I never had much faith in leaders. I am willing to be charged with almost anything, rather than to be charged with being a leader. I am suspicious of leaders, and especially of the intellectual variety. Give me the rank and file every day in the week. If you go to the city of Washington, and you examine the pages of the Congressional Directory, you will find that almost all of those corporation lawyers and cowardly politicians, members of Congress, and mis-representatives of the masses — you will find that almost all of them claim, in glowing terms, that they have risen from the ranks to places of eminence and distinction. I am very glad I cannot make that claim for myself. I would be ashamed to admit that I had risen from the ranks. When I rise it will be with the ranks, and not from the ranks. – EUGENE V. DEBS

Surround yourself with the smartest people you know, that is. They don’t all have to be coworkers, although that’s a good idea too. Sometimes they’re friends like Mark Ramsey. Sometimes they’re complete strangers like Seth Godin. In today’s world it can be anyone who blogs.

But let’s go back to your workplace. Many of you are in positions where you hire people, which means you have the opportunity to vastly improve your station, or send it into mediocrity.

David Olgivy, who helped build advertising giant Olgivy & Mather had a habit of sending a little toy doll to people when they entered management. Along with the doll was a note reading, “If we hire people smaller than ourselves we’ll become a company of dwarfs. If we hire people larger than ourselves, we will become a company of giants.

I worked with King Broadcasting for 18 years, and they really pushed the concept, sometimes incomfortably so. They wanted to know why the candidate was better than I was, what they brought to the table that wasn’t already there, and how they could one day replace me. And they did build a company of giants.

It’s a good question to ask yourself when you’re hiring, are you building a company of giants or a company of dwarfs? Are you, like the Wall Street Radio managers, just looking for someone to follow orders, or someone who can think and create?

Here’s a little secret about leadership. When someone you’ve hired does well, it reflects back on you in a positive way. It doesn’t take away from you, it adds to you.

I’ve been in both types of companies, and it’s the ones hiring giants who really succeed. Don’t worry about hiring someone who might replace you, hire someone who will challenge you.  They will propel your future much more than you can do alone.