How to Lead Smart People summary

Johan, the managing partner at his law firm, had an idea. He wanted to buy another, smaller firm – an acquisition he believed would complement his firm’s existing services. But he knew he couldn’t simply act on this impulse. He needed the support of his team for the acquisition to succeed. And that didn’t just mean hearing their thoughts before proceeding with the decision. 

Johan knew that the intelligent people on his team didn’t just want to be heard; they wanted to be listened to – even if their ideas were not ultimately implemented.

Ayesha is all the things a leader should be. She’s smart and capable, and can complete difficult tasks with ease and speed. But she’s got a problem. Her team’s level of satisfaction isn’t as high as it should be. In fact, it’s surprisingly low.

The problem is this: Ayesha is so capable that she never delegates challenging tasks, since she can handle them better than anyone else. The people in her team, meanwhile, are forced to deal with the same mundane tasks, day in, day out. They don’t feel empowered or trusted. They’re never challenged, and so they never grow. Making matters worse, Ayesha is constantly overwhelmed with work.

Eguono and Ade first met while attending the same graduate trainee program at an international consulting firm. Years later, they remained friends and enjoyed an amicable rivalry as executives at competitive firms. So it came as a pleasant surprise to Eguono when Ade proposed that they merge their geographic- and sector-specialist firms.

For Eguono, the decision for the merger seemed like a no-brainer. He agreed that the firms were complementary. But even though he believed that it would benefit his firm and provide his team members with new opportunities, he wasn’t sure that the merger was the right decision.

In today’s globalized world, the ability to understand cultural nuances is an absolutely crucial leadership skill. Leaders are increasingly overseeing teams with diverse cultural backgrounds. If leaders aren’t attuned to this diversity, they risk making misjudgments, causing misunderstandings, and even doing irreparable damage to important relationships.

Smart people want leaders who understand them – regardless of their cultural heritage. And research shows that understanding is also good for business. Increasingly, clients look for the capacity to work across diverse regions and cultures. And internally, companies that succeed in communicating and developing multicultural relationships can see as much as 26 percent increased productivity.

As a young architect, Suki was ambitious. But she also had much to learn about the professional world – and she knew it. So she followed the advice of a senior colleague and sought a mentor.

After attending a number of networking events, Suki met David, the head of production for an engineering firm. David’s perspective on leadership challenges was interesting and unique, so she asked if he would be willing to mentor her.

Around the time that Felice was appointed to be a managing partner of his law firm’s construction and civil engineering sector – or CCEG – a number of smaller firms entered the field. Felice was concerned about the new competition. But his mentor had helped him realize that the burgeoning legal field for IT-development projects functioned similarly to legal procedures in CCEG.

Felice had a feeling that expanding the firm’s legal specialization to include IT projects would ensure the future success at the company. But, being a smart leader, Felice knew not to act based on feelings alone. He still had some work to do before setting a plan in motion.