.
I hope so.
I have been continually amazed at how many managers are threatened by having really smart, capable people working for them. I seem to be encountering this quite regularly these days when more people are more nervous in general.
I have never understood this.
I guess the possible fears/explanations are:
Smart people hire smart people.
On the contrary, when leaders make their top performers famous, the glory always rubs off.
Let’s look at the model in it’s purest form…If smart people hire only even-smarter people, and those people hire only even-smarter people, the organization gets even stronger and smarter as it grows. The leader is a hero.
If stupid people are threatened by smart people, and hire people less smart than they are, and so on, the entire organization gets more weak and stupid over time. The leader washes out because the organization can’t deliver or compete.
But let’s look at this from the perspective of one manager and one really smart person.
As a manager if you find yourself saying Wow, this person is really smart, and really capable. In reality, they could do my job, maybe even better than me.
You have two basic choices.
1. Uh-oh – Be threatened and lock them in a supply closet.
2. Hurray! – Pile the work on, shine a spotlight, and let them move mountains for you.
In the first case, what do you accomplish?
In the second case, what do you accomplish?
I can not see a single downside to letting a really smart person be as good as they can be.
I have never seen a smart person letting a smarter person thrive beneath them get damaged by this. It’s good for you, it’s good for them, it’s good for the business.
But, I have often seen people who are threatened by smart people and limit them to appear more qualified personally, lose the game and get moved out of the way.
I chose the picture for this post based on an Australian expression,”Tall Poppy Syndrome“, which is used to describe the need some people have to cut down the most capable and talented people around them – the ones who stand out.
Working from home, it's easy to fill up every moment of your day doing something…
I am noticing something interesting in the pandemic about communicating. There is great disparity between…
Remember, Great isn't Cheap I see leaders setting themselves up for failure and credibility loss…
This month the topic in my Executive Mentoring Group is: Selling Your ideas. In my…
Reflecting on my own career, it struck me what an advantage it was that I…
Feeling remote and invisible During the pandemic, I've had a lot of questions from people…