Page 36 - Harvard Business Review, November-December 2018

P. 36

I look for people who are smarter than I am—and I like to joke that they’re not too hard to ﬁnd. I

look for people who know a lot about one thing or another, and about what we’re trying to get

done, and are strong-minded. I look for people who will not just say what they think I want to
hear but will oﬀer creative, exciting, thoughtful approaches to big challenges. I look for people

who will say no to me. I trust my own judgment, but I want those contrary points of view so that I

see all the pluses and minuses before I make the call. Then, when I’ve made it, I want people who

are also ready to go out and be team players and help implement it.

A version of this article appeared in the November–December 2018 issue (p.156) of Harvard Business Review.

Alison Beard is a senior editor at Harvard Business Review.

This article is about GOVERNMENT

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Related Topics: COLLABORATION | DECISION MAKING | REORGANIZATION | GOVERNMENT

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