Emma Grede

It means both people are getting something real.

It means the exchange is a conscious one and it's mutual.

And nobody is overgiving while the other person just takes, takes, takes.

I learned this the hard way.

And then I figured out the right way through Good American, through SKIMS, through building teams that actually challenged me and made me better and pushed me to see things that I just couldn't see on my own.

Now, my wonderful husband, Yen, said something to me once that changed everything.

He said, stop having an employee mentality.

And what he meant was stop looking for a boss.

Stop subordinating yourself to someone who must know better.

You are the leader.

Act like it.

I think about it every time I sit down to hire someone because the way you hire tells you everything about how you see yourself.

If you're scared to hire someone smarter than you, that is a self-worth problem and it is your problem.

If you can't let go of someone who isn't performing, that's a guilt problem.

If you're doing everything yourself because you think nobody can do it as well as you, that's a control problem.

And all of those problems, they start with you.

Now, the three big things.

Before I let you go, let me just boil this down.

If you're putting together a team, here are the three things I really want you thinking about.

Number one, know your weaknesses before you write the job description.