Don't Be the Smartest Guy in the RoomOverhaul your management style and approach to avoid making the same mistakes.

I have been exposed to many interesting business leaders over the years. The difference between the average ones, and the great ones, was how they viewed themselves, and the role they thought they needed to play within their company. My conclusion: the persons that saw themselves as the smartest guy (or gal) in the room, who needed to control all the decision-making in the company, are the ones who achieved the least success, and ended up alienating their peers the most. Allow me to explain further, so you don't repeat these same mistakes.

The smartest guy in the room — meet Bob

Meet Bob, the CEO of hypothetical ABC Corporation. There is no one in the company whose opinion he values more than his own. He doesn't trust his staff to make the tough decisions. He loves to hear himself talk. No new ideas are good unless he came up with them. He loves to micro-manage every decision. He pretty much "knows it all," regardless of the topic, and would never hire a person smarter than himself, to not look stupid. The company's revenues are simply not growing and Bob has no idea why.