In this episode of the Mastermind Mastery podcast, host Tina Corner Stolz walks moderators of peer advisory councils (PACs) through stages three and four of a new member’s journey. Stage 3, “Awareness and Confirmation,” is when members begin to understand the group’s purpose, structure, and the value they receive, and they need confirmation that they made the right decision to join. Stolz explains how moderators can minimize “false judging” by deliberately highlighting members’ expertise, and stresses the importance of preparing the new member’s first COP (Challenge/Opportunity/Problem) so the inaugural contribution is meaningful and validates the group’s value. Stage 4, “Engagement,” marks the shift from members seeing themselves as part of a group to seeing the group as their group. She outlines engagement tactics—deep‑dive perspective reports, strategic plan presentations, social events, retreats, coaching sessions, and quarterly achievement reviews—that deepen relationships and foster ownership. Throughout, Stolz emphasizes that onboarding is an ongoing process, not a single meeting, and that proactive, intentional facilitation at each stage drives members from saying “yes” to achieving the highest level of vulnerability and commitment. The episode ends with calls to action for listeners to access resources, share the podcast, and pass on the “shiny pebble” of knowledge.
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Hello and welcome to Mastermind Mastery, the podcast for professionals who want to create and run successful peer advisory councils, or as we call them, PACs for short, or they're also known as peer groups or business mastermind groups. I'm your host, Tina Corner Stolz, founder of Elixir Council, where I've been in the industry running groups since 2005 and now help those like you with education, certification, and support wanting to do the same. At one time, I ran 10 groups, nearly members and sold my groups for a good multiple and recently released my second book, Your Seat at the Table: How to Create and Run Your Own Peer Advisory Councils, published by Forbes and grateful to you that it's an Amazon bestseller. I invite you to join each week where we share strategies and techniques to successfully launch and become a master of running your PAGs. You'll hear insights, perspectives, do's and don'ts, learn from my and my guests' mistakes, successes, and get the inside track to key takeaways. Always. Each time we have a guest, we'll be having a bit of fun. So are you ready? Let's get going and dive into today's episode.
Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Mastermind Mastery. I am your host, Tina Corner Stolz, and today's takeaway is about stages 3 and 4 of the member journey and It is what you can expect when they are coming into their first meeting. They've had their first meeting because there are 7 stages to a member's journey, and I'm doing a series over 4 episodes to help you understand those stages so that you can prepare your members for what to expect, especially to what they can capitalize on and how they navigate through this experience of being in your peer group so that they actually have an exceptional experience, but more importantly, so that as they go through their journey, they don't think it's not normal and they leave. So here you have the opportunity to create an unbelievable member experience as soon as somebody says yes. And my goal over this series of episodes is to show you what you probably already know, but just never have thought about it. If you've been in this business for a long time, which is what is going through your member's head as they said yes, then you've met with them and they're getting ready for their first meeting and how there might be anxiety there and all kinds of things of like, even what do I wear? What do I show up? All of those things, you know, how, how am I supposed to act? How much homework am I supposed to do or not? You set the stage with expectations. It is you. Okay? And I talked about that in the previous episode about stages 1 and 2. So stages 1 and 2, 1 is anticipation and hope, right? They have a passion for what they're doing. They have said yes because they have this belief that by being in the group, they're going to accomplish something. Right? So that's something you've identified. They either need that sounding board, they're overwhelmed, they could, um, want answers because they feel alone and, and they think they're the only one. And of course they're going to realize that they are not. Um, and then they will go into stage 2, which is their whole excitement but judgment period. And I know every one of you out there has had a situation where you're going into a meeting for the first time with a bunch of people. It could be back when you got a new position and you're in the judging mode. Did I choose the right company? Did I choose, you know, um, maybe make a good decision right on this? Are these going to be my people, right? Are they going to be able to help me? Um, you know, are they going to be as smart or smarter than me? So all of this is going through your new member's head as they're going through their first few interactions with you. So today's episode, I'm tacking on the next two stages, those stages 3 and 4, and we're going to dive a little bit deep into each one and give you, if you have a member that's currently kind of in these stages, some ideas on what to do to help them navigate them well. So stage 3, let's dive in, is awareness and confirmation. So what is that? They're now becoming aware of what it is they joined. Okay. They have a better understanding of what you have meant by being in the group and the meeting structure, what the other members are like, right? So they are now becoming aware and getting confirmation that they hopefully, right, made a good choice. You want that confirmation to be that they absolutely made a good choice because in stage 2, they're typically now— they've gone to their meeting or they are now in their meeting, their very first meeting. And what's happening is they're walking into the room, right, is they're not just questioning if they made a good decision, but they need confirmation that everybody around the table is going to be able to help them. Your number one objective is to minimize false judging and keep the excitement growing. Okay, so what's false judging, etc.? So I always say that false judging is going to be when somebody has made an assumption, right, about someone that is most likely not accurate or not fully informed. And in some cases, they hit the bullseye and it is accurate. But what you want to do is be sure now, okay, that— and they're in their meeting, they still have favorable opinions about everybody else in the group. And as a moderator, you have the ability to tee that up by bringing out— and you're moderating, right— that So-and-so has this experience. So Bob, would you share that? Or, you know, that's a very good point, Sally, on this, who might be a new member and say, Sally, I'm going to ask Billy over here to expand a little bit more because Billy, you've had that experience, right? So what you're doing is you're really propping up the other members in addition to the new member so that everybody is making a favorable impression that is actually accurate. Right. So awareness and confirmation in stage 3, I talk about in the past is this is where they are. A member was what I call is not fully onboarded until they have fully experienced every aspect of your offering. Okay. So you hopefully do an onboarding meeting with your new member and then they actually come to the meeting. So that's another experience. But the first time they actually trust the group to help them is when they have presented a COP, right? A challenge, an opportunity, a problem, or idea, and the group helps them. So this is a vital time that you help them choose an important, most vital topic that is most meaningful to their progress. So this is a good idea that this is all done prior to their first meeting, or in particular the second meeting, where maybe it is they're going to have that opportunity to bring up a copy. You have to be sure they have a good experience and that they are all in about what they're talking about, because they're going to have a mediocre experience and they will be questioning the value of the group if they bring something trivial up. So they are going to need your help in order to determine that right copy topic to bring to the group, the very first one, because they're going to get judged by all your other members by the topic they first bring up. You have to be aware of that. If they bring up what I'm going to put into the category of just a flat-out stupid topic, it's not going to appear favorably with your members in the group. They're going to get frustrated. They're going to be like, is this the best this person has? Is this the most that they are really challenged with? You know, they're not really going to be helpful to the group. So I'm back to part of your onboarding should really be including the very first topic that they bring up and that you prep them for it so they get clarity, they articulate it well, and they are clear on what it is they want the group to help them with. Got it? That ensures a great experience for them and also a good experience for the rest of your members. It helps you guarantee, right, that they are gonna continue to be excited.
Right?
So awareness and confirmation, that is stage 3. Now, as we move forward, what happens next? You're starting to move into one of— there are 3 areas, right, that you're trying— that a, that a member kind of goes through that I call where they first think, well, I'm in a peer group. I've just signed up to be in a peer group. I'm waiting to go to my first peer group meeting. So basically, generically, they are saying, I am part of a peer group. That is when they've signed up, right? Maybe after their very first meeting, et cetera. But now as they are transitioning into more meetings with you, What will happen is you want to get them to where they're now thinking, I am part of John Doe's group, or I am part of, you know, a group of— with my peers. It's no longer a— they're starting to put an identity on it. And that is a big sign for you when you see them starting to do that, because the engagement, stage 4, is they're getting to know the members and the members are getting to know them. This is where they will be doing their, what we call a perspective report, or it could be what many of you do is a deep dive. They do, they share their strategic plan. The point is the members hear a lot of detail about that individual's business, where they're going, where they've come from, key initiatives, etc. And so they therefore then know so much more, right, about that member. And the— and that new member will know more about the other members when they're presenting theirs. They naturally now become more engaged with each other. It could be that you've had a social, right? And that will be helpful. Maybe you happen to have a retreat already scheduled and you've had it, and that will get them to be engaged. Right? They— so they've attended meetings. They ideally have done their deep dive on their business. They've processed a copy. They now are getting the full experience. If you're doing coaching sessions, they've had a coaching session with you. Maybe they have done a quarterly achievement session, which is something that we teach to do, and they have been held accountable. So the point here is engagement, that you want to be sure is that you're starting to see them really lean in to your meeting structure, lean in to the other members that are, that are part of the group, because it is here that they will see the value of the group. They've gotten feedback. They realize there are smart people in the room. They understand now this is a great group for them. They've seen real transformation, whether it's from themselves or they're starting to see it, but they've seen it with others. They see that there's caring and genuine camaraderie. This is when they begin to transition their mindset from that they're in a group to I'm in our group. So in conversation, they might say instead, this is our group. By the way, John, I would like for you to meet Sally, who we are in a group together, because you're ultimately— as I talk about the stages to come You're wanting to get them to the final mindset where they believe it's their group, they feel it's their group. So then in conversation, instead of saying, I'm in a group, or this is our group, we're together in a group, to I have a group, my group— that is the ultimate. So now we have stages 1 2, 3, and 4. So 4 being the engagement and where they are. So in the next episode that you hear from me, I'll be talking about stages 5 and 6. So until then, hope that you get your key takeaways about number 1. If anything, know that you actually influence the journey of your members. Take that seriously. Be proactive with it, because when you are and you have that conversation with them, no different than an organization who makes a new hire and they have this 90-day onboarding or etc. It is not onboarding as a one-time hour meeting. It is ongoing. Because you're ultimately getting your member from saying yes all the way through Stage 7, which is the highest of vulnerability and engagement that they will ever have in being in your group. So until then, everyone, look forward to connecting next week on another episode of Mastermind Mastery. And now go make it happen.
Hey, moderators of groups, thank you so much for listening to today's podcast. To get access to today's show notes and exclusive content and resources, visit TinaCornerStolz.com/podcast or LXcouncil.com, where you can also become part of an exclusive online community, attend our academy, me or get free resources, templates, checklists, and more. And you can even contact me there as well. So if this episode resonated with you and you know someone who can also benefit from listening, please share with them by taking a screenshot and even posting on your social media. I also love reviews and appreciate hearing from each of you, those actually doing this wonderful work. Please tune in next week for another episode of Mastermind Mastery. And I'll close by sharing something my mentor did after every learning moment. He shared a shiny pebble from his pocket with anyone he passed knowledge to and asked them to forward that pebble knowledge on. So now I encourage you to go pass on a pebble, the takeaways you learned today, to either your existing groups or fellow peers. Now, go make it a great one.
