I was talking one day to a former leader in the copy and print industry and we discussed his top leadership principles. (If you want to learn those you can go here.) During the course of our conversation he discussed the idea of how your inner circle helps you maintain integrity. What is our inner circle and how do we create it?
What is it?
In John Maxwell’s New York Times bestseller The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership he describes the Law of the Inner Circle as “a leader’s potential is determined by those closest to him.”1 I am not going to go in depth on this as I provide four or ten session mastermind groups that explore this book in-depth. Instead let me share some principles this leader uses to develop an inner circle.
How do we create it?
A safe environment is the foundation of this group. These are people committed to keep what is said private. This commitment creates safety to share completely and honestly. When this atmosphere exists, real growth can occur as well as great learning from one another.
What do we do?
The answer to this question varies from group to group. This leader shared three key areas his inner circle continually discussed:
Financial – Where was their business and what kind of thinking help did they need to grow the organization. Were they being wise with the resources they had? This gets personal, but is essential for the inner circle to discuss
People – This is not a venting session. The time focused on helping one another solve real people problems whether that is strategic placement or wisdom on retaining, promoting or removing people. Ultimately holding one another accountable to prioritize people above profits amidst difficult decisions.
Legal – Leaders have to look at the organization from many angles and one of those is legal. A healthy inner circle will keep one another on the right path and call each other out when they sense one another straying.
Who is in it?
This answer is different for every individual, but this leader gave three key traits he felt must exist to create an effective inner circle.
Trust – Without this as the foundation there will neither be full disclosure nor complete safety in the group.
Common Value System – People come from different perspectives and if the values differ too greatly in key areas this can create an unhealthy environment. Choose people who think differently, but have common values in the critical areas for you.
Mutual Desire to Grow and Be Held Accountable – If we want to lose weight, but fail to change our diet then nothing will change. Similarly, the members in the group must have a desire to grow and embrace accountability.
So we’ve clarified the what, the how, and the who now what about you? Do you have an inner circle? If not, do you know who you would invite to create one to help you grow as a leader? Need help creating one? Contact me for a discovery call to see if starting a mastermind with a few key people would be a launching point for your potential inner circle. We can’t lead alone, we need a team. Form your team and lead well.
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- Maxwell, John C. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007.