Why It Is So Hard To Bring Out Talent In Others⁠

Originally published Mar. 3, 2014 on Forbes.com

Great managers bring ordinary people together to accomplish extraordinary things. If your strategy for success is to build a "dream team" of all-stars, you are setting yourself - and your company - up for disappointment.

It is no easy task to bring out the best in other people. Human nature makes it extremely difficult for most of us to do this. It is tempting to hire the people you like best, to like the people who are most impressed with your ideas, and to promote the people who are easiest for you to manage.

In other words, human nature explains why so many business teams are ineffective, disorganized, and frustrated. We all have egos, and ego is like a voice whispering in your ear to reward the people who make you feel good. The problem is that the center of a great team is not your ego, but a common purpose.

To rise to the level of a great manager, you must first tackle your own limitations...

To offer a personal example, I'm an intuitive person, and sometimes unearth an answer while others are still eager to discuss numerous possibilities. The flip side of this tendency is that I can be impatient with "overly" detail-oriented people, and I abhor long meetings.

To be clear, these are biases. They are weaknesses.

Over time, I've learned that the more complex a problem, the more important it is to include detail-oriented people on a team. It also becomes important to collect a diverse group of people who look at the situation through different mental models.

Does any of this sound familiar? If you think you lack biases, you aren't being honest with yourself. Everyone has them; the trick is to not allow yourself to be handicapped by yours.

Pay attention

To bring out the best in others, you must learn to listen to the things you don't want to hear...

• The people who disagree with your own opinions

• The people who love the sound of their own voices, but who actually say things of value

• The people who are too shy or nervous or disenchanted to participate

• The people who think this whole process is a waste of time... and just might be right

A few people are innately talented at listening. Most of us are not. It is hard work to learn to pay attention, but you will never be a great manager unless you learn to pay attention.

Work behind the scenes

In our social media age, CEOs and entrepreneurs often take on the role of rock stars; they hog the press, and take too much credit.

A great leader does the opposite... she or he often works behind the scenes to empower others, to develop their talents, and to boost their careers.

Think of it this way: you are paid to produce certain results, not to deceive yourself that you walk on water. If successful, you will make things happen, and be handsomely rewarded for doing so. Do you really need applause for every smart move you make?

Be open-minded. Be present. Be humble.

Add it all up, and this simple formula is deceptively simple to execute. The truth is, it is not hard to figure out how to bring out the talent in others. It is just hard to be a big enough person to do it.

Go ahead... give it a shot.