Why I Prefer Having Subordinates Who Outperform Me

I explain why I chose to lead a team: only by leading can I take on greater responsibility and make larger contributions.

One person's ability affects only a small slice of work, whereas a team can handle more complex projects, larger business scopes, and create greater value.

Leading also lets me continuously improve my technical, managerial, communication, and decision‑making skills.

When asked whether I can accept subordinates who are stronger than me, my answer is an unequivocal yes—the more, the better—provided the manager’s own ability is not weak.

In technical teams, a leader’s judgment, problem‑solving, and ability to backstop critical moments must be continuously elevated.

If a leader’s capability is lacking, the team will struggle to trust and follow.

The ultimate height a team can reach is determined not by a single leader’s throughput but by the entire team’s throughput.

A single person has only so many hours in a day; as projects grow in size and complexity, one leader cannot do everything.

Team throughput determines the scale of responsibility the leader can assume.

Team combat power determines the amount of value the team can generate.

However, this requires that the team contain several truly capable experts.

A team must have a few genuine “rockstar” members to hold it up.

Without these core members, even the best plans fail to materialize and goals remain out of reach.

In a complex project that stalls, they solve the key problems.

When a technical solution stalls, they provide fresh ideas.

During major online incidents, they step in immediately to stabilize the situation.

Many hard battles that seem impossible are ultimately won by these core members working together.

More importantly, they influence their peers and drive the whole team’s growth.

My long‑standing approach is simple: ensure the team has a few core experts who can anchor the team.

With these experts in place, the team can operate without my constant supervision.

When a difficult problem arises, someone helps analyze it.

When a risk appears, someone shares the burden.

When an important project arrives, someone can take full responsibility.

This frees me to focus on planning, talent development, and cross‑team collaboration—true managerial work—rather than constantly firefighting.

I never worry about subordinates being stronger than me; instead, I worry if the team lacks a second strong person besides the leader.

If every critical issue ultimately falls to the leader alone, the team’s combat power has not truly been built.

A good manager must do two things:

Continuously improve personal ability so the team trusts and follows you.

Continuously cultivate more independent core members to raise the team’s overall throughput.

Only a strong leader with a weak team goes nowhere; only a strong team with a weak leader also goes nowhere.

Excellent managers are not just strong themselves; they make the entire team increasingly strong.