Are Your Staff Raising the Bar? Why Hiring Smarter People Forces You to Be a Better Leader
One of the biggest mistakes I see builders make when growing their businesses? They hire people they can manage instead of people who can make the business better.
They bring on employees who follow orders, not ones who challenge the process. They hire for control instead of growth. And as a result? Their business stays stuck—because they’re still at the center of every decision.
The Truth About Hiring: Smart People Don’t Need to Be Told What to Do
Steve Jobs famously 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.”
And yet, so many builders do the exact opposite. They bring on employees and then refuse to step back. They micromanage, nitpick, and resist new ideas—because they’re afraid of losing control.
But the truth is, hiring better people doesn’t mean losing control. It means raising the bar.
Why You Should Hire People Who Are Better Than You
The best builders I know don’t just hire people to take things off their plate. They hire people who can do things better than they can.
✅ A great project manager will spot inefficiencies in your builds that you’ve been blind to.
✅ A strong operations lead will refine your systems, so your business runs smoother.
✅ A sharp estimator will increase your profit margins in ways you never considered.
When you surround yourself with people who challenge you, your business evolves faster. You’re no longer the smartest person in the room—and that’s a good thing.
Hiring Smarter People Forces You to Be a Better Leader
Here’s what happens when you build a team that’s better than you in certain areas:
🔹 You stop micromanaging and start leading. When you have a team you trust, you can focus on strategy instead of daily problem-solving.
🔹 Your business stops depending on you for every little thing. If you have to be involved in every decision, you don’t have a business—you have a job.
🔹 You create a culture of innovation, not just execution. Smart employees don’t just do the work. They improve it. They innovate. They help you scale.
So Ask Yourself: Is Your Team Raising the Bar?
- Are your employees pushing your business forward—or just waiting for directions?
- Are you surrounding yourself with people who challenge you to grow as a leader?
- Are you hiring to maintain the status quo, or to build something better?
Because at the end of the day, your business will only grow as much as you allow it to.
If you’re tired of feeling like the only one who truly owns the success of your business, it’s time to rethink who you’re bringing in. The best teams don’t need to be managed. They need to be led.
🔥 What’s one role in your business that you need to upgrade? Drop it in the comments.
