THE LAW OF PROXIMITY.

Relationships are proximal and distal… some are close and some are farther away. In fact, every relationship is spatial, and so, differently special. (LaFayette Scales) Simply put, every person in a leader’s orbit takes up a certain amount of space and exerts a different level of influence in their life. And a leader’s ‘time’ is perhaps their greatest commodity to be managed. So, “Birds of a feather flock together,” while hardly a technical phrase (not a maxim likely to be found in the Harvard Business Review), is no less true. When I was a high school principal I would always tell my students: “Choices are made on the level of association. You can tell where you will be in the next five to ten years based on what you watch, what you read, and who you listen to.” The same is true in leadership. Leaders must be most mindful of their inner circle, because the people closest to a leader exert the greatest influence on their capacity (including perception of their capacity) and, therefore, the organization’s trajectory. #LeadWithAnInnerCircle

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