The best leader is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

The saying distills a pragmatic view of executive leadership: effectiveness comes less from doing everything oneself than from selecting capable subordinates and then granting them room to work. The first half emphasizes judgment in recruitment and delegation—matching people to tasks and trusting expertise. The second half stresses discipline: resisting the impulse to micromanage, second-guess, or interfere once responsibility has been assigned. In this view, leadership is a balance of authority and restraint, where the leader’s real work is setting direction, choosing the right agents, and holding them accountable for results without smothering initiative.