How Many Wings Did We Clip Before They Learned to Fly?

"Never appear smarter than your boss."

It was not written in any rule book. There was no circular from Human Resources. Yet many of us understood it remarkably well.

When I was younger, particularly in the more hierarchical organisations of those days, offering an idea could sometimes be interpreted not as enthusiasm but as a challenge. Asking "Why do we do it this way?" could be more dangerous than simply continuing to do it that way.

Job security mattered enormously. A transfer to an inconvenient location, an adverse remark, stalled promotion or other disciplinary consequence could seriously affect a family. So intelligent people learned an unfortunate professional skill:

silence.

Ideas remained in notebooks. Questions remained inside heads. Innovation waited politely outside the manager's room.

And sometimes the person who progressed was not necessarily the one with the best idea, but the one who best understood the corridors — the whispers, alliances and weaknesses of others.

That is perhaps one of the saddest wastes in any society.

The People Whose Names We Will Never Know

We know the names of Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma because their talent eventually found opportunity.

But here is the uncomfortable question:

How many other Tendulkars were there who never found a coach?

How many Kohlis were told they were too aggressive?

How many Rohit Sharmas stopped playing because somebody with authority decided too early that they were "not good enough"?

The same question applies beyond sport.

For every Srinivasa Ramanujan whose mathematical genius eventually became visible, how many brilliant minds spent their lives doing routine work because nobody encouraged their curiosity?

For every A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who was able to dream beyond his circumstances, how many children were told:

"Be practical."

"Do what you are told."

"Do not ask too many questions."

"Who do you think you are?"

The tragedy is that we can never count those people.

History records the people who succeeded. It has no register for the people whom fear prevented from beginning.

Fear Is Expensive

Today we have a phrase for something we did not discuss very much in earlier decades: psychological safety.

When people fear negative consequences for voicing ideas, organisations lose innovation. Research and management thinking increasingly recognise fear as a major human barrier to innovation. Organisations that reduce fear tend to create stronger environments for teams to perform.

Fear therefore has a balance sheet.

It may never appear under "Operating Expenses," but its costs are enormous:

an invention never attempted,

a process never improved,

a fraud never challenged,

a mistake never reported,

a young player never selected,

a question never asked,

and a future leader who decided that remaining invisible was safer than shining.

When employees believe that offering a new idea may carry negative consequences, innovation naturally suffers. [6]

A Message to Leaders

If somebody reporting to you is more knowledgeable than you in one area, celebrate.

You hired well.

If a youngster finds a better method than yours, do not protect yesterday's method.

Protect the youngster.

A leader's greatness is not measured by how many people remain below them.

It is measured by how many people grow because of them.

The young person who becomes better than you has not diminished your achievement. In many ways, that person has become part of your legacy.

A candle does not become darker because it lights another candle.

And a manager's chair does not become smaller because somebody in the team has a larger idea.

And a Message to the Young

There is another side too.

Courage must not become arrogance.

Questioning everything merely to demonstrate intelligence is not innovation. Respect experience. Listen carefully. Understand why a system exists before declaring it foolish.

Then, if you see a better way, speak.

Speak with evidence.

Speak respectfully.

Speak knowing that you may be wrong.

But do not surrender a good idea merely because somebody senior may feel uncomfortable hearing it.

Organisations need respectful disagreement far more than comfortable silence.

Perhaps It Is Time

My generation lived through a world where hierarchy was often stronger, employment options were fewer and security mattered deeply.

Things have changed.

But perhaps not completely.

The fear of being labelled "difficult," "too ambitious," "not a team player" or "trying to show off" can still silence talented people.

So perhaps society needs a new piece of advice to replace the old one.

Not:

"Never appear smarter than your boss."

But:

"Become smarter than your boss — and hope your boss is proud of you."

Because the greatest loss is not when talented people leave an organisation.

The greatest loss occurs much earlier:

when talented people remain inside it, but stop contributing what is inside them.

We will never know how many scientists, artists, entrepreneurs, administrators, teachers, athletes and leaders humanity lost because someone clipped their wings before they discovered they could fly.

We cannot change that past.

But we can certainly stop clipping the next pair.

Let them question. Let them create. Let them occasionally prove us wrong. Above all — let them fly.

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