If you are worth your responsible position, a good staff will not mean to you one that merely does your bidding and nods "yes" to your every remark. It will be made up of people who complement you, not of those who compliment you. They will each be able to contribute, to offer differing views, to handle different tasks. They will preferably be a mixture of experiences and ages. Some may even know more than you do about many aspects of the job. To some you will assign only the most menial of tasks; to others you will be able to delegate the most demanding of responsibilities.
The good executive will also welcome the ambitious subordinates, even the ones who actively seek his job. They will keep him on his mettle; and they will, if he uses them well, make him look good in the process.
Finding good employees is not easy, and the problem is different in every field. One important thing to remember: don't be fooled by the immediately apparent, superficial abilities of the prospective employee. Learn to investigate his thinking processes. Look for the person who can think for himself and who knows the "why's" as well as the "what's."
When you have found the good staff members, show your appreciation by giving them responsibilities. The boss who insists on keeping his finger on details discourages his subordinates and slows their progress in learning to make their own decisions. Sooner or later, the capable ones quit and the others sit back and let the boss do all the work.
Experts on Subordinates
The first impression that one gets of a ruler and of his brains is from seeing the men he has about him. Machiavelli
You can buy a man's time, you can buy a man's physical presence at a given place, you can even buy a measured number of skilled muscular actions per hour or day. But you cannot buy enthusiasm, you cannot buy initiative, you cannot buy loyalty, you cannot buy the devotion of heart, mind, and soul. You have to earn these things." Clarence Francis
When you find a man who knows his job and is willing to take responsibility, keep out of his way and don't bother him with unnecessary supervision. What you may think is cooperation is nothing but interference. Thomas Dreier
It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test. Elbert Hubbard
The best leaders are those most interested in surrounding themselves with assistants and associates smarter than they are-being frank in admitting this-and willing to pay for such talents. Amos Parrish
Very few big executives want to be surrounded by "yes" men. Their greatest weakness often is the fact that "yes" men build up around the executive a wall of fiction, when what the executive wants most of all is plain facts. Burton Bigelow
I pick key executives for their specific strengths-then charge them with full responsibility for performing. I try to motivate and not tell them what to do or how to do it. A. F. Willers
It is an article of faith in my creed to pick the man who does not take himself seriously, but does take his work seriously. Michael C. Cahill
I don't want men of experience working for me. The experienced man is always telling me why something can't be done. He is smart; he is intelligent; he thinks he knows the answers. The fellow who has not had any experience doesn't know a thing can't be done-and he goes ahead and does it. Charles F. Kettering
A prince must show himself a lover of merit, give preferment to the able and honor those who excel in every art. Machiavelli
No general can fight his batches alone. He must depend upon his lieutenants, and his success depends upon his ability to secure the right man for the right place. J. Ogden Armour
I am one of the least useful persons on this railroad [president of the Southern Railway System]. As far as the public is concerned, this railroad is the conductor who takes up the tickets and either smiles or frowns while he does it. If a piece of freight is crushed through carelessness, it might inconvenience a customer, so the most menial loader on a freight platform is more important, to the customer, than I am at any particular time. At all times, I am dependent on every man who works on this railroad-from the vice-president, who may transmit my order to the porter who may ruin a man's trunk through careless handling. The higher you go in business, the more you realize your own dependence on other human beings. Ernest Norris
There are three ways to get things done. Do them yourself; get help; give help. In the long ago, you were free to choose whichever of the three came naturally to you. Indus-try was ripe with projects adaptable to do-it-yourself techniques. "The only way to get anything done around here is to do it myself" was the boastful complaint of many a supervisor from the Gay Nineties to the Roaring Twenties... But things are different today-and they'll be more different tomorrow. Kipling's "Down to Gehenna or up to the Throne, he travels the fastest who travels alone" is now an anachronism, no longer an axiom. Norman G. Shidle
Things are seldom what they seem, Skim milk masquerades as cream. W. S. Gilbert
