When Your Team Is Smarter Than You

A Leader's Moment of Realization

There comes a moment in every leader’s journey when you realize… your team might just be smarter than you.

For me, that moment came years ago when I was working for a telecommunications company. I was leading the Learning and Development team for all three regions of the company, but here’s the twist: I was the least experienced person in telecommunications in the entire group. My team members had come from a variety of cellular companies and brought an impressive depth of knowledge about the industry. I did not. I had L&D experience but in much different industries.

One of my biggest early challenges was to develop a robust training and safety program for our technicians. The ones who literally climbed and built the towers that kept us all connected. The problem? I knew nothing about cellular tower construction or field safety standards.

So, I had to lean in and rely completely on my team. They were the experts, and I had to become the student. Together, we built a program from the ground up that not only met compliance standards but elevated our company’s safety culture. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. Not just because of what we created, but because of what I learned about leadership, collaboration, and the power of trust.

From Knowing to Nurturing

Early in our careers, we’re rewarded for what we know. Expertise equals value. But when we step into leadership, the equation changes. Our value becomes how we help others use what they know.

In this particular role, my job became less about what I could teach and more about how I could help my subject matter experts believe in what they already knew. Many of them had never been asked to create training content before, they were field experts, not facilitators.  Part of my role was giving them the confidence to see themselves as teachers and leaders in their own right.

I may not have had the technical expertise, but my expertise was in building teams of confident, capable people. I focused on creating an environment where their ideas were heard, valued, and celebrated. I asked questions that drew out their knowledge, encouraged them to challenge each other’s thinking, and made sure they understood how vital their contributions were.

That’s when leadership becomes at its best. Not being the smartest in the room but being the one who knows how to bring out everyone else’s brilliance.

Letting Go of the Ego

Admitting that others know more can feel uncomfortable. The ego whispers, “But you’re supposed to have the answers.”

In that telecomm project, my role was to deliver an outstanding product. A training program that not only worked but made our technicians safer and more prepared for the job. But the real shift happened when I realized that the credit didn’t belong to me alone. The brilliance came from the collaboration of their technical expertise and my ability to translate it into clear, accessible learning tools.

I made a conscious choice to highlight their contributions, to make sure senior leaders and stakeholders knew who built the core content, who tested it, and who fine-tuned the field examples. It mattered that my team saw their fingerprints on the success.

Owning what I didn’t know wasn’t a weakness, it became the foundation for authentic partnership. Together, we created something exceptional by blending what each of us did best. I wasn’t ashamed of lacking a specific skill set; I was proud of how we combined our strengths to deliver something greater than any one of us could have done alone.

As one of my favorite coaching mantras goes: “When your team shines, you’ve done your job right, even if the spotlight isn’t on you.”

What Smart Teams Need from You

When your team is filled with expertise, your role transforms:

• Clarity Keeper: Align the brilliance toward shared goals.

• Connector: Bridge the gaps between talents, ideas, and egos.

• Confidence Builder: Ensure every voice feels valued.

• Culture Curator: Protect the environment that lets intelligence flourish without competition or fear.

Ask yourself:

• Do I create space for others to lead from their strengths?

• Do I reward curiosity as much as correctness?

• Am I comfortable learning from my team and saying thank you for the lesson?

When you can say yes, you’ve moved from managing performance to leading possibility.

Leadership Reflection

In my leadership journey, I have learned that leadership isn’t about standing above, it’s about standing among. This has shaped one of our core values at SRJ Collaborative. It is the collaboration of a team that excels performance and creates bold and inspiring leaders.

When your team is smarter than you, celebrate it. Because that’s not a threat to your leadership, it’s the ultimate validation of it.

After all, you built the team.