Enable an environment of smart people.

There is a saying that sounds very nice, which works of the premise that you should surround yourself with people that are smarter than you to continue to do great work. What is not widely communicated is how you surround yourself with smart people, and the best ways to create an environment where everyone is able to feel smart. There is massive benefit in working with smart people, but smart people are very aware of what they expect from work environments so you need to first level up internally before you are able to get the smart coming out of people.

Having smart people means that you are open to them fully owning and running with their ideas, and equally important you allow them the space to have time to think. When you work with a team of amazing marketers, agencies, etc you need to allow that room for expression and the safe space that makes them feel that they are able to give their best. The most challenging work is not really the obvious, the show up for a meeting and the presentation of strategy or ideas.

The deep work, comes from the pursuit of creating a space and environment that allows your team to thrive. While it may sound great to say surround yourself with smart people, it may need you to develop what a smart environment looks like which in itself is a bit more challenging.