Great Leaders Know

One of the hallmark traits of great leaders is their ability to build great teams with the expertise to help their organization achieve its vision and, in the process, fulfilled its purpose. In addition, these leaders have the wisdom to give their team the freedom to produce great work because it makes no sense to recruit the best and micromanage their work. As a leader, if you think you have to drive every idea for your team, it will eventually become exhausting and unrealistic.

Steve Jobs said, ‘It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do , We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.’ Great leaders aren’t know-it-alls who continuously try to outshine everyone. Instead, they admit when they’re wrong and genuinely want to learn from others. It’s not about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about building a team with the most intelligent people you can find.

You become an inspirational leader when you have the humility to build a team with people smarter than you. No one person could stay on top of everything. But the myth of the complete leader (and the attendant fear of appearing incompetent) makes many executives try to do just that, exhausting themselves and damaging their organizations in the process.