Stainless steel pan too hot or cold??

Been watching plenty of videos and instruction on how to properly use stainless steel pans and Ive been running into a dilemma.

1. Heat the pan high enough for the Leidenfrost effect and have my cooking oil smoke up and cause the fire detectors go off

Or

2. Have my pan not hot enough leading to everything sticking

Any suggestions? Thought cooking in stainless steel would be much easier