What kind of company do you keep as a Leader?

Attempting to be consistent with the suggestion in my last post — Leaders vs. Summer — I challenged myself to read Cicero’s “On a Life Well Spent” over the course of the summer. Trust me, other than the Bible, I’m not given to reading 2,000 year-old texts regularly.

This morning, I came across this ending to a chapter in which Cicero describes Quintus Maximus, a friend and Leader he greatly admired:

“. . . when he was taken from us, I should never find another Man to improve by.”

Who’s in your life, walking alongside you as a Leader, who, when they are gone, will be a great loss?

The best Leaders I know don’t lead in isolation. They surround themselves with a few good friends. Friends who inspire them to be better, genuinely care for them, and with whom they can be vulnerable.

Interestingly, I think this can be particularly difficult for men. Women more naturally cultivate supportive friendships.

So, what does this look like? In my life, I have my wife and about a half dozen men who’s counsel I seek regularly. Here’s how I would describe them.

I’ve met with the executive teams of two CEOs in the past two weeks – CEOs being intentional about enhancing their teams’ effectiveness. Excellent teams don’t form by chance.

It may be time to evaluate your leadership team. Challenging times call for a gut-check on who’s in the foxhole with us. What grade would you give your team?

If you give them an “A” or better – what would you identify as the #1 ingredient? Conversely, if it’s “C” or lower, what would be the #1 cause? How many of us are tolerating ‘average?’