Inner Circle

The people closest to you highly determine our level of influence and how well you realise your potential. They extend or inhibit the effectiveness of your influence on others.  Leadership is about influence and as your vision begins to take shape, you need others to help drive it to higher heights. It is inevitable that you will have to build various levels of leadership to manage your organisation’s growth. A chain is as strong as its weakest link. Those closest to you in your leadership circle will make or break you.

My friend runs a rapidly growing organisation with a diverse leadership team. I desired to know what keeps her going even (and especially) when everything seems to work against their efforts. She proudly spoke of her advisory team. It was clear that she valued their support in driving the daily activities of the organisation. This inner circle multiplied her potential and most importantly covered her in the areas of her weakness. 

Mother Teresa said, "You can do what I cannot do. I can do what you cannot do. Together we can do great things." These words summarise the strength of an inner circle as I came to learn from my friend. Her organization had successfully delivered the largest project in their history. She shared with me the importance of building a strong leadership team around you which she calls her inner circle.

The founders had set a great vision and proper structures to drive the vision. As she took over the reigns, she was confident that the structures were sufficient to take the company’s success to the next level. She developed a transformational strategy. Going by the company’s past achievements, this was an extremely ambitious plan. The strategy required an equally ambitious and tenacious team to execute successfully.

The first thing she did was to share her strategy with a group of three influential individuals in the company. She was testing the waters before taking a leap.  The team quickly bought into her ideas and started thinking of how they can execute the new strategy. They had such positivity that they grew and solidified her strategy. They came up with brilliant concepts and gave her a plan that would get the staff members’ to buy into the vision. These three formed her first inner circle members.

Your inner circle must have individuals that add and multiply your efforts. Identify and surround yourself with people that lift you up. You will come across people who make it their business to perpetually frustrate your efforts. Avoid them like plague.

The next thing was to identify leaders in the organisation with certain strengths that she did not possess. She needed legal counsel, a strong marketer, fund raisers and a strategic advisor. She knew her strength was in driving the project, but more importantly she recognised that the success of the project was dependent on partnering with others. She could not do it alone. The second thing in forming your inner circle is selecting a team that will give you leverage in areas of your weakness. Work on your strengths and partner with your weaknesses.

In order to re-organise your inner circle, you must have the courage to let go of the incumbents. The quest to realise your potential is determined by those closest to you. Beyond determining the skills you need around you, you need to assess their willingness to play the role you need them to fit into.  She had some painful experiences having to reassess each of the members in her previous inner circle. While they were crucial in the earlier stages of forming the organization, she needed a different skill set for the new dispensation.

As the project took shape, she was very intentional in the relationships she built around her. The fundraiser was a key component for the success of the project. She reached out beyond her current inner circle to draw in a competent fundraiser. If she did not know better, she would have surrounded herself with people she was comfortable with, even if they had no skills in fundraising. You have to get off your comfort zone to get the right people into your inner circle.

The most challenging bit was to get the team to work together in harmony. She knew that a house divided would not stand the test of time. A productive team must cultivate positive impact relationships. Bringing them together was one thing, getting them to work harmoniously was the harder part. Have the patience to encourage members of your inner circle to work together.

People are highly resistant to change. We are creatures of habit and these habits are cultivated over time. Her vision demanded a migration from the company’s norm. Great ideas are often driven by radical changes. As soon as she brought together her inner circle, she got them to see the benefit and possibility of changing things in the organisation. It was a tall order. She had to break their view and introduce a new picture, the new vision. You must get your inner circle to buy into your vision or else the team's efforts will be pulling in opposite directions.

Extraordinary success is not the work of a lone ranger. Who are the members of your inner circle? What strengths do they bring to the table? Are there strength gaps that need to be filled in your inner circle? Recognise the crucial role played by your inner circle and be intentional in building the right relationships around you.