- Membership
Membership
Membership is personal, closed, and held by invitation and consideration. What follows sets out who it suits and how it is entered.
- One
- Who should join
Who should join
The Circle is deliberately narrow. It suits a particular kind of leader more than a particular kind of company.
- If you are
Leading an established organisation
Membership is held by those carrying final responsibility, rather than by those advising on it.
Long past needing an audience
The Circle suits leaders who have nothing left to prove in public and a great deal still to work out in private.
Prepared to contribute
Members are expected to give counsel as readily as they take it. A quiet year is fine; a passive one is not.
Discreet by disposition
Everything within the Circle depends on confidence being kept without being asked for.
- Two
- Categories
Membership Categories
Membership is held in one of three categories. Each carries a different depth of involvement; all three are entered the same way.
For leaders taking their place among peers. Full access to the forums, the briefings and the network, with counsel available as questions arise rather than on a schedule.
Entered by invitation from the chair. Convenes the smallest rooms in the Circle, holds its governance, and carries a say in who is invited to join next.
For members who shape the Circle’s agenda as well as draw on it. Adds a standing advisory group and a council seat, and a hand in setting what the year’s programme takes on.
- Three
- Benefits
- Counsel
- Introductions
- Standing
- Reach
- Four
- Journey
Membership Journey
From first conversation to invitation. The sequence is short, and deliberately unhurried.
1
Introduction
Most members arrive through another member. Where they do not, the first conversation establishes whether the Circle is the right room.
2
Conversation
An unhurried discussion about what you are working on and what you would want from the membership.
3
Consideration
Your candidacy is considered within the Circle. The question is fit rather than qualification.
4
Invitation
Where consideration is favourable, an invitation follows, along with the terms of membership.
- Five
- Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions we are asked most often, answered as directly as we can before a conversation begins.
Can I apply directly?
Yes. Most members are introduced by an existing member, but a direct request is considered on the same footing.
What is expected of a member?
Presence and candour more than time. Members are asked to attend what they commit to, and to give counsel as readily as they take it.
Is the membership list published?
Confidentiality terms, including how members are identified, are set out in the Trust Framework. We would rather point you there than summarise it here.
How long does consideration take?
It varies with the enquiry. The Circle would rather take the time to get the fit right than move to a schedule.
Can membership be held by a company?
No. Membership is personal to the individual and does not transfer with a role.
- Six
- Apply
Request Membership Consideration
Membership in the CEO Elite Circle is by invitation and consideration only.
Tell us who you are and what you are working on. Someone from the Circle will read it, and you will hear back either way.