[rating:4]
(New York: HarperCollins, 2010)
288 pgs.
Liz Wiseman has isolated a specialized, but crucial, area of leadership that is worth careful consideration. The critical issue, as she sees it, in these days is “new demands, insufficient resources” (x). Modern organizations are facing more challenges than ever before but are being forced to address them using fewer resources, particularly personnel. In the past, the answer to greater challenges was to hire more staff. Now, the key is not “resource allocation” but “resource leverage” (150).
Wiseman zeroes in on a very specialized subject: how leaders bring out the most in their followers. She terms these outstanding leaders “multipliers” because they manage to get far more out of their employees than those she refers to as “Diminishers.” Wiseman cites studies where Multipliers got 2.1 times more out of their people than did those who were Diminishers (13).
The “Five Disciplines of a Multiplier” are:
1. Attract and optimize talent
2. Create intensity that requires best thinking
3. Extend challenges
4. Debate decisions
5. Instill ownership and accountability
Wiseman makes the helpful point that the key to success in an organization is not how smart the leader is but how successfully the leader can access the intelligence, creativity and insights of those they lead. No leader is smart enough to eliminate the need for others in the organization to do their best thinking as well. She asks, “Is it possible that your smartest people may be impeding the smarts of your organization?” (55). Wiseman also encourages leaders to become a “genius watcher” (60). These are leaders who are always on the lookout for someone whose talents and insights could greatly enhance the work of the organization. These leaders leave a trail of rising stars in their wake.
Diminishers on the other hand, are bright people who make wrong assumptions about people. They assume that people are not smart enough to figure things out without them. They tend to micromanage people and take away their will to think creatively. Wiseman beats the same drum concerning Multipliers and Diminishers until it can sound repetitive at times. However, she does offer some sound advice on how to bring the best out in those you lead. She suggests shifting the ratio of how much time the leader speaks and listens. She encourages leaders to make a conscious choice not to do the majority of talking in meetings or to offer their opinions too early in the problem solving process.
Wiseman notes that peoples’ best thinking must be given, not taken (89). She offers helpful insights into how leaders can bring the best out of their people by asking great questions and encouraging vigorous debate. She notes: “Diminishers give answers. Good leaders ask questions. Multipliers ask really hard questions” (116). She notes that to foster outstanding debates among staff, leaders must do two things: create safety, and demand vigor (146). She makes a good case for teams going through vigorous debate in order to reach the best conclusions. Wiseman also wades into the strengths/weaknesses debate by suggesting that leaders should “focus on extremes” by “topping off” the biggest strength and “neutralizing a weakness” (205). She concludes: “It is unlikely that they will turn their biggest weakness into their biggest strengths. The truth is that you do not need to be fabulous at everything. You just can’t be bad” (206).
Wiseman offers a “30 day multiplier challenge” in which she offers practical advice on how leaders can proactively move their leadership into a more Multiplier direction (210).
Wiseman has two basic assumptions she unpacks throughout the book. The first is that Multipliers “begin with a simple assumption and a singular idea, that people are smart and the job of a leader is to draw out the intelligence of others” (215). Diminishers, on the other hand, see themselves as smart and most others as mediocre at best. They tend to therefore hoard the thinking and decision making functions of their organization and therefore they greatly impede their organization’s overall effectiveness. Anyone who studies leadership clearly understands that some people manage to get far more out of their people than others. Some leaders constantly have outstanding young talent emerging under them while others suffer a constant hemorrhage of young talent from their ranks. Wiseman does a good job of isolating this reality and giving them labels: Diminishers, Multipliers. While I found that the overall point could have been summarized in one good article, she does offer some practical examples and insights that I think make the book worth reading. While I don’t give out a lot of 4s and 5s, I felt that this book offers some unique thinking on an important subject and therefore is worth the read.