Your Inner Circle at Work

🤔 As a leader, do you know who is outside your circle at work?

Most of us naturally connect more easily with some colleagues than others. We have people we chat to before meetings, have lunch with and know on a more personal level. This is completely normal. But your “inner circle” may mean more to your team than you realise.

For some leaders, trust is built through competence: I deliver, you deliver, we can rely on each other.

For others, relationships play a bigger role: I know you, you know me, and that makes it easier to trust each other.

🌱 In a multicultural team, this difference matters. A leader may think, “I treat everyone fairly.” A team member from another culture may be thinking, “But we barely know each other.” Trust is often built in small moments. If leaders naturally build stronger relationships with a small group, others may feel outside the circle, even when exclusion was never intended.

🌟 The solution isn't to be friends with everyone, or to stop making friends at work. It's to be intentional about connection. Notice who you naturally talk to, and occasionally choose someone you don't. Ask a genuine question. Remember the answer. Follow up later.

Small connections can make a big difference to belonging and trust.

Join us to explore more cross-cultural leadership dynamics at our Leading Across Cultures workshop, hosted at Discovery Bay International School this September.

Sign up now!