I’m sorry to break it to you, but you don’t know it all.

Ever run across one of those people who believes that they know everybody and everything? They are constantly trying to one-up anything you say. They routinely speak up at meetings, not to contribute but more to just be heard by the group and feel good about themselves. If you’re in leadership…don’t be one of those people. As a matter of fact if you’re in leadership, counsel those people after the meeting about their behavior.

Of course, if counseling doesn’t work, the next time they speak up about something, assign them the task as project team leader to come up with workable solutions for an issue. They will quickly realize that they need other people to accomplish the task. I’ve used the ‘task assignment’ approach with success several times.

With all of the advances in technology, the speed at which information is disseminated around the world and each individual’s capacity for learning…no one, not even you, can know it all.

Even though I’ve been in business, and in the business of coaching others for more than 23 years now, I still make it a habit to hire people smarter than me, consult and hire specialists and participate in coaching and mastermind groups myself.

By hiring well, coaching your people to keep learning and then supporting their efforts, the effect on your organization can be incredible. Any self-improvement program, e-learning, training program or college course is beneficial to your team in some way. As your co-workers are exposed to new people and new ideas they will look for ways to adapt them to your workplace.

Some of the biggest breakthroughs for companies come by adapting a successful product or practice from one industry and deploying it in an industry where it’s never been used before. Think about something as simple as the bar code. It was originally developed for the grocery industry for pricing and inventory control. It’s been adapted over time to get us onto aircraft with internet print-at-home tickets, through the gates at concerts, to count and control inmates in prison and even to keep track of CEUs at large conference events…who knew?

Never stop learning, never stop encouraging you team members to keep learning and remember your creator gave you two ears to listen, two eyes to see, two hands to pitch in with and only one mouth…coincidence…I think not.