Rules of Hiring - Part II

Rule #2 of Hiring:

Always hire someone better than you at the job you are hiring for.

Sounds obvious right? However, too many times people are hired that are not as competent at their job as the manager (especially in the Tech world where the line between managing the work and doing it is often blurred - another mistake, but more on that later.) I believe the usual reason for this is fear. The manager believes if their group or department is staffed with extremely competent people, that the manager's boss will decide they (the manager) is no longer needed, or in the case where the owner makes the decision, they are afraid the new hire will outshine them.

The manager in the first case is driven by the fear of being made obsolete or useless. They miss the point that a manager is typically judged by the quality of their people's work, not their ability to rescue every project from the hands of their incompetent staff. If you hire only the best people to do the work, and remove the obstacles in their way, you should be recognized as the leader that you are.

However, if you find yourself in the kind of position where the bosses up the chain (and if there are a lot of those, you are already in the wrong company) share your fear, get out! What you are in for is a lot of frustration and an ulcer as your worry consumes you. Think about it. If you do shine because of your people, your boss (and possibly several bosses up the line as well as other managers in other departments) will either take credit for your work, or more likely, try to sabotage you. If you want to shine, but play the game and hire mediocrity, you will be frustrated as your department constantly looks to you to help out (which will feel nice the first 10 times but around time 100 is just plain infuriating.)

The second case is actually more ego than anything else. To those people I say: "Wake Up! You own the company! What the heck are you worried about?"