Leadership Traps & Fixes #2:
Leaders Who Fear Hiring Smarter People and the Fix That Builds Real Power

Most leaders don’t hire smarter people.
They hire safer people.
Why?
Because smart hires expose gaps.
They ask sharper questions.
They can even outshine you.

So leaders play defense.
They build teams that “do enough.”
Teams that won’t push too hard.
Teams that won’t threaten their authority.

I have seen it firsthand:
Candidates are rejected not for lack of skill, but because the candidate was perceived as being “too much.”
Too bold. Too ambitious.
Translation: They might take my seat.

The cost?
– Mediocre teams.
– Growth stuck in neutral.
– A leader drowning under their own ego.

The fix isn’t complicated.
Hire smarter. Then get out of their way.
Your job isn’t to outshine them but to clear the path.

That’s real leadership.
That’s real power.

Up next in this 5-part series on Leadership Traps & Fixes:
Post 3: How Blame Culture Kills Trust and the Reset That Makes Teams Unstoppable.

In this series.
Leadership Traps & Fixes #1: The Higher You Rise, The Harder It Gets to Handle Criticism
Leadership Traps & Fixes #3: How Blame Culture Kills Trust and the Reset That Makes Teams Unstoppable
Leadership Traps & Fixes #4: The Rare Leaders Who Flip the Script and What You Can Learn from Them
Leadership Traps & Fixes #5: The long-term playbook for entrepreneurs setting the right circle from Day 1