"It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do." This famous quote from Steve Jobs encapsulates one of the most important principles for building a successful organization - surrounding yourself with exceptional talent and empowering them to drive the company forward.
As a leader, it can be intimidating and humbling to bring on team members who are more knowledgeable or skilled than you in certain areas. Our egos tell us we should be the smartest person in the room. But in reality, only by hiring people smarter than yourself can you build something truly great that is more than the sum of its parts.
Here are some of the key reasons the best leaders aim to hire people smarter than themselves:
You'll Learn and Grow Exponentially
When you hire brilliant people, you get a front row seat to learn from the best. You're exposed to new ways of thinking, fresh perspectives and deep expertise that broaden your own capabilities as a leader. If you're open-minded and humble enough to really listen, your employees can be your greatest mentors.
As Laszlo Bock, former SVP of People Operations at Google, said "Leaders must develop the humility to recognize that there are smart people all around them and they don't have all the answers." Tapping into the collective intelligence of a high-caliber team is how you evolve into a better leader and take your company to new heights.
They'll Challenge You and Expand What's Possible
Truly smart people won't be afraid to disagree with you, push back on your ideas and suggest better ways of doing things. While this can bruise the ego at times, it's exactly what you need to break through your own limitations and blind spots as a leader. You don't want a bunch of "yes men" who defer to your opinion on everything.
Hiring people willing to challenge you, point out flaws in your logic and present new solutions is the only way to stress test strategies and unlock innovation. As Bill Gates said, "I choose a lazy person to do a hard job, because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it." In other words, brilliant people find ingenious solutions and workarounds you never would have considered.
You Can Delegate with Confidence
As a company scales, founders and executives have to get comfortable delegating major responsibilities and decisions to others. This is extremely difficult if you don't have full faith in the capabilities of your team. You'll be tempted to micromanage everything yourself which creates a bottleneck to growth.
On the flip side, when you hire people undeniably smarter than you in their domains, you can hand over the reins with confidence they'll get the job done better than you could yourself. You're not abdicating responsibility, but rather focusing your energy where it's most needed to propel the company forward. Hiring a team of A-players is the only way to scale yourself as a leader.
They Raise the Bar for Everyone
Hiring incredibly smart people has a ripple effect that elevates the performance of the entire organization. A-players attract other A-players. Mediocre talent will either be inspired to up their game or self-select out.
The best want to be surrounded by other stars they can learn from, not people they feel are beneath them. So the more top talent you bring in, the easier it becomes to recruit similar caliber people. You create a virtuous cycle where everyone is continuously getting better. As Steve Jobs also said, "A small team of A+ players can run circles around a giant team of B and C players."
You'll Build Something Bigger Than Yourself
At the end of the day, building an enduring company that can thrive without you is the ultimate goal. This is impossible if you insist on being the smartest person in the room and making every decision. You have to hire people better than yourself who can take the company to heights you never could alone.
As Jim Collins wrote in his classic book Good to Great, the best leaders exhibit a "paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will." They're ambitious for the cause, not themselves. So they put their ego aside and focus on assembling the best possible team to achieve the mission.
Hiring people smarter than you is the ultimate act of humility and ambition. It's how you build something bigger than yourself and ultimately achieve more than you ever could alone. As Jobs said, that's the whole point of hiring smart people - so they can tell you what to do, not the other way around.
Of course, hiring brilliant people is easier said than done, especially in today's competitive talent market. It requires a disciplined process to source, evaluate and close exceptional candidates. Here are a few tips:
Look for Learners, Not Know-It-Alls
When assessing candidates, prioritize curiosity, passion for learning and willingness to question the status quo over years of experience or existing knowledge. The smartest people are lifelong learners always seeking to expand their expertise, not those who think they have it all figured out.
Ask questions like "What are you reading lately?", "When was the last time you changed your mind about something?", and "How do you stay on top of the latest developments in your field?" to gauge their hunger for continuous growth.
Go Beyond Credentials and Pedigree
Don't be overly impressed by fancy degrees, past employers or other surface-level markers of intelligence. Dig deeper to understand how they think, approach problems and get results.
For example, ask them to walk through a major project they led or problem they solved. Probe to understand their reasoning, creativity and impact, not just the outcome. Smart people can clearly articulate their thought process and are quick on their feet.
Sell the Learning Opportunity
The best way to convince exceptionally smart people to join your team is to sell the opportunity to learn, grow and do the best work of their careers. Paint a compelling vision for how they'll be challenged, given ownership and make a meaningful impact.
Be prepared to answer questions like "What will I learn here that I couldn't elsewhere?", "How much autonomy will I have?", and "What's the biggest problem I could help solve?" A-players are looking for rocket ships, not cushy jobs.
Cultivate a Culture of Healthy Debate
To get the most out of your smart hires, you have to create an environment where dissent and debate are encouraged, not stifled. Make it clear that you value diverse perspectives and expect everyone to speak their mind, regardless of hierarchy.
Set the tone by inviting pushback on your own ideas, acknowledging when others have better solutions and rewarding those who respectfully challenge the status quo. The best ideas should win, not the most senior person.
Hiring people smarter than yourself is not only the key to building a great company, but also to fulfilling your own potential as a leader. It's an act of humility that paradoxically leads to greater success than you ever could have achieved on your own.
So next time you're making a critical hire, aim high and look for someone who intimidates you with their smarts. It may bruise the ego in the short-term, but it will pay massive dividends in the long run. As Jobs said, the whole point of hiring smart people is so they can tell you what to do. Embrace it and watch your company soar to new heights.
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