Interesting title don’t you think? We all know who I’m talking about, the person who “somehow” got the position that we deserved. Maybe it’s somebody who has a little “authority” for the first time and immediately begins acting as if they rule the world.

These people are frustrating for all of us smart people who have earned every promotion or raise we every received.

I’ll admit that at times I’m frustrated by “those” people too. Then I remember that truly smart people don’t let things, or people, not within their control frustrate them.

I remember something else too; there really are no stupid people. There are people who look differently than me. There are people who talk differently than me. There are people who think differently than me. There are people who disagree with me and there are people who are just plain different than me.

None of those differences make them stupid. I’m wrong when I think they do.

Authentic leaders understand that different people bring different strengths to the team. They know that if everyone thinks and acts the same the success of the team can be limited.

Authentic leaders put people in their strength zones, making it possible to use the difference to benefit everyone.

The next time you’re tempted to think of someone as stupid remember that it’s far more likely they are simply different. As a leader it’s your job to figure out how that difference “fits” within the organization. It’s your job to use that difference to it’s advantage and ensure that the difference is valued by other members of the team.

Leaders who fail to find the value of diversity in their organizations had better be careful,  someone may just think they are stupid.