What is a Mastermind?

Masterminds are regular discussions over Zoom with a peer in the company to celebrate achievements and discuss challenges.

Often, this relationship allows you to establish a deep connection with a peer outside your immediate area for long-term support, accountability and continuity.

After you've finished your onboarding at Buffer (and passed your 90-day mark), we’ll start to pair you with a mastermind buddy. This depends on availability (and even numbers!) so it may be a few months before you get started with this program.

Once paired, we recommend that you meet with them biweekly (every 2 weeks) or monthly.

Benefits:

• Peer support
• Deeper connections within the company beyond your lead and immediate team
• A place to share challenges and achievements
• Opportunity to pause and reflect
• Cross-team pairings allow for more perspective and knowledge sharing across the company
• Provides stability in times of change

Structure/Format:

(We recommend this format until the pairing has been working together long enough to “break” the mold.)

• Equal time sharing for each person:
  • Things I want to celebrate / things I’m grateful for
  • Things I’m struggling with (in work or life)
  • Share reflections/suggestions/advice on each other’s challenges.

What to expect:

• Masterminds, like many syncs, can at first feel disruptive to the “flow” of your work day and productivity - but over time, your mastermind is likely to become one of the most vital parts of your workweek.
• It can take at least three months to establish a relationship to share deeper challenges and be truly vulnerable and open with each other.
• Any short-term effect on productivity is generally far outweighed by the relational and problem-solving benefits in the long-term.
• Going deep and showing vulnerability is the best way to focus on true self-improvement. It'll also strengthen the bond between you and your mastermind pair. For example: Instead of mentioning a bug you're stuck on, try talking about it only if it seems like it's a theme you're experiencing. Then you can brainstorming solutions to the overall challenge of recurring bugs.