There are two types of leaders: people who find, develop and grow talents. Lis Wiseman calls them Multipliers. The other type of people is called diminishers. They exploit, drain and diminish talents of others using their authority and position. The book “Multipliers” describes both types. It’s full of concrete examples, exercises and practical knowledge.
Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter” is a groundbreaking book by Liz Wiseman that explores the concept of leadership and its impact on team performance. The book’s central thesis is that there are two types of leaders: Multipliers and Diminishers.
Key Concepts
Multipliers vs. Diminishers
Multipliers are leaders who use their intelligence to amplify the capabilities of those around them. They operate on the assumption that people are smart and will figure things out. These leaders:
- Extract and extend intelligence from their teams
- Attract talented individuals
- Create an intense environment that requires people’s best thinking
- Challenge their teams to go beyond what they know
- Engage people in debating ideas upfront
In contrast, Diminishers are leaders who suppress the intelligence and capabilities of their teams. They often believe that they are the smartest person in the room and that others won’t figure things out without them.
The Multiplier Effect
Wiseman argues that Multipliers can get twice as much out of their people compared to Diminishers. This “Multiplier Effect” allows organizations to accomplish more with the same resources.
Key Practices of Multipliers
- Talent Magnet: Attract and optimize talent
- Liberator: Create an intense environment that requires people’s best thinking
- Challenger: Define opportunities that challenge people to go beyond their current capabilities
- Debate Maker: Drive sound decisions through rigorous debate
- Investor: Give other people ownership for results and invest in their success[1]
About the Author
Liz Wiseman is a renowned researcher, executive advisor, and leadership expert. She is the CEO of the Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development firm based in Silicon Valley. Her clients include major tech companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Tesla.
Here are some of my favourite quotes.
Who Multipliers are?
Multipliers invoke each person’s unique intelligence and create an atmosphere of genius—innovation, productive effort, and collective intelligence.
Liz Wiseman, Multipliers
Calmness is not synonymous with softness. The difference is where the focus lies. The heart of the issue but is it on people. Tyrants create a tense environment that is full of stress and anxiety. Liberators create an intense environment that requires concentration diligence and energy.
Liz Wiseman, Multipliers
Soft opinions signal to the team: here are some ideas for you to consider in your own thinking.
Liz Wiseman, Multipliers
Hard opinions are reserved for times when you hold a very strong opinion and views.
Permission to speak freely sir?
Liz Wiseman, Multipliers
Multipliers, by contrast, liberate people from the oppressive forces within the corporate hierarchy.
Liberators create both comfort and pressure in the environment.
Liz Wiseman, Multipliers
In the eyes of liberator, it is just exchange; I give you space you give me back your best work.
I give you permission to make mistakes, you have an obligation to learn from the mistakes and not repeat them.
How Multipliers find a talent
It isn’t how much you know that matters. What matters is how much access you have to what other people know. It isn’t just how intelligent your team members are, it is how much of that intelligence you can draw out and put to use.
Liz Wiseman, Multipliers
Multipliers questions to ask when you spot a talent:
- What do they do better than anything else they do?
- What do they do better than the people around them?
- What do they do without effort?
- What do they do without being asked?
- What do they do readily without being paid?
You know you’ve hit a genius nerve when they say:
- Really?
- Can’t everyone do this?
- But this is no big deal!
Ignore me as needed to get your job done.
Liz Wiseman, Multipliers
How Multipliers think
Leaders rooted in the logic of multiplication believe:
Liz Wiseman, Multipliers
1. Most people in organizations are underutilized.
2. All capability can be leveraged with the right kind of leadership.
3. Therefore, intelligence and capability can be multiplied without requiring a bigger investment.
Multipliers aren’t “feel-good” managers. They look into people and find capability, and they want to access all of it. They utilize people to their fullest. They see a lot, so they expect a lot.”
Liz Wiseman, Multipliers
Other people’s quotes in that book
Bad ideas are okay starting points.
Steven Spielberg
All good ideas start as bad ideas. That’s why it takes so long.
How smart you are is defined by how clearly you can see the intellect of others.
C. K. Prahalad
To me it’s not about failing, it’s about prototyping. If someone on my team has an idea they want to pursue, I tell them to go for it and I’ll provide support if they need it. If it doesn’t work we can still learn and evolve from it.
Casey Lehner Director of global design operations in Nike
If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.
Antoine de St.Exupery
More books and reviews here.
The blog posts where I write about the principles covered in the book.
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