Stop Trying to Be the Smartest Person in the Room

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In any group of people, only one (or maybe two) of them can be the smartest, right?

So the next time you find yourself in a room of people and are tempted to try to make a good impression with your experience or mental horsepower, or to establish yourself as a “player,” you would do well to face the simple reality that there can be only one smartest person in any given room.

“You would do well to face the simple reality that there can be only one smartest person in any given room.”

And Your Point Is...?

You either are the smartest person in the room, or you're not.

So What?

It's natural to want to make the best possible impression on others, especially if it's a group of people we don't know. It's tempting to want to make our mark and try to establish our credibility or influence.

But this effort to capture the SPITR title can be counter-productive—and maybe even detrimental—to establishing influence with the group.

First, it's very likely that everyone has already figured out who the smartest person in the room is. And if they haven't, it won't take long for them to confirm it. Trying to prove it just makes you look desperate, or egotistical.

“This effort to capture the SPITR title can be counter-productive—and maybe even detrimental—to establishing influence with the group.”

Secondly, your efforts will likely backfire on you. If you're NOT the smartest person and try to act like you are, then everyone else will see what you're trying to do—and you don't want to get branded with that. If you ARE the smartest person in the room and try to act like you are, then you run the risk of looking like a prideful, controlling jerk.

Either way, you lose credibility and trust, which is a step backward in your efforts to achieve influence with those in the room. Remember: the goal is not to be perceived as the smartest, it's to maximize your collaboration with the team and leverage what you and everyone collectively bring to the table to in order to get the best possible outcomes.

“Remember: The goal is to maximize your collaboration with the team and leverage what you and everyone collectively bring to the table to in order to get the best possible outcomes.”

The Big Picture

IQ is certainly an asset, but leadership is much more than intelligence. Many times the smartest person's opinion isn't the best way forward. So stop trying to appear as if you're the smartest in the room—as if that gives you some sort of award—and just lead. Because in the end, leadership is less about your capabilities and more about the team’s capabilities.

Your Next Step

How can you accurately assess your attempts to leave an impression?

“In the end, leadership is less about your capabilities and more about the team’s capabilities.”

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Living in a House Divided

Note: This post called for more than my usual 400 words. Hopefully, you’ll agree it’s deserving.

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The riot at the Capital Building on January 6, 2021 is unmistakable proof of a problem that’s been brewing for a while. It’s a problem few of us are willing to acknowledge–and the consequences of our unwillingness are dire.

Many will place the blame on Donald Trump. Doing so would be expected—and perhaps justified in some regard—but it will do little to bring about a lasting solution. That’s because the events of January 6th are just the symptoms, not the core issue.

“The events of January 6th are just the symptoms, not the core issue.”

Any consultant worth their salt will tell you that specific individuals are rarely the root cause of a problem. Though individuals certainly play a part, they are merely evidence of a deeper—and usually systemic—set of processes and assumptions that are in play.

And Your Point Is…?

The core issue is not Donald Trump and/or his supporters or detractors. The core issue is that we have embraced division as a way of life.

We live in a house divided.

“Specific individuals are rarely the root cause of a problem.”

So What?

As a nation and society, we have embraced an attitude of division as a way of life. Though this goes way beyond the political arena, politics perfectly reflect the issue.

In observing news, social media, talk radio and conversations at the water cooler and across the kitchen table, we talk and act like our society falls into two polarized camps. These camps have opposite views on almost every issue with virtually nothing in common. Graphically it might look like this:

The outcomes of this approach are predictably self-evident. Nothing gets done. Priority, long-term issues become politically radioactive and get kicked down the road in favor of securing short-term gains. Policies, positions and programs swing wildly from one election cycle to the next.

Both sides view each other as radicals and extremists. They advance their position by destroying the credibility of the other side. Everyone’s broadcasting but no one’s listening; dialog and diplomacy get squeezed out by diatribe.

The modern presidential election strategy is to do enough to maintain your base (keeping those states in your corner), and target the undecided moderate voters in the key swing states—which can boil down to a relatively small number. This turned the tide in Biden’s favor in 2020. Likewise, in 2016, Trump won by getting 77,759 more votes than Hillary Clinton in three key counties across the three swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania—in spite of actually losing the popular vote.

“Everyone’s broadcasting but no one’s listening.”

The game comes down to one of two plays:

1. Leverage power to maintain majority, or

2. Obstruct the agenda of the majority until you can get it back.

Each election cycle we slip further and further into the crevasse of division, and the results become increasingly combative. Ultimately, the people suffer—and those most impacted are the ones with the least influence and affluence. Our standing and reputation as a nation suffers; no one wins.

Consider: Would you want your family to operate this way? Your football team? Your company? Not if you cherished it, wanted it to be competitive or have a lasting legacy.

As Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

“Would you want your family to operate this way?”

The Big Picture

This state of division doesn’t reflect who we actually are. Our society is more of a spectrum of perspectives. We are, generally speaking, a majority of either left- or right-leaning moderates with the more firmly-entrenched perspectives further out from the center. It actually looks more like this:

Though this sounds idyllic and panacean, we actually have much more in common than not. We could make tangible progress if our politics and society were guided by that truth, instead of the fear-based convenience of division.

Take any major issue facing us: Health care, immigration, social security, etc. What if our default approach were to be:

• Start with what we have in common,

• Then cooperate to identify a realistic outcome (even if it’s far from ideal) that isn’t tainted by political expediency or right- or left-leaning policy objectives,

• Then work together to achieve that outcome, at perhaps the expense of each side’s agenda.

We are a diverse society in thought, perspective, history and experience. Diversity makes for a stronger team, as long as they share a mutual respect and a unified goal. Surely, we can identify some common ground on which we stand, can we not? For consider: If we can’t, we’ve already lost, no matter which side we’re on.

“We can identify some common ground on which we stand, can we not?”

The main point of this whole discussion is that unity is a leadership issue. Moving from division to unity won’t just happen. It’s a massive change that will come only from courageous leaders inspiring it, modeling it, exhorting it, challenging it, motivating it … And it’s bigger than any one leader can generate. It requires a collection of leaders, working collaboratively.

I appreciate the current calls for unity as we see the onboarding of a new administration. But if we don’t make the decision—as an entire society—to reject division as a collective way of life, then we’ll never achieve unity. I mean no disrespect to the Biden administration (most new administrations in recent memory have made similar calls), but a call to unity without changing the underlying we’ve-got-the-majority-now approach will only further increase the divide. One person can’t fix this problem.

The solution requires nothing less than a cultural transformation. Leaders in news, media, industry, society, neighborhoods, families must all engage. Parents must train their children on the importance of unity over division. Ordinary citizen-leaders must stand for unity in their circles of influence and expect the same from its elected officials.

Who are the leaders that will step into the gap?

“A call to unity without changing the underlying we’ve-got-the-majority-now approach will only further increase the divide.”

Your Next Step

Lincoln was advised not to deliver the “House Divided” speech, out of fear that it was too radical and may cost him the 1858 U.S. Senate seat in Illinois. Lincoln replied that “The proposition is indisputably true … and I will deliver it as written.” His opponent, Stephen Douglas, widely used his speech against him and eventually Lincoln did lose.

Curiously, it’s also been observed that while it may have cost him the Senate seat, it probably gained him the Presidency two years later. Unity will not be quick, easy or expedient. Unity will, however, establish and maintain our legacy.

C’mon, y’all … we can do this.

“The proposition is indisputably true … and I will deliver it as written”

— Abraham Lincoln

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What Commuting Taught Me About Leadership – You See What You Look For

Recently I left a job at a great company but with a long daily commute. This is the 5th post of an 8-blog series on things I learned about leadership on those long and tedious hours on the road.
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To avoid the bulk of the traffic (and the accompanying delays), I went into work early. Many times this meant driving in the dark, when you can’t see as well. Or see as much. Or as far.

Or even more weirdly, you tend to see only the things you expect to see.

I worked for a logistics company, so it was a fairly common experience to see golf carts driving around the campus. One dark morning after entering the facility, I was surprised by a cart that “suddenly” appeared in front of me. Even though I was undistracted and watching for traffic, and despite the fact that the cart had its headlights on and a flashing orange light on the top, I didn’t see it until it was very close to me.

Reflecting on it later, I realized I didn’t see it because I was looking for cars, not golf carts.

And Your Point Is…?

When you’re driving hard and your perspective gets limited, you tend to see only what you’re looking for.

“I didn’t see it because I was looking for cars, not golf carts”

So What?

As a cyclist I can attest to being on the other side of this phenomena. Sometimes people driving cars simply don’t see bicycles (or motorcycles or pedestrians) because they’re looking for what they expect to see: other cars.

This is a human tendency that influences us at almost every level. It shows up when we keep a pessimistic, glass-half-empty perspective. It happens when we overlook opportunities. It contributes to having a fixed mindset. It reveals itself when we judge prematurely or act on a bias. It shows up when we’re stuck in a limiting habit we don’t even know exists. It happens when we get into conflict with others. It happens when we drive hard for results or achievement.

In other words, it can happen anywhere, anytime.

But it doesn’t have to.

“It can happen anywhere, anytime. But it doesn’t have to”

The Big Picture

It’s human nature: We choose to see what we see. So it’s a discipline to begin looking objectively, rather than selectively. It requires staying in a constant state of curiosity to look beyond what we expect. It’s the curious ones who are usually in a better position to solve problems, innovate, collaborate, excel and influence.

If you’re leading others, it’s all the more vital that you see the obvious things other people can’t—or won’t.

Your Next Step

What is one thing you can do maintain a base level of curiosity?

“If you’re leading others, it’s all the more vital that you see the obvious things other people can’t—or won’t.”

Want more leadership insights?

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