“The smartest people know what they don’t know.”
I had that drilled into me some three decades ago by a mentor. He practiced this every day, listening carefully to others’ views, thoughts and opinions. He surrounded himself with people who “are smarter than me…at least in one area.”
Whatever he did not know or did not feel comfort with, he found someone who did. And he built high-performing, cohesive teams time and time again.
Too often, we all fall into the “must know-it-all” trap. We are taught–encouraged even–to practice self-sufficiency. Sure, you can be successful all by yourself…to a point. Then you will likely plateau or possibly slide backwards.
It is easy to fall into this trap; avoid delegating to staff, foresake hiring counsel, move forward without the involvement of volunteers because it’s just quicker or cheaper, right? I am embarrassed to say I’ve done it. And the price of that mistake is placing a limit – a ceiling – on what you can accomplish. Or maybe even failure.
That mentor of mine, he is the son of the hog farmer, first in his family to attend college and worked as chief of staff for a U.S. Senator. His daughter now serves in the U.S. Congress. And he would be the first one to say that every thing he accomplished, he owes to others. People “smarter than me…at least in one area.”
Do you know what you don’t know? And are you surrounding yourself with people smarter than you?
Here’s another great read about how seeking assistance is a sign of a great leader, like Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama.