Don't be the smartest guy in the room

I have been exposed to many interesting business leaders over the years. The difference between the medium and the large was how they perceived themselves and the role they felt they should play within their company. My conclusion: The people who saw themselves as the smartest guy (or girl) in the room, who needed to control all decision-making in the company, were the least successful and ended up alienating their peers the most. Let me explain more, so you don't repeat the same mistakes.

The smartest guy in the room: Meet Bob

Meet Bob, the CEO of the hypothetical ABC Corporation. There is no one in the company's opinion that he values ​​more than his own. He doesn't trust his staff to make the tough decisions. He likes to hear himself talk. No new ideas are good unless he comes up with them. He likes to micro-manage every decision. He "knows pretty much everything", no matter what, and would never hire anyone smarter than himself, lest he look stupid. The company's revenue just isn't growing and Bob doesn't know why.

The reaction of Bob's employees

No one likes working for Bob, they honestly think he's a jerk. They've given up on coming up with new ideas, because they're tired of being rejected over and over again. Frankly, they don't care about the company and just follow the movements of the work, most likely keeping their ears open for new job openings because this company has very high employee turnover, low morale and a bad culture, which flowed from the top.

The smartest manager in the room: Meet Betty

On the other hand, meet Betty, the CEO of the hypothetical company XYZ. Betty knows the value of knowing when to shut up and listen to her staff's ideas. She allows the leaders of her company to make all the key decisions on their own. And, frankly, she listens, much more than she speaks. Which carries more weight when she actually speaks. She doesn't focus on managing the details of every decision in the business and relies on her team to make those decisions - a team she recruited as smarter than her and experts in their field, far more than 'herself. The company's income is booming.

The reaction of Betty's employees

Everyone loves working for Betty because they appreciate having their ideas heard and put into practice. And they love working for the company, alongside a team of equally happy employees who have built great camaraderie, culture and team. They wouldn't think of leaving the company, because they enjoy their "rocket" growth and love their work.

Be Betty, not Bob

The moral of the story here: be more like Betty, not like Bob. If at any point you read the above description of Bob, and you say, “yeah, that sounds pretty much like me and my management style,” you have a huge problem in your business. . . YOU!! The problem is that most "Bobs" in the world don't even know they behave this way. So what you really need to do is ask an outside person to survey your employees and ask them to tell you exactly what they think of you, your management style, and the company. It's the only way to have good learnings, so you can improve yourself and the business in the process. And if you read the above description of Betty and say "yeah, that sounds pretty much like me", keep up the great work.

Recruit smarter than you

When hiring talent, leave your ego at the door. If the candidate is smarter than you, that's a good thing. You want the smartest people possible to run the business. Don't be intimidated by them, or worry about what your staff will think of you in comparison. A smart employee will realize that it was you who found such great talent and will thank you for hiring. No, think less of yourself. You need to hire the BEST talent you can find and afford, every time. How they compare to you is absolutely irrelevant.

Empower your employees

If you're micromanaging every decision in the business, you're not focused where you should be. A good CEO will hire a strong management team they trust to handle day-to-day business decisions, having steered them in the right direction. And it will free up your time to better focus on more strategic areas of the business, which can propel the business to new heights. And in the process, your staff will love you, empowering and trusting them to do their job, with limited oversight. But that only works if you hire the smartest talent you can...