John Maxwell famously taught in his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You the Law Of The Inner Circle which states those closest to the leader determine the success of the leader.
So the question becomes what are the qualities we should be looking for as we form our inner-circle? This is a critical decision because our success as leaders literally depends on who we surround ourselves with. The following is the content of a lesson I will be teaching to leaders later this week on the topic.
Biblical Foundation
The following are the words recorded in 2 Samuel 23: 8-17 (ESV) as David was in exile hiding from King Saul:
8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three.[e] He wielded his spear[f] against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.
9 And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. 10 He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the Lord brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.
11 And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi,[g] where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. 12 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory.
13 And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 15 And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 16 Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord 17 and said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.
4 Qualities You Need From Those In Your Inner Circle
After reading the verses above, we learn the four qualities you need from those who make up your inner-circle:
Production
From Josheb-basshebeth we learn production. He once killed 800 enemy personnel with only a spear!!! Wow!!! This great warrior produced an extraordinary amount of results. He simply got the job done in a BIG way! What is also embedded in his level of production was incredible physical stamina, mastery of his skill, and superior efficiency.
Passion
From Eleazar we learn passion. As David’s men were about to fight the Philistines, it says they withdrew. In other words, the men ran away… except for Eleazar. He fought until he was weary but he owned the result. He had a “not on my watch” type of mentality. And after personally delivering victory, it says they literally had to pry his sword out of his hand. That’s passion.
Perseverance
From Shammah we learn perseverance. When there was another conflict with the Philistines over a plot of ground at Lehi, once again everyone ran except for Shammah. When things got tough, he stood his ground. He did not run. Shammah did not shrink from the challenge, he pressed into it. As a result, he struck down their entire army and the Lord worked a great victory through him.
Loyalty
Finally, when David longed for the refreshing waters from the well of Bethlehem, these three men collectively risked their lives by crossing into enemy territory to get this water for their leader. From these men, we learn loyalty. They loved David and would do anything to serve him. While loyalty may not make you a leader, disloyalty will definitely disqualify you as one.
As you look as those closest to you, do they possess the qualities of Production, Passion, Perseverance, and Loyalty? If not, it may be time to change your inner-circle.
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