Successful leaders have a few characteristics in common.  Let’s see, they have a vision, they are risk takers and they surround themselves with winners!

One of the key groups they surround themselves with is an Inner Circle. This board of directors for their vision, is an integral part of their success so choosing the right players to be part of your inner circle is key.  Here are the key leadership characteristics to ‘qualify’ someone to be a part of your Inner Circle.

>  Creative – Every successful inner circle has members who are creative, that have the ability to think outside the box.

>  Loyal –  They are loyal to you yes, but more important than you, they are loyal to your vision.

>  They Share Your Vision – After working in the optical industry for many years, this line still carries another meaning for me but you get the message, if they don’t share your vision, then they’re not loyal, therefore they can’t be a contributing member to your inner circle.

>  Smart – Notice I didn’t say educated.  Sure education is great, but smart people take what they’ve learned, however they’ve learned it and contribute smart ideas to projects and people.

>  Complimentary Strengths – Not a spreadsheet person? No problemo go get ‘Spreadsheet Sal’ on your team.  Round out your inner circle with people who have different core strengths than you.

>  Faith – Sharing something so fundamental to you and your core values is important.  As a matter of fact core values such as faith is one of those areas that while often unspoken is key to moving forward on the same page. I could lie to you, make you feel good and tell you that someone who is not at all faith based, who sees no value in a creator is doable, but for me it is out of the question. They don’t have to be of the exact same faith but  we do need to have some core fundamentals in common.

>  Influential – Listen if your’e going to have someone in your inner circle, then having someone who is influential in different circles in your demographic is important.  Having someone who shares your vision and can influence others towards it is outrageously important.

>  Integrity – Having a person with integrity speak into your life and your vision is key.  I mean leaders know that integrity is one of the fundamentals they are judged on and when we surround ourselves with people with high integrity they raise the bar for us and challenge us to grow.

Here’s our video with more information on how to form an inner circle, what ‘the ask’ sounds like and how to measure success.

or for an audio only, listen to this broadcast here or on our itunes channel.