starting a creative mentoring group

Where I live, small book clubs are booming. In one week, I was invited to join three! As with any good idea, once it catches on in popularity, people begin to think of ways to expand and improve. A few months ago, I went into a shop in Solano Beach where the owner always remembers me and manages to get me into a discussion about one fascinating thing or another. (We have, in our various discussions, solved most of the world's major problems.) In the course of this conversation, we began to brainstorm about ways that artists might use the book club concept and out of this came a terrific idea that I am excited to share with you!

Take the camaraderie and sharing of a book club, and the business connections of a networking group, and throw in a creative curve - and you get Creative Mentoring. This is how it works:

Pick a small group (5 - 15) of people that you trust or admire for their creative or business acumen. You will probably want to choose either a balance of people about at the same place in their careers, or a real mix of people from one end of the spectrum to the other. If you only have one person that has already succeeded, the others might feel less able to offer their opinion, and the successful person might feel put-upon by the group. Choose your list carefully!

Set up a meeting time and place (this works online, see sample letter below)

If you are meeting in a physical place, make sure it is a place where you can have privacy enough to feel comfortable talking about private matters.

Like a book club, you may want each meeting should have a specific topic set in advance. You may want to assign one member of the group to do a presentation, and think up or find an exercise for the rest of the group for that topic. For that session, that person is the moderator or host, and their "rules" apply. You might, instead, wish to have a less structured group within specific guidelines.

You will want to set specific ground rules. In our business creative jam sessions, we give one person a squirt gun. If anyone says something negative or derogatory about an idea, they get squirted as a reminder to behave.

In order to explain to you the idea further, I'm going to take you through my thought processes.

1. We all know that it is much easier to promote someone else, and talk about their skills and abilities than it is to talk about our own talents and products.

2. There are two types of people - those that thrive on jealousy and gossip and accomplish little, and those that focus their attention on making a positive difference in other people's lives while accomplishing as much as possible in what they do.

3. If I could harness all the knowledge and experience of a group of business women into one body of knowledge and share it with that group, everyone would move forward with their careers much quicker because we could learn from each other's experience.

4. There is no "pie" of success. The potential for success is unlimited and someone else becoming successful in your field does not hurt your ability to succeed, but rather makes it EASIER for you to succeed. Success is like a path and each person that goes down it tramples the weeds and bushes a bit more making it a bit easier for the person following them to walk down it.

5. There is no new information. Other people already know everything we learn so sharing our experiences and knowledge can never harm us.

6. What goes around comes around. If you are willing to help others, others will in turn help you. My mom gave me a grammar book published in 1868. On the inside cover this was written: "No one is useless in this world that lightens the burdens of others." Amen!

You will also want to set a mission statement for the group. The following is a sample letter that I have written as a prototype for an e-mail group based on this concept. Because I was thinking it through as an online concept, it has an open format. You could easily meet on IRC, or via email once a month regarding a specific topic if you prefer this format instead. You are welcome to use it, and adapt it, as you wish to use if you decide to do this!

Sample Letter:

What if we had a small group of like-minded people who dedicated themselves to helping *each other* succeed? How far could we go in our careers if we had a group of mentors that we could go to when we needed help or encouragement?

Further, if a group were willing to commit to one another and create a positive and nurturing environment to help one another -- what kind of positive impact could they have on the industry as a whole? Talk about good Karma!

Because of the internet, we have the power to gather a group from around the world for a "meeting of the minds" without the challenges of geography, time zones, or our unbearable schedules getting in the way. Traditional networking groups are unable to have this instantaneous contact. Each of us are tremendously busy, by meeting online we can read the mail at our own convenience (and in our jammies if that is what works!)

Here is it will work:

Each of the participants must agree to abide by a code (explained below) to support and share with one another, while maintaining absolute privacy and secrecy over the plans and ideas shared with the group.

Each participant must agree to participate (in other words, no lurkers) to the extent they are able. This is not about chatting; it is about business and providing each other with information and emotional support in our careers.

The purpose of the group would be to have a safe place to ask questions about creativity, inspiration, business, products, etc. (For example, some may need advice on dealing with a magazine or approaching a manufacturer, someone may be having a problem with an another artist using their work, someone may want to go into licensing, someone may need advice on how to deal with a particular company, or advice on product development, etc.) Each participant would agree to answer the questions that fall under their experience.

We've all been a part of networking groups before. This is something that goes beyond that. This group would be part mentorship, part networking, and part support group. Rather than being a part of it to get something for ourselves, we would be committing to one another to help each other (by sharing knowledge and support), knowing that the universe will honor that an all of us will become more successful together.

It is very important to me that other than the code of conduct, there are no rules. We will be creating something special together that I believe will change all of our lives. Once the group starts, there will be no "leader". This will be 100% driven by the entire group.

The group is invitation only. I would like to keep the group small but if there is someone you feel would be an asset to the group, we can new members from time to time as long as it does not jeopardize the integrity or intimacy of the group.

I am aware that there may be personality conflicts. I have invited people that I personally respect for business savvy and intellect. To the best of my knowledge there is no feuding members, or anyone competing head to head, among this group. If there is, however, I will ask you to put that aside or step down from the group if you do not feel that you are able to be 100% supportive of each person participating.

The Code:

Each member of the group agrees to the following:

· Maintain absolute privacy and secrecy of the information and plans shared by other members. No messages from the group may be forwarded or shared with anyone not in the group.

· Dedicate yourself, within the confines of the group, to helping the other members of the group succeed. You are not required to take actions outside the group to help other members, unless you want to.

· You are agreeing to offer advice or counsel on questions and issues on which you have experience or knowledge. (You should never discuss or disclose information that is in conflict with other business obligations. For example, if you are obligated not to disclose information because of a relationship with a company, you should NOT disclose that information to the group. You can, however, if it is appropriate, reply with general information about the subject.)

· EACH WEEK you must post at least ONE resource, experience or story about business that the group might feel helpful. For example, I am in the middle of a big project on creativity and business, and I have a lot of resources I think might be valuable to the group. This is what I mean about "no lurkers". You must share something with the group at least once a week.

· When a question is asked, it will be up to you as to whether or not you have something to contribute. You do not have to respond to issues that you have no knowledge of or have a conflict of interest on.

· There is no limit to the number of questions you can come to the group with, as long as you also participate by answering questions when appropriate and sharing your weekly story or resource.

· I am hopeful that the group will be able to "toss around" ideas about the industry as a whole. For example, issues about the SDP, or other trade groups. These discussions, as with everything else on the list, will be absolutely confidential and will be used, as a means to brainstorm for solutions that will have a positive impact.

· There will be absolutely NO NEGATIVITY or criticism allowed. NONE. If you disagree with a message, you should not reply in rebuttal. Instead you should post about another way to handle the matter without addressing your disagreement with any other method. You acknowledge that the other members of the group are intelligent and capable of making their own decisions - even if you disagree with them!

· Integrity is the key to relationships. Integrity means being honest in a way that builds others, not being critical or hurtful. Integrity means taking responsibility for our actions and words.

· All ideas are welcome and deserve a hearing. Experiments must be encouraged -- even if you are sure that the person is doomed to failure! This group is about offering support and encouragement, not about playing it safe.

Failure to comply with the code will mean immediate and absolute expulsion from the group. The ability to trust one another is absolutely key to our success.

Scary, isn't it? Hopefully exciting too.

I know what you are thinking . . . can I trust a group of people with my ideas and emotions? Will they be trustworthy? What if they steal an idea?

I have gone through those same issues inside my own head for the past several months. I believe 1) everything worthwhile is a risk, 2) people are more likely to be helpful than to be hurtful, and 3) that I am a good judge of character. I have invited only people that I feel are on the rise in this industry, have true integrity in the way that they approach their art and business, and are what my mother would describe as "good people".

So that's it. Are you interested? Do you have questions? The group will start up in 1 - 2 weeks. I need to have your answer by Friday, April 23rd in order to include you in the start up. You can answer anytime before then. If I don't have at least six people interested, I will chalk it up to experience. I am hoping, however, that most of you will think of this as a great adventure and worth an hour a week to see where it can go. I will get back to all those who are interested after the 23rd to let you know how things will work if there is enough interest.

--

You should feel free to adapt the letter above to fit your particular situation. If you decide to do this, I would love to hear about your results. So far several Tera's Wish readers have begun these groups with great success.

*** If you enjoyed this article, you can subscribe to Tera's online newsletter!
Click HERE to subscribe. It's free!***