Book Byte #64 "Multipliers" by Liz Wiseman

How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter

📣 Curious Quotes from the Author

“When leaders teach, they invest in their people’s ability to solve and avoid problems in the future.”

“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”

“Multipliers invoke each person’s unique intelligence and create an atmosphere of genius—innovation, productive effort, and collective intelligence.”

“The Diminisher is a Micromanager who jumps in and out. The Multiplier is an Investor who gives others ownership and full accountability.”

“Perhaps these leaders understood that the person sitting at the apex of the intelligence hierarchy is the genius maker, not the genius.”

“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.”

“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.”

“The highest quality of thinking cannot emerge without learning. Learning can’t happen without mistakes.”

“Diminishers are Decision Makers who try to sell their decisions to others. Multipliers are Debate Makers who generate real buy-in.”

“THE FOUR PRACTICES OF THE TALENT MAGNET Among the Multipliers we studied in our research, we found four active practices that together catalyze and sustain this cycle of attraction. These Talent Magnets: 1) look for talent everywhere; 2) find people’s native genius; 3) utilize people at their fullest; and 4) remove the blockers.

📚 Cognition of the Book’s Big Idea:

Multiplying the abilities and motivations of those around you benefits everyone. It lets employees feel fulfilled while also saving resources; after all, doubling current resources is preferable to adding new ones each time. You can become a better leader and help others attain their maximum potential by implementing the methods of the Talent Magnet, the Liberator, the Challenger, the Debate Maker, and the Investor, as well as suppressing any unintended shrinking.

Conduct an experiment.

If you notice any areas where you may be unintentionally diminishing someone, use one of the Multiplier methods to counteract it.

For example, if you've noticed you're a bit of a Tyrant and like to dominate debates, play a game in which you have a restricted quantity of chips during a meeting. Each chip represents a donation you can make, so only use them when absolutely necessary.

🛠️Fixing the Tech Industry

The Tech Industry is desperate for real Leaders. Not leaders who lead with the desire for money, not even those who lead with the desire to take all the credit to better their career opportunities. We need leaders who multiply the talents and efforts of their team, who try to help their team grow outside of work, who go to bat for them when they aren’t in the room.

The amount of good bosses one has is usually 0-1. Most are bad, and while it may not be their fault, we all are growing and can get better at different places in our lives, too many do not take on that responsibility to grow and help those around them grow too.

Be the Leader you wish you had, even if you don’t have the title or Salary accorded to such leaders. Lead with what you want out of life first and then it will manifest if you get the help.

🤝Collaborate with others with this Social Media Prompt:

What are some things you can do today to help you to become a Multiplier type leader?