Have you thought deeply about why you have not been able to achieve your goals? Why is it difficult or why does it take so long for you to achieve your objectives? Do you question achievements made by your peers or your colleague? “Why will Omolola get the job done excellently and on time, but I cannot seem to be able to do the same? if these are the questions that daily trouble your heart, then this publication is for you.
I bring you good news. The pace of your success and achievements is tied to the inner circle you keep. The inner circle you keep determines how well you are doing or how well you will do, academically, at your workplace, on that project, in life. Yes! You read that right. Don’t worry, I will carefully decipher and answer that question nudging your mind.
I know by now you are trying to process why an inner circle is important. I mean, you are very smart, you are a goal getter as well, you are determined and well to do. Why do you even need anyone to excel? You can achieve anything you set your mind to. You are correct to think this way. As a matter of fact, you need to be doing very well for yourself as an individual before you can attract anyone into your space. You can only attract someone who carries the same vision as you. However, you must also know that anyone who will achieve great success and make it to the top can never be a lone ranger. If you are alone, you cannot be leading anyone or making a legacy. At best, you are doing things which would benefit just you and a fraction of persons around you after you must have spent a long time trying to do this. What does this make you? A local champion.
Victor Cheng (a former McKinsey & Company Management Consultant, strategic planning consultant, public speaker, and renowned author of several business books) in one of his writings had something beautiful to say about inner circle influence. He said, in planning your career, you will be faced with a key decision and that being, who do you allow to influence your plans for your career” I found this statement to be a profound one. It made me see how people around me can influence my thought process. He stated further that when you bring specific individuals into your circle, it means you have made deliberate choice to be influenced by their attitudes, thinking, and habits. I concluded that I can be propelled to positive thinking and do exploits if I let the right people into my inner circle.
Conversely, if you keep the people with negative attitude out of your circle it means you have made a conscious choice not to be influenced by their thinking and values. Trust me, I have seen this work countless times. I worked in a team where the only thing I was contributing when I initially joined was my budding interest. I didn’t know how to interpret the project topic or how to implement its objectives. However, staying with the group with the group, observing how they gave a quality interpretation to the tasks made me a better person. By the third day of joining the team, I was ready to take on the project headlong. I wasn’t even in my head, gratifying my knowledge barrier like I would normally do. I spoke up and made my team mates my friends.
I am sure, you are also interested in finding your very own inner circle. You want to smash your set goals too; you want to network with people and move to the upper echelon. You don’t enjoy the limitations your meagre resources give you. How then do you decide who ought to be in your inner circle? John C. Maxwell verily answered this vital question in his book “The 21 Irrefutable laws of Leadership.” He laid down the criteria for deciding whether a person should be in your inner circle thus:
1. Do they have high influence with other people? A person is influential when their character and track record speaks for them.
2. Do they bring a complimentary gift to the table? This means can their talent or gifting or values compliment your values and set goals?
3. Do they hold a strategic place in your organization?
4.Do they demonstrate excellence, maturity, and good character in everything they do?
You know for sure that that person you have been considering can now roll and work with you when they pass this simple test John Maxwell laid down.
I will conclude by telling a story I listened to about the work culture at Deloitte Canada. A lady had recently joined the Company after relocating from Nigeria. She put so much effort into joining the company seeing as she needed the money to sustain herself. However, after a week she was laid off. Oh my God! Poor Woman! Why will they do that to her. She initially was not sure why the management took this decision, but it was later discovered that for a whole week after joining the company, she remained in her shell. She didn’t know one person who she worked with. She did not communicate with her team on her job scope. She was comfortable trying to decode it on her own even when she had a target. This seems trivial, but it is also very vital for determining whether a person will thrive and grow in an organization.
So, will you take on this lesson of networking and connecting with great achievers and like-minded persons who will aid your success story, or you will rather stick to doing it all by yourself?
