Multipliers, Revised and Updated: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter

by Liz Wiseman

A good Multiplier would define an opportunity that causes you to stretch; but just because your boss hasn’t asked you to take on a new chal...

How do you help leaders: 1) to recognize the collateral damage left in their wake, and 2) to find a better way of leading? How do you help the Accidental Diminisher become a more intentional Multiplier?

if you want to help someone lead in new ways, recognize and appreciate every attempt in the right direction, even the smallest acts of good leadership.

Your biggest opportunity to inspire Multiplier leadership might be in learning to recognize your own Diminisher traits and convert these conditions into Multiplier moments.

the only Diminisher you can change into a Multiplier is yourself.

Breaking the Cycle of Diminishing 1. It’s not necessarily about you 2. Diminishing isn’t inevitable 3. You can lead your leader

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. LAO TZU

RESONANCE. We hear from people everywhere that the distinction between Diminishers

and Multipliers resonates deeply with them. Many say, “Yes, I have worked for that manager.” They have seen diminishing in action (and/or multiplying), and it vividly describes the realities of the business world. 2. REALIZATION OF THE ACCIDENTAL DIMINISHER. Virtually all readers have confessed that they see some degree of diminishing behaviors in themselves. For some, there are only trace amounts. For others, there is a chronic pattern of behavior. They realize that their well-meaning management practices are, in all probability, having a diminishing effect on the people they work with. 3. RESOLVE TO BE A MULTIPLIER. After identifying their own diminishing tendencies, they have a genuine desire to become more of a Multiplier. Their conviction builds, but they are often overwhelmed by

the Multiplier standard and t...

magnitude of the task of ac...

1) how can we advance from insight to impact? and 2) how can we inspire collective insight and action and create an entire Multiplier culture?

The following five accelerators are proven fast-track practices—both for arriving sooner and for staying longer.

Accelerator No. 1: Start with the Assumptions To score a strike in tenpin bowling, you

need to hit the headpin. Hitting the headpin directly will kn...

pins behind it, and hitting it in just the right place, a little to the left or right, pretty much guarantees that all the pins will come tumbling down in a single strike. T...

Because behavior follows assumptions, you can knock out a whole set of behaviors by adop...

People are smart and can figure it out. You let Jyanthi know that you chose her for her understanding of the market and ability to assimilate the vast amounts of market data that the task force is assembling. You acknowledge that you are giving her a big job, as she will be representing the entire division and be fully responsible for implementing the task force’s outcomes. You might recommend that she come to meetings armed with data so she can weigh in on the issues and think on her feet during the debates. You would let her know that this task force is her project, but that you are available as a sounding board if she wants to think through the issues jointly.

What is the result of this approach? Jyanthi engages fully in the task force, gains new understanding of the competitive landscape, and advocates for marketing programs that will have immediate

benefit for your division. She impresses the task force leader, who thinks, This group has great talent. The assumptions we hold shape our views and practices and, in the end, have a powerful effect on outcomes (often by being self-fulfilling prophecies). If you want to apply Multiplier skills and behaviors naturally and insti...

CORE ASSU...

Having one towering strength almost doubled the effectiveness of the leader, provided the leader had no area of sharp weakness.

leaders do not need to be good at everything.

They need to have mastery of a small number of skills and be free of showstopping weaknesses.

neutralize a weakness; 2) top off a strength.

You need to neutralize the weakness and move it into the middle, acceptable zone. Having realistic goals frees up capacity to do the more important development work: turning your modest strengths into towering strengths.

Of the five disciplines, identify your strongest area and then build a deep and broad repertoire of practices that allows you to excel at this discipline.

Become a world-class Challenger or a resounding Talent Magnet. Invest your energy wisely and progress from good to great by topping off one of your strengths.

Which discipline is your strongest? Are any disciplines dangerously within Diminisher territory?

The good news is that the part of the brain that stores consciously cultivated new assumptions is the same part that unconsciously builds new habits.

Yet—and here is the kicker—until a new habit is formed (by creating new neural pathways through consistent behavior), the subconscious will think you should be operating in your old diminishing ways, even though those ways contradict your new Multiplier assumptions.

There is a trick to help you get through this period. First, give yourself permission to stumble as you cultivate new Multiplier behaviors while transforming old habits. Know that it will be hard; you’re likely to take two steps forward and then a step back as you develop new mindsets and skills.

My new Multiplier assumption is [people are smart and will figure it out], so I need to develop a new habit [giving space].

As I’m becoming a Multiplier, old habits will be mixed with new assumptions.

Until those habits are fully uprooted, I will continue making mistakes diminishin...

while I’m trying to learn to multiply others by...

Give them the worksheet in appendix E on pages 340–42 and tell them you are choosing one new practice to help you become a better leader. Then ask this question: If I want to bring out the best in the people I lead, which one of the nine experiments would help me the most?

But calling out ineffective behavior was just the beginning—they had to define the new leadership behaviors necessary to shape a culture of trust and high performance.

“Past results don’t predict future results; actually past behavior predicts future behavior, which then drives future results.”

From the anthropological perspective, culture is “the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place or time.” From the business perspective, culture is “a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in a place or organization.”5 Strong cultures typically exhibit the following traits:

Common language: Words and phrases that hold a common meaning within a community based on opinions, principles, and values6

Learned behaviors: A set of learned

responses to stimuli7 Shared beliefs: The acceptance of something as true8 Heroes and legends: People who are admired or idealized for their qualities, behavior, and/or achievements and the stories told about their heroic actions9 Rituals and norms: Consistent behavior regularly followed by an individual or a group10

Culture is powerful because it redirects and shapes our behavior; its forces overpower individual intent and reject individual behaviors that are not acceptable or normative.

Plato offers this insight: “The overwhelming majority of individuals will prove incapable of resisting the voice of the culture that surrounds them: in the typical case, their values, their beliefs, indeed, their very perceptions will tend to mirror those of the surrounding culture.”