When you’re hiring staff, building a team, or searching for a contractor, it means you need one thing: help. You’re essentially pulling over and asking for directions. If you need help, hire the best person you can for the job. Hire someone smarter than you. It’s a rule that seems obvious but it’s one that many hiring managers forget when they are blinded by ego or awestruck by a pretty resume.
Let’s say you need to redesign your company webpage and you need it done quickly. First, admit your ignorance, quit entertaining the notion that you can, one day, learn enough web-building skills to do it yourself. Second, don’t outsource the work to someone already on your staff who only has minimal web construction abilities. Look for someone smarter than you and who has a new set of skills to bring to your team. Not only will your goal be accomplished, but it will be done well and in a timely fashion. The costs may be higher but the job is done and customers are won. There’s a reason why Fortune 100 companies pay top-dollar for top-talent.
The above example is common sense. However, hiring people who are smarter than you and in your field poses a potential problem. You’ll assume that the equally qualified new hire may quickly outperform you and take the corner office before you do. It can happen. However, if you are able to work with your new hire and combine your strengths to guarantee positive results–you’ll be the one who was responsible for your team’s success. You have to be able to get people on your side.
Sports coaches search for the best talent even if it comes with high costs and the danger of mixing testosterone-packed temperaments and egos. A good coach will know how to manage highly ambitious players as well as their tried-and-tested players. It’s about managing talent, keeping people on your side, and being brave enough to admit that you need help.
Once you accept that you need help, it’s easy to ask for directions and hire qualified people. If you don’t admit your ignorance– you’ll be at a loss and you’ll drive your team around in circles.
