In this episode: Season 2 opens with a familiar warning: don’t be the smartest person in the room. Jon Peyton explains why hiring people who think like you stalls growth, how to balance IQ and EQ across your team, and why your team leaders need both.
Key insights
- If you’re the smartest person in the room, people stop challenging you, and the company stops growing past you.
- Take inventory of your team’s strengths to find the gaps, then hire people who fill them, not people who mirror you.
- Technical, introverted teams and expressive, people-focused teams often struggle to understand each other.
- Team leaders need strong IQ and EQ to translate the vision across departments and earn their team’s respect.
- Purpose and culture, not being the smartest, are why good people want to work for you.
Episode timeline
- 0:00 Welcome to Season 2
- 1:03 “Don’t be the smartest person in the room”
- 2:11 Hire people smarter than you
- 2:39 Taking inventory of your team’s skills
- 4:02 Surround yourself with people who’ll push back
- 6:05 When departments speak different languages
- 9:16 IQ versus EQ
- 11:41 Why people follow you: purpose and culture
- 14:52 What great team leaders need
- 15:39 Leaders who’ve lost touch with the front line
- 17:17 A self-check: can your people push back?
- 20:35 Keeping your inner circle from becoming an echo chamber
- 23:27 Coaching IQ and EQ
The episode in brief
The smartest person in the room. If you hire people who look and sound like you, they’re likely to follow your lead rather than challenge it. They may hesitate to disagree for fear of sounding foolish. The smartest entrepreneurs hire people who are smarter than they are in specific areas, because nobody is brilliant at everything.
Find the gaps. Take inventory of the people who work for you. Are they technical or strategic? Big picture or tactical? Mapping those skills shows you where the holes are, and that becomes your hiring plan, whether you work through HR, a recruiter or on your own. Look for people who complement your skills and aren’t afraid to challenge you. Some entrepreneurs hire followers because they want to be the top boss, but leaders who serve their people tend to gather input before making the final call.
Different languages. Smart hires don’t help if they can’t communicate. Some teams, often numbers- or software-focused, prefer logic to feelings. Others are expressive but can’t get what they need from their more analytical colleagues. As the leader, build a culture where both can be heard, and develop people who can act as translators between departments. Otherwise every issue runs through you, and you’re back to being the smartest person in the room.
IQ and EQ. You don’t want to be the smartest person in the room on EQ either, or you end up parenting your team. Jon recommends reading about emotional intelligence and building EQ questions into your interviews. So why would people follow you? Because of the vision you’ve communicated, the culture you’ve built and the impact the company makes. People want to work for a company with a purpose and know their role in it.
Team leaders. Your team leaders need both strong IQ and strong EQ. They carry your mission, vision and values to their teams, and they need to know the work. Jon recalls leaders who hadn’t sat in front of a client in a decade and struggled to earn their team’s trust. Leaders don’t have to do the job daily, but they must stay current on the industry, their department and competitors.
Check yourself. Ask: if my people gave me advice I didn’t want to hear, would I reflect on it or dismiss it? If they never push back, you may have hired too many people like you. As you grow, your inner circle tends to look more like you, so put guardrails in place. IQ is easier to develop through training or certifications. EQ is harder and may take outside help from HR or a coach.
Key action items
- Inventory your team. List each key person’s strengths and note where the gaps are.
- Test for pushback. Ask your leaders for one thing you should change, and listen without defending.
- Add EQ to interviews. Include questions about how candidates communicate, handle conflict and work with different personalities.
- Name your translators. Identify who can bridge communication between departments.
- Restate your purpose. Make sure every team leader can explain the company’s mission and how their team supports it.
Listen next: Episode 40: The Entrepreneur’s Mindset Test
This episode is educational and isn’t legal, tax or financial advice. Speak with your own attorney and advisers about your situation.