DGTL Voices | Xinan Rahman | Hire People Who Make You Uncomfortable

14 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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In this interview excerpt, Xinan Rahman shares his perspective on the key factors that have contributed to his success. He emphasizes the importance of surrounding oneself with people who share similar ambitions and interests, creating an environment that constantly raises the performance bar. Rahman highlights a guiding principle he heard when starting his first company: work with individuals—whether direct reports or their reports—who make you feel slightly uncomfortable because they are exceptionally skilled. This discomfort pushes you to elevate your own standards. Additionally, he stresses the value of having supportive people who believe in you, as their encouragement fosters a conducive setting for achieving personal and professional goals.

Chapters

What are some of the keys, do you think, to your success?
Being able to surround myself with people who had similar interests and ambitions. I think being in an environment that's conducive to growing and constantly having a bar that's set is very helpful. When starting my first company, one quote that I heard from someone that I think rings really true is that you should work with people, even if they're your direct reports or your reports' reports. You should work with people that make you feel a little uncomfortable in the sense that you just think that they're really, really good because that kind of pushes you to raise your bar as well. So I think the other thing is just surrounding yourself with people who believe in you. The more support you have, the more conducive it is to achieving goals that you may have.