Are You a Multiplier or a Diminisher?

Drawing on interviews with more than 150 executives and on her own experience as the former vice president of Oracle University, Liz Wiseman, author of the book Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, argues that leaders are either Multipliers or Diminishers:

We've all had experience with two dramatically different types of leaders. The first type drains intelligence, energy and capability from the people around them and always needs to be the smartest person in the room. These are the idea killers, the energy sappers, the diminishers of talent and commitment.

On the other side of the spectrum are leaders who use their intelligence to amplify the smarts and capabilities of the people around them. These are the leaders who inspire employees to stretch themselves to deliver results that surpass expectations. These are the Multipliers. And the world needs more of them, especially now when leaders are expected to do more with less.

For this week's blog, I interviewed Wiseman to get her take on how small business owners can multiply or diminish those who work for them.

Q. What exactly is a multiplier?

A. A multiplier is someone who uses his or her intelligence to amplify and bring out the smarts and capability of those around them.

Q. What is a diminisher?

A. The multiplier's evil counterpart who always needs to be the smartest guy in the room and shuts everyone else down.

Q. What other differences did you find between managers who are multipliers and managers who are diminishers?

A. To begin with, there is a big difference in how each of these types sets direction. Diminishers tend to be know-it-alls in how they set direction. They base strategy on their insight. They only see what they know and then never ask their company to do something other than that. In this way, they limit what's possible in an organization because their business can only take on something they have an answer to or know how to do.

Q. What about managers who are multipliers?

A. In contrast, multipliers play the role of challenger. They ask the big strategic questions and contribute what they know of the markets and trends to frame up the organization's challenge. They ask questions that make the organization stretch and take on something that seems impossible, but frame it in a way that makes it possible.

Q. Don't multipliers add their own knowledge to the mix?

A. Yes, but they are comfortable asking questions. They have a strategic agenda, but not all the answers. They let the organization figure it out.

Q. Is the way a business owner makes decisions impacted by which type they are?

A. Yes. Diminishers are the decision maker. They are quick to determine what should happen and isolate themselves to an inner circle of trusted advisers. Their point of view is that the smart people in the know should make the decisions, and the rest of the company should execute.

Q. How does this impact the rest of the business?

A. The problem with this is that the diminisher thinks they are being effective and agile because they are making rapid decisions. But the rest of the company is struggling to understand why these decisions were made, so they are slow to execute. So diminishers make great strategic decisions that don't get implemented very quickly or effectively.

Q. How do multipliers approach this?

A. Multipliers tend to be debate makers. They frame a decision with, "Here are the key questions," and then assemble brainpower and key players to weigh in on the topic. It may take longer to make the decisions, but because everyone has had their voice heard and has insight into why something is being implemented, the decisions are executed more intelligently and rapidly.

Q. How big is the difference really in the results diminishers versus multipliers get from their people?

A. We studied 150 leaders in 35 different countries across four continents and found that diminishers got less than half of people's intelligence and capability—about 48 percent. Multipliers, on the other hand, got twice as much (1.97 times) greater intelligence and capability out of their people.

In the end, Wiseman says that staff reported that working for both diminishers and multipliers could be exhausting. But here's the difference: Those who worked for diminishers said they found it exhausting and frustrating, while those who worked for multipliers found it exhausting yet exhilarating.

Are you more of a diminisher or a multiplier? In what way? We would love to hear your comments.

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Karen Leland is a best-selling author, marketing and branding consultant and president of Sterling Marketing Group where she helps businesses create killer content and negotiate the wired world of today's media landscape -- social and otherwise. For questions or comments, please contact her at kl@karenleland.com