The First Time She Hired Someone Better Than Herself

Business can only scale when you release the need to be the expert in every room. I've always made it a priority to surround myself with talent that surpasses my own in specialized areas. By giving my team full creative range and ensuring they receive the credit for our wins, we've built a culture where the collective thrives. My philosophy is simple: Teams win; individuals merely maintain.

I once persuaded school leadership to hire a teacher whose energy and curiosity immediately stood out to me. What I didn't yet understand was how much I would learn from her. Early in her time on our team, I began questioning my decision. She had more than five years of teaching experience, and I assumed that meant she would arrive knowing how to navigate a high school setting. I underestimated how much she was taking on: a new campus, new colleagues, a new district, unfamiliar curriculum and policies, and a different age group. I had always taught high school. What felt comfortable to me was new territory for her. While I was standing in familiar ground, she was choosing to grow bravely. Recognizing that helped me reconsider my expectations and the support she needed. As she grew more comfortable and felt supported and trusted, I was continually amazed by what she brought to her classroom. Her passion for her subject, resourcefulness, and willingness to explore ambitious ideas opened possibilities I might never have considered. Her projects and questions invited students to think deeply, trust their ideas, and approach learning with confidence and curiosity. I've always believed strong teams need different strengths and perspectives. No one person can excel at everything. This experience deepened that belief: recognizing someone's potential also means giving them room and support to develop it. I hesitate to describe one person as "better" than another because our strengths are so different. But she brought creativity and a boldness of exploration that stretched my own thinking. Her energy continues to inspire me. She reminded me that leadership requires the humility to learn from the people we advocate for and to celebrate when their strengths take the team somewhere we could not have reached alone. Even after I changed jobs, we stayed connected. Our friendship and professional collaboration have become meaningful sources of continued learning and growth for me. What began with advocating for her place on our team grew into a relationship I value far beyond that shared workplace. She reminded me that leadership requires the humility to learn from the people we advocate for. Sometimes, the person you help bring onto a team becomes someone who helps you keep growing long after you leave it.

When I started my business in 2023 under a different name, I had absolutely nowhere to begin and had to figure out every single piece on my own. The moment I finally hired an expert to handle an area outside my comfort zone, everything changed. It taught me that being a founder isn't about knowing everything; it's about having the humility to bring in people who are better than you in their specific zones of genius so your collective vision can grow.