Director says she hires people 'smarter than I' to shape organizational culture

A participant at the meeting asked the Director to respond to praise for the organization’s culture. The Director replied, “I have one super secret power. And that is I hire people smarter than I in all the different areas.”

The Director went on to praise the team, saying, “my team is extraordinary, the faculty are wonderful, our coaches our our people in admissions and advancement our our administrators are remarkable.” She said she hires people who “know more about their areas” than she does and that she has “the good sense to make sure that I hire people who are better than I am.”

The exchange focused on leadership and staffing philosophy rather than a specific policy or decision. The participant who initiated the remark (recorded in the transcript as a Questioner) highlighted that organizational culture must be lived by staff and faculty through leadership example; the Director framed hiring and delegation as the practical means to achieve that. There was no motion, vote, or formal directive recorded in the transcript segment provided.

The discussion offers a concise example of a leadership approach that emphasizes delegation and recruitment of subject-matter expertise. No follow-up actions or implementation steps were recorded in the excerpt.