travel time.  They meet once a week for an hour and half.  The group has been meeting for about a month and they have a facilitator so they can focus on the point of the group.

There are four in the group.  Let's call them Bob, Carol, Ted, and Alice.  Because they meeting by phone, they use what is called a "conference call bridge line" to all call in to the same number and be able to talk to of each other.  It is really a conference call that everyone calls in  to the same number (instead of someone calling out to each participant.)

The facilitator hosts the call.  This group has set their meeting up so that the first 10 minutes of their call they are chatting about their business, the economy, how things are going, and occasionally, personal items... simply to get to know one another and their businesses a little better.

Also during the first 10 minutes, the facilitator is checking to see if someone has a significant issue that may take longer than their allotted 15 to 20 minutes for the call.  If so, the facilitator will get agreement from the group that that individual will get more time and attention on that call.  The leader (facilitator in this case) will want to safeguard that each member gets equal opportunity over the course of the calls.  For our sample, everyone will be having the same amount of time. 

Bob starts off with his 20 minutes and recaps the issue that he worked on the previous week that he'd agreed to in the last call.  (This is the accountability benefit mentioned earlier.)  Bob then brings his issue (current week's problem) that he would like advice, brainstorming, or problem solving help with.  The group listens.  The facilitator reminds Bob to share what he's already done or thought of in his efforts to solve the problem.  When Bob has concluded, the facilitator invites the rest of the group to share their thoughts that might help Bob.

Bob is completely free to accept or reject suggestions offered.  The discussions and ideas continue until either  Bob is satisfied, or Bob runs out of time.  As a wrap up the facilitator asks Bob, what he is willing to be accountable to the group for by the next session.  (Often it is related to acting on the suggestions or some other way to act on the problem.)  Bob then makes a statement which the facilitator notes.

Now it's Carol's turn, and they run through the same thing with Carol and her issue (whatever Carol wants help with).

Then the same thing again with Ted and then with Alice.  When all are done, the facilitator does a quick wrap up reminding each person what they agreed to be accountable for at the next session and the session ends.

As you can tell, I endorse these groups and participate in them, myself.  They really can help you grow and succeed much faster than you would on your own.

Borrow some extra brains… and lend yours out, too.  Join a Success Accelerator Team.

Action Step:

Pick an area you want more success in… personal, career, business.  Find or create a Success Accelerator Team and join it.  Then be active in it.

Want to try the power of Success Accelerator Teams, but don't know where to start?  Or, maybe you feel like you need a little extra help?

Go to our Success Accelerator Team page and let us help you find your success.