The Smartest Person in the Room

Are you the smartest person in the room? Or, do you have a need to be the smartest person in the room? Most leaders would say, “no, of course not”, and yet, the action of many leaders would say otherwise. It’s not easy to sit back and let other people in the room come up with the “right” answer for important issues, didn’t we learn this at a young age? Remember the kids in school who always raised their hands vigorously when the teacher asked the class a question? It was important to have the right answer, and to have the right answer first. For some of us, this isn’t an impulse that turns off easily and yet, if you can find that switch it can be powerful.

Self-awareness

Often, the leader who is? “the smartest person in the room”? is missing something important - self-awareness. Understanding and embracing the way people view you is a critical characteristic of high empathy leaders. When leaders realize that their people view them as leaders they understand they already have a level of clout. There is no need for a self-aware leader to prove he or she is the smartest person in the room and, consequently, there is an opportunity for others to step into that role.

Building the team

What the "smartest person in the room" really misses is the opportunity to build a team of competent leaders. When the leader has clearly stated the vision for the team and sits back and listens to his team come up with great ideas and provides space for those people to be the smartest people in the room, something magical happens. People on the team build confidence, develop higher self-esteem, feel valued, earn respect and grow more connected to their job. They become the leaders that every leader should strive to develop. The exact opposite happens when the big boss comes in, sucks the air out of the room and has to make sure everyone knows he or she is the smartest person in the room.

None of us is smarter than all of us

Author and Business Consultant, Ken Blanchard, has a phrase that could benefit all leaders. It’s this: “None of us is smarter than all of us”. It is the antithesis of the smartest person in the room. When leaders realize that the collective whole is smarter than the person in the corner office, amazing things start to happen. New perspectives are brought to light, problems that seemed hopeless get solved and good ideas become great ideas.?

Creating healthy teams and businesses is not easy. It requires time, patience, an eye for hiring the right people for your organization and it takes humility - lots of humility. The culture starts at the top and the leaders set the tone for the entire organization like it or not. If you sit in that seat, do you need to be the smartest person in the room? More importantly, what would your people say about you?????