IoD Midlands Spring

Keep up to date at www.iod.com/westmids and at www.iod.com/east-midlands
IoD Mastermind Groups
The perfect environment to develop
and challenge: IoD Masterminds
The IoD’s Mastermind groups are unique
sessions that give directors and senior
business leaders the chance to discuss the
key issues and challenges they face in an
open, constructive and confidential
environment.
Mastermind groups originated in the
West Midlands and are a combination of
brainstorming, education, peer
accountability and support, a unique
advisory panel of trusted, experienced
businesspeople you can bounce ideas off.
For many members, these meetings can
act as a surrogate board meeting,
particularly for those who run their own
business or who are part of an SME
without non-executives sitting with them
on their boards.
Each group is made up of directors from
non-competing industries, combining
SMEs and larger businesses.
They meet once a month for dinner to
discuss any topic that a member brings
forth. Topics have varied from employee
relations, directors’ duties, hot topics in
business, whether to expand the
company, and work-life balance. Topics
for meetings are often tied to IoD CPD
topics that are being run at the time.
East Midlands
In the East Midlands region, we
currently have four Mastermind groups –
Leicester, Nottingham, Lincoln and
Derby. At present all are run via Zoom but
we hope to return to face-to-face sessions
at some point later this year.
The Leicester Mastermind group is
facilitated by John Tucker. It is held on the
third Tuesday of every month.
The Nottingham group is facilitated
by Carole Harvey.
The Derby group is
facilitated by Andy Leask.
The Lincoln Mastermind
group is facilitated by John
Hebblethwaite.
It is hoped that venues
will be confirmed as soon as
possible once face-to-face
meetings are allowed.
If you wish to be a part of an East
Midlands Mastermind group, please send
a short biograpy to cari.grice@iod.com.
These groups
are strictly member
only and before joining
every member must
submit a short biography,
to ensure there are no
competing
organisations.
West Midlands
The West Midlands is currently running
three Mastermind Groups, in
Birmingham, the Black Country and
Worcester & the Marches. Each one is led
by an experienced and respected IoD
member, who facilitates the session.
Ian Priest is the facilitator of the Black
Country Mastermind; Michael Donaldson
is the facilitator of the Worcester & the
Marches group; and Glenn Cameron is
the facilitator of the Greater
Birmingham Mastermind. The
first two groups meet monthly;
Birmingham meets fortnightly.
Michael Donaldson said the
groups, “have an ethos of
sharing collective knowledge,
experience and expertise to
address the issues, challenges
and opportunities members bring
to the table... no rapid-fire questions
and solutions from people I don’t know,
who don’t know me. It’s a relaxed, friendly
atmosphere that helps build respect and
trust.”
In addition to these groups, a number
of dormant groups plan to resume their
activities in 2021. For a listing of the active
groups, IoD members can submit an
application of interest via the IoD website,
or for further information please contact
Sophie.Breeden@iod.com
What members say about
Mastermind Groups
‘‘
I have been attending IoD Mastermind events for
a couple of years now. I find them really excellent
in a couple of ways. For those participants that
have a problem that they want advice on, it is a
confidential forum, with uninvolved but intelligent,
experienced people from different backgrounds
and with different skillsets who can often
provide a helpful new perspective on the
problem. For others, it is an excellent way to
develop meaningful business relationships as
it provides scope to hear a new contact’s
views on a range of topics, which is a
great way to get to know people ...
Alexander May, Mastermind group
member, West Midlands
‘‘
22
www.iod.com/emidlandsevents