Earlier this year, I read the book Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter (by Liz Wiseman). The book title peaked my interest as I’m often helping people on their leadership journey go from Maker to Multiplier mode. The book not only highlights the habits of a multiplier, but also discusses the opposite, The Diminisher. The book defines Tthe Multiplier as, “A person who lead an organisation or management team that was able to understand and solve hard problems rapidly, achieve its goals, and adapt and increase its capacity over time.”
The book defines The Diminisher as, “A person who lead an organisation or management team that operated in silos, finds it hard to get things done, and despite having smart people, seems to not be able to do what is needed to do to reach their goals.” The book often highlights that many people act as accidental diminishers or do so unintentionally.
There are several ways a leader can focus on being a Multiplier including being the Talent Magnet, The Liberator, The Challenger, The Debate Maker or the Investor, each which has its own separate section of the book with tips and practices.
“Multipliers never do anything for their people that their people can do for themselves”
As you watch someone, ask these questions:
Multipliers (Liz Wiseman)
I liked the section on becoming a Talent Magnet (which they contrast with the Empire Builder). Both attract talent, but the question is what do they with that talent afterwards. Talent Magnets don’t run out of talent because they draw upon four practices:
- Look for Talent Everywhere – Appreciate all types of genious (Ignore Boundaries)
- Find People’s Native Genius – Look for what is native (Label It)
- Utilise People to their Fullest – Connect people with opportunities (Shine a spotlight)
- Remove the Blocker – Get rid of primadonnas (Get out of the way)
I also liked the three simple practices of becoming The Challenger:
- Seed the Opportunity – Show the need. Challenge assumptions. Reframe problems. Create a starting point.
- Lay down a Challenge – Extend a concrete challenge. Ask the hard questions. Let others fill in the blanks.
- Generate Belief in what is Possible – Helicopter down. Lay out a path. Co-create a plan. Orchestrate an early win.
This book resonated with me as a leader and would recommend this to others looking to expand their own leadership journey.
“Multipliers invest in the success of others”
Multipliers (Liz Wiseman)
