Leadership Principle #15 - Always Hire Talent Better Than You
If you’ve made it to the role of CEO, it’s natural to assume you’ve frequently been the smartest person in the room over the years. You’ve had to compete in your career, outthink your rivals and rely on your smarts to get you to the top. But if you find yourself to be the smartest person in the room at your organization today, then you are in the wrong room, and failing at an important piece of your role. Always hire talent better than you. Put your ego aside and find those individuals who will push you and make you a better leader as a result.
This is an important leadership principle because your company keeps growing, so the bar keeps rising too. However, you are not the bar – you need to be growing too, and to do that you need to hire individuals who will keep you on your toes. This can be deeply uncomfortable for some people, especially those who are used to being the best in their given field. Most likely, if you rose up in the ranks through one department, it was only natural to have been the best in one area for quite a while, whether that was sales, accounting, operations or other disciplines. But the big difference is now you are in charge of multiple departments, so you need a whole team of outstanding people to lead those departments.
I warn you that you will have to get ego out of the way in order to hire the talent necessary to succeed. This can make some people feel insecure, but if your insecurities result in you hiring mediocre talent, then your company will suffer. Real significant growth can’t be achieved without talented people.
The next question is usually, “Well, who should I hire?” Here is one thing that surprises many CEOs I work with. When people ask me who they should hire, I advise them to look for people who have grit and the ability to persevere. This matters far more at the executive level than just knowledge and skill in a certain area. Perseverance is the number one trait for which to hire. The people you hire need these qualities because the challenges will only get tougher the more the company expands. If you find individuals who have an appetite for new challenges, and will push you to grow as CEO, hire them! Then once you have that team in place, you will be well positioned for success.
If you want guidance on how to assemble a great team of people who have the right combination of talent, perseverance, and grit, contact me for a conversation about my CEO coaching opportunities.