What happens when you hire someone smarter than you?
You grow.
Many of us try to protect our roles by creating “job security”, but in reality, that is a slow growth mindset. The inverse is a high-performance culture. Who are you going to replace yourself with, and what will you do next?
Start thinking of yourself as a cultural architect, as your job now is to build a culture of high performance and robust achievement
Not only does this give rise to a series of talent acquisition related questions (questions we’ll examine another week), but there are some psychological obstacles you need to get over. First, try to understand yourself on a deeper level. Knowing yourself has extraordinary prestige in our culture. What’s your perception of being in control?
“Try never to be the smartest person in the room. And if you are, I suggest you invite smarter people or find a different room.” Michael Dell
Here are three powerful ideas that can help you on your journey to hire people smarter than yourself:
The best leaders empower people
As a leader, how can you make people better? The key is allowing them to grow. You can do this by giving them autonomy and responsibility; by challenging them to problem solve in collaborative, creative ways. Put them in new situations and make sure they know that, while they have your full confidence, people can rely on your advice and guidance when they need it. Later in your journey, you’ll see they’ll need it less and less. You’ve created a new generation of leaders!
Realize that the more you empower people, the more you can and should give up control. For many of us, this isn’t easy. Ironically, giving up control will instinctively feel antithetical to the very character traits that got you into the position where you have to give up some control. You’re almost certainly relentlessly driven; you might be a bit of an obsessive.
Those qualities may have pulled you to where you are today. But now is the time to question your relationship with control. Take your time to work through any negative emotions around it. And then detach yourself from the need to have it.
Your role is broader now, and that is a sign of your success
Giving up control in this context is a huge positive. From whichever perspective you view it, it’s a sign of your success. You should want your business to be able to perform in your absence, just as you want your children to be able to function independently eventually. Allow yourself to enjoy the fact that you’re ready to hire smart people who allow you to take a step back: it’s a surefire sign your business is on the right track.
Ask yourself, what now? Your role has become a lot broader. Start thinking of yourself as a cultural architect, as your job now is to build a culture of high performance and robust achievement. Allow yourself the space to be creative, and the time and energy to pursue ideas that emerge from this space.
Surround yourself with smart people for continuous improvement
Continually surround yourself with intelligent people, whether they’re new hires, peers, investors, friends or family. Build a culture in which people can challenge the status quo, be open about their struggles, and learn from each other’s successes and failures. Encourage the free flow of information regardless of hierarchy and constant striving for continuous improvement.
They say you’re the average of the five people closest to you, and there is some wisdom in that. Take the opportunity to keep challenging yourself and learning from the smart people around you. Cultivate your growth mindset and lead from this vision of inclusiveness. It’s highly motivating.
I’ll end with a personal reflection of my journey:
As a co-founder, when you hire someone smarter than you — it prompts you to have deep introspection on your strengths, weaknesses and contributions to evaluate where to focus next. Where do I pivot to? How can I create the space to know where I can add value next? Currently, these are the questions I don’t have the answer to. I’m in an in-depth discovery mode and can’t wait to see what my next chapter will look like.
