DOs and DON’Ts for Leading Clever People

Leadership — 28 September 2009

“Without clever people, leaders cannot hope to succeed. Without good leadership, clevers can never realize their full potential.”

The author here reflects on the book Clever where he reckons: “The paradox is that while they (clever people) don’t want to be led, they need leadership in order to achieve their potential and create value for society.”

The author of the book also lists dos and don’ts for leading clever people:

DOs	DON’Ts
Explain and persuade	Tell people what to do
Use expertise	Use hierarchy
Give people space and resources	Allow them to burn out
Tell them what	Tell them how
Provide boundaries (agree on simple rules)	Create bureaucracy
Give people time	Interfere
Give recognition (amplify their achievements)	Give frequent feedback
Encourage failure and maximize learning	Train
Protect them from the rain	Expose them to politics
Give real-world challenges with constraints	Build an ivory tower
Talk straight	Use bull or deceive
Create a galaxy	Recruit a star
Conduct and connect	Take all the credit as the leader