Episode 54. The Top 3 Reasons to Hire Someone Smarter Than You
Does thinking about hiring someone smarter than you make you sweat!? Take my advice... don’t sweat it! Hiring a brilliant team member shouldn’t make you feel threatened or nervous. Instead, think of it this way: hiring someone smart makes your company more successful, your life easier and allows you to look like the confident, talent-aware CEO you are!1
According to psychologist James Flynn, people can upgrade their own intelligence by surrounding themselves with smart colleagues.2 To clarify, being the smartest person in the room isn’t about being the dumbest person in the room; it’s about recognizing the skills or experience you lack and finding hires that complement you.
Do you want to settle for the bare minimum or step outside your comfort zone? I’m sure there’s an area (or a few) in your business that could benefit from a hire with expertise beyond your own. Whether it be a social media rockstar, data analytics nerd, graphic design guru, research pro… hiring the best and brightest will save you time and money. Hiring top talent will not only save you but will also add value to your business!
Today, I’m going to walk you through the top three reasons why you should hire team members who are smarter than you. Remember, it’s dumb to not hire smart!
Hiring smart will improve your performance.
I mean, this one sounds like a no-brainer! Your current team is probably amazing, but there’s always room for improvement. Evaluate what skills and expertise you and your team have, and then seek out talent that can bridge the gap between what you have and what you’re lacking.
When you hire brilliant team members, they will share unique knowledge that will lead to improved performance.3 Successful organizations encourage continuous-learning and fostering expertise among teams rather than hoarding it. It’s important to keep in mind that diverse, highly-educated, and rounded candidates will bring a fresh, new perspective to your team. Maybe there’s a process or product you know needs tweaking, but you need a fresh outlook. Innovative candidates will push the envelope and bring new ideas to the team.
Hiring smart gives your business a competitive edge.
Dream scenario: you interview a potential hire and they can’t gush on enough about the latest industry trends! A dream candidate will also have a vision of how they could be of service to your business and can pitch ideas for you during the interview. Be sure to ask open-ended questions during your interview process that will laser-focus on a candidate’s ability to think on the spot and show their intelligence on the fly. Hiring smart will lead you to candidates that are innovative thinkers who won’t settle for being a “just enough” business. Bring on brainy team members that are as passionate about moving your business forward as you are!
Hiring smart makes you a strong leader.
CEO, here’s the part where you can part yourself on the back. You aren’t going to let your ego get in the way of hiring a team member with different strong suites than you, and your business will benefit due to your strong leadership. Accepting that you cannot single-handedly do everything within your business to the highest standards doesn’t make you weak… it makes you a real superhuman! It can be challenging to admit when you don’t have all the answers and scary to risk your talent being overlooked by a new hire. Know your worth and embrace your own strengths while empowering the braininess of your team! By seeking out top talent when hiring, not only will your business grow, but you will also expand as a leader. Stepping outside your comfort zone by hiring smart makes you and your team strong!
Remember, a wise man named Steve Jobs once said “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.”2 Don’t perceive hiring smart as a threat; look at it as an opportunity to grow your business, your team and yourself. As we know, hiring the wrong people costs time and money that we don’t have to waste. You can do it, strong leader! Find those brainy dream team members that will push your business to perform and compete at a higher level.
