Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter

This is why it's so important that we become what the authors call a Multiplier. This is the kind of leader who creates intelligence, creativity and energy in their team. They lift people up, and inspire entire organizations. When you're done talking with this person, you feel like the smartest person on the planet.

So what's the other kind of leader called? The authors have dubbed them Diminishers. These are the leaders who are takers. They have to be the smartest person in the room, which can only happen if everyone else feels dumb. When you're done talking with this kind of leader, you feel drained, uninspired and let down.

Yeah, you know the type.

The question you need to ask yourself right now is, which type of leader – or potential leader – are you? How do you make your team feel?

Chances are you're going to fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. You may have some Multiplier capabilities, but also have some Diminisher ones.

The good news is that "Multipliers" was written to teach us how to become Multipliers all the time. Here, we learn how to attract key talent, liberate our teams, spark open and useful debate, and much more. The book is a highly practical and relevant guide to becoming the kind of leader we've all secretly wanted to be.

Your organization might already be hiring the smartest people. But if you don't know how to access and inspire that intelligence, your team members will never perform the way you need them to. In this book you'll learn strategies for getting the most out of your team by changing how you lead them.

If you're in any kind of leadership role, or you aspire to be someday, then this book is for you.

The authors interviewed and studied more than 150 business executives for this book. They spent two years on research. And their efforts have resulted in a very original, hands-on guide that can dramatically change your leadership style for the better.

Liz Wiseman is the president of The Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development center. She advises senior executives and leads strategy and leadership forums for executive teams worldwide.

Greg McKeown is a partner at The Wiseman Group, where he leads the workshop and assessment practice and teaches around the world.

So, keep listening to learn how to find geniuses in your organization, why restraining yourself might be one of the best things you can do for your team, and how to spark an open, honest debate at your next meeting.

"Multipliers" is divided into seven chapters, and at the end, there are several really useful appendices that readers will find helpful. The authors have also created a practical assessment that lets you discover where you fall on the Multiplier/Diminisher scale. You can take this online.

The first chapter sets out to define what the authors mean with their terms Multiplier and Diminisher.

For instance, imagine a team has made a serious mistake. Diminishers would assign blame, thinking, "They'll never figure this out without me." Multipliers, on the other hand, would be willing to explore. They would think, "My people are smart, and they'll figure this out."

There are several mini-scenarios like this here, that help us to understand the important differences between Multipliers and Diminishers.

Of course, our goal is to learn how to become a Multiplier all the time. The authors have identified five characteristics that distinguish Multipliers from Diminishers, and the rest of the book devotes a chapter to each one. These are: the talent magnet, the liberator, the challenger, the debate maker, and the investor.

In the first chapter, the authors make a great point. They say that Multipliers are not nice-guy or feel-good managers, although they might sound like it.

In their research, the authors found that people working under Multipliers expressed a deep appreciation for their talents and for the experience, but not because their Multiplier made them feel happy or great all the time. Multipliers see a lot of talent in their team, so they expect a lot. They're not there to hold hands or become anyone's friend.

The authors make a different important point about Diminishers. They say that some Diminishers have no idea that their leadership style is hurting others or stifling the talent on their team. The authors call this type of person an Accidental Diminisher. If you're worried this might be you, then the online self-assessment the authors created can help you discover what kind of leader you really are.

So, want to learn how to start becoming a Multiplier for your organization? Well, that's what the rest of the book focuses on.

Chapter two is about becoming a talent magnet. This, like the rest of the chapters in the book, is a key component of being a Multiplier. Multipliers are able to attract incredibly talented people, and use them at their fullest.

Does this mean they're the best recruiters? No. It's just that people flock to work for Multipliers. So, they get the best.

What do Diminishers do with talent? Often, they hoard it. The authors call this Empire Building. Diminishers use their talented team members as window-dressing, which makes them look smarter and more powerful.

Diminishers waste their key talent, because these people never contribute as much as they could, and they don't get recognized for what they do. Over time, their talent gets disengaged and stale. Often, they leave. If they stay, they fall into the shadow of the Empire Builder.

Sounds pretty depressing, right? Well, we have to make sure we don't become Empire Builders and, instead, become Talent Magnets.

What can we do?

The authors identified four practices that all Multipliers use. One is to appreciate all kinds of genius. Talent Magnets know that genius comes in all shapes and sizes. Some people know how to analyze problems. Others are brilliant at innovation or creative thinking. And still others know how to barrel through bottlenecks to get everyone else back up and running again.

If you want to be a Multiplier, then start looking for the genius in everyone on your team.

An important aspect to this is to ignore boundaries. Multipliers don't bother with company hierarchy or organizational charts. They often use inter-departmental teams or lead cross-functional projects – simply because they care nothing for walls and boundaries.

The point here is to find genius. It shouldn't matter if that genius is mopping the floor, answering customer service calls, or leading the company. All that matters is what they can offer.

If you're wondering how you can figure out someone's genius, don't worry. The authors offer some useful tips here.

One great tip was to examine your team closely. Look for times when they're so enthusiastic about a task or project that they're willing to do whatever it takes to get it done. We show our genius when work feels effortless and engaging. And, don't just look at formal outcomes or deliverables. If one of your team members is always willing to step in and help a co-worker finish a project, then her genius might be that of a facilitator.

Chapter three is titled The Liberator, and it's all about how we should be liberating our people to think, speak and act creatively. We need to create an environment that encourages good ideas, so our people can do their best work.

Now, this doesn't mean things shouldn't be intense. On the contrary, the authors say that Multipliers often create very intense environments. But this tension is exhilarating, not stifling.

The authors say that Diminishers often act like tyrants. Their team is so afraid of upsetting them, or saying something out of line, that they hold back. There's tension, but it's negative, fear-based tension. Not much gets accomplished, because the team is too afraid to speak up.

Multipliers, on the other hand, are very approachable. Everyone feels liberated to speak their minds and come up with ideas, because the Multiplier makes them feel safe. Even when things are chaotic. And multipliers never take their own stress out on their team.

There are some very illuminating and inspiring personal stories here. These stories show us first-hand how stifled team members can be under a tyrant, and how productive they can be under a liberator.

The authors say we need to create both comfort and pressure for our group. There are three specific ways Multipliers do this.

One is to create space for our team. To do this, the authors say we need to release others by restraining ourselves. We thought this was a very insightful point, and the tips the authors give on how to do this are highly useful. Any manager, at any level, will benefit from reading this particular section, so if you pick up the book make sure you don't skip chapter three.

Another chapter we found fascinating was chapter five, titled The Debate Maker. Many of us rely on a few key people to help us make decisions. But, the authors say this is a mistake.

Think about the last meeting you attended when the group had to make a decision. Was there an honest, open debate between everyone attending, or did one or two key people go back and forth?

Chances are, a small inner circle did most of the talking.

Know what Diminishers think about this? They feel that there are only a few people worth listening to. Everyone else's opinion isn't relevant.

If we want to be Multipliers, then we have to foster debate within our teams. We have to hear everyone's opinion. We have to believe we're stronger and smarter together than we are apart.

Really, how do we know that a junior team member won't have a key insight at our next meeting? How do we know she won't be the one who ultimately solves a problem?

The truth is we don't know. Which is why we have to create an environment where everyone speaks up and contributes.

We want to become Debate Makers, not Decision Makers.

So we need to ask the right questions, and the process has to begin before the meeting takes place.

Start by challenging any assumptions that entrench your organization. If you're trying to solve a specific problem, what patterns of thinking are you likely to uncover?

You also have to bring any tensions to light, and force your team to confront the facts and reality of the situation.

Then, you need to clearly identify the what, why and how of the decision. What specific question are we addressing? Why do we need this debate? How long will we take to debate it, and who will ultimately decide?

There are many more tips in this chapter for fostering an open debate, and all of them are very practical and insightful. For example, there's a useful section on removing fear for your group, so they feel comfortable speaking up.

Using these strategies for your next meeting could dramatically speed things up and help your group reach a decision before the end. But, only if you put in the work beforehand.

So, what's our last word on "Multipliers"?

We thought it was an excellent book that really gets to the heart of why some leaders are brilliant, and others drag down their teams. The tips and strategies in the book are easy to use, and all are relevant for leaders in any industry.

The stories are also a pleasure to read. Each chapter contains several, and while they can slow the reading down some, for the most part we think they added value. Through these accounts, we get to see just how damaging Diminishers can be, and how Multipliers can spread inspiration.

The stories also serve to highlight behaviors we might not be aware we're doing. Reading about these different leaders, and how their Multiplier or Diminisher capabilities are expressed in a real work environment, might help some readers spot their own talents, or mistakes.

All in all, we think it's a fascinating book that should be on any manager's bookshelf.

"Multipliers," by Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown, is published by HarperColllins.

That's the end of this episode of Book Insights. Click here to buy the book from Amazon. Thanks for listening.