PDFs Wiseman 2011-03 Synopsis

What is possible if you can access all of the intelligence in your organization?
By extracting
peoples full capability, Multipliers get twice the capacity from them. Liz Wiseman
Multipliers:
How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter
An April 06, 2011 Management Forum Series presentation by
Liz Wiseman
Synopsis by Rod Cox
Most organizations have far more intelligence than meets the eye. They are filled with
latent capabilities and intelligence that wants to be used. Weve all had experience with two
dramatically different types of leaders. The first type drains intelligence, energy, and capability
from those around them and always needs to be the smartest one 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. When these leaders walk into a room, light bulbs
go off over peoples heads, ideas flow, and problems get solved. 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.
Multipliers can have a resoundingly positive and profitable effect getting more done with
fewer resources, developing and attracting talent, and cultivating ideas and energy.
Its an elegantly simple idea: leaders can use their intelligence to multiply the intelligence of the people
around them and, in doing so, effectively double output . . . for free! As compared to Diminishers,
Multipliers differ in five key areas or disciplines:
They attract and optimize talent
They require peoples best thinking
They extend challenges
They debate decisions
They instill accountability
Wisemans Executive Forum presentation is built around these disciplines.
Liz Wiseman is president of The Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development group
headquartered in Silicon Valley. She and her colleagues advise senior executives in firms such as
Apple, SAP, GAP, Salesforce.com and Microsoft. A former executive at Oracle Corporation, Wiseman
has conducted significant research in the field of collective intelligence. Her book Multipliers: How the
Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, published in 2010, has already become a Wall Street Journal
best seller. This Executive Forum synopsis includes excerpts from that book, quotes and concepts
from Wisemans local presentation, and feedback from audience participants.
Executive Forum
Management Forum Series 2011
www.executiveforum.com
Members may copy for internal training use only. All other rights withheld.
Page 1 of 10
What is possible if you can access all of the intelligence in your organization? By extracting
Iminishers come at a high cost because they are entrenched in two faulty
assumptions: 1) they are the leaders because they are the smartest; and 2)
accomplishing a bigger task requires the addition of more resources. Multipliers
dont necessarily get more with less. They get more by using more more of peoples
intelligence and capability. We call this the 2X effect. Its the result of the deep leverage
Multipliers get from their resources. When you extrapolate the 2X Multiplier effect to the
organization, you begin to see the strategic relevance. Simply said, resource leverage creates
competitive advantage.
At the core, Multipliers and Diminishers operate from a very different set of assumptions:
Multiplier Descriptors:
Diminisher Descriptors:
People are smart and will figure this out.
They will never figure this out

without me.
Talent
Magnet
Attracts talented people and

uses them at their highest point
of contribution
Empire
Builder
Hoards resources and

underutilizes talent
Liberator
Creates an intense environment

that requires peoples best
thinking and work
Tyrant
Creates a tense environment

that suppresses peoples
thinking and capability
Challenger
Defines an opportunity that

causes people to stretch
Know-It-All
Gives directives that

showcase how much they
know
Debate
Maker
Drives sound decisions through

rigorous debate
Decision
Maker
Makes centralized, abrupt

decisions that confuse the
organization
Investor
Gives other people the

ownership for results and
invests in their success
MicroManager
Drives results through

personal involvement
The idea and the message is about utilization about getting more from people around you
because you ask for more. Your goal is to access their latent intelligence, getting rid of corporate
malaise where people are busy being busy, but are secretly bored.
Its also about scale: i.e., growing the top line without growing expense. Unless revenues grow
faster than expenses, a company will be out of business. But in most organizations, tight
forecasts are accompanied by scaling up demands while reducing expenses. Quality goes down,
and people get burned out. Important things get cut out. Output becomes unstable. The critical
skill how to do more by tapping into resources and intelligences already in the organization is
bypassed.
Executive Forum
Page 2 of 10
As compared to Diminishers, Multipliers tend to access distributed intelligence twice as often and
twice as powerfully. In todays environments, thats the difference between winning and losing. In
his book Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software, author Steve
Johnson notes that in todays marketplace, the organizations that can access the greatest number
of brains will be the most successful. Its not about what you know the intelligence thats sitting
in front of you but about how quickly you can access the intelligence around you, on the
periphery, at the bottom of the organization.
So who is using a Multiplier approach now? Think Apple, Google, Facebook, Ebay and
Wickipedia. All of these highly successful companies have a corporate culture grounded in
accessing distributed intelligence and monetizing it. Noted individual Multipliers include:
Steve Jobs and Tim Cook at Apple, leaders of the resurgence of the Mac division, moving
it from about to fail a few short years ago to now being poised to overtake Microsoft.
Lutz Ziob, Manager of Microsoft Learning, who encourages ferocious debates on big
decisions.
Susan Siegal, a brilliant debate maker about whom people say when Im around her, Im
at my best.
Shai Agassi, SAP software executive who switched to the World Economic Forum where
he promulgates the use of high tech batteries instead oil. He is known for giving his team
outlandish problems to solve, and then backing off for a couple of months while they come
up with solutions.
K. R. Sridhar, former NASA rocket fuel cell scientist, who hired other brilliant scientists but
would tolerate no prima donnas. His focus: lots of pressure (to gain results) but minimal
stress (because people were optimally involved).
Kay Yow, womens basketball coach at top-of-the-line North Carolina State, known for
always making it about getting top performances from her team, rather than about her.
Bringing It Home to the Pacific Northwest

To see how this correlates with the Portland-area business environment, Wiseman gave each
attendee four sticky notes, and asked each to take a few minutes to recall a multiplying leader as
well as a diminishing leader with whom they had personal experience; i.e., to whom they had
reported.
What were the behaviors of each?
How much intelligence did each of them elicit from you?
The sticky notes were subsequently posted on a large whiteboard, reproduced below. (Similar
responses have been combined. Some responses are edited for clarity.)
Executive Forum
Page 3 of 10
Multiplier Behaviors
Diminisher Behaviors
Values my
intelligence
Saw the best in me,

and got out of the
way
Believes in my
capability and
intelligence
Wouldnt let another

opinion in, and
limited questions
No trust; I did just

enough to stay
clean and not be
subversive
Kissed up instead
of delegating down
Pushes me out of my
comfort zone
Gave me a problem
and left me to solve it
Gave free rein to

discuss alternatives
Yelled at staff
Didnt act on any of

the teams ideas,
recommendations
Managed by
directives and
controlled each
step
Inspires through
actions and words
Nothing is
impossible
Complete trust in my
decisions and
judgment
Allowed me to learn
by failing
Took undue credit
Condescending
Took personal
credit for the teams
successes
Continuously
acknowledges my
work, and tells others
Gave me an
assignment with a
targeted result
Laid out the tasks and

outcome, then
supported me
Never asks for input

on decisions that
affect my group
Yelled, screamed,
threatened
Set me up to fail
Encouraged my best
Inspired me
Suggests, then steps

back
Limited my ability to
contribute
Micro-managed
Did not involve me
Asked for my input
Cleared road blocks
Gave me pride in my
work
Controlled minute
tasks
Micro-managed daily
assignments
Knows my
strengths, chooses
not to utilize them
Allowed me freedom
to fail or succeed
Empowered and
trusted me
Expected more from

me than I believed
possible
Questions my ability
rather than providing
needed input
Treats questions as
threats and authority
challenges
Mind closed to new

ideas
Listened
Celebrates small wins
Believed I could do it
Never specified
requirements
Set lots of rules
Over-controlling
Encouraged views
that were different
than the entrenched
ones
Explained the needs

and then let me go
Supported innovation
Condescending
about how I do
something I have
done successfully
for years
Expected that I
would not succeed
Created conflict by
giving different
workers different
standings and rules
Had faith in me;

Expected each
person to take risks
Allowed me to fail in a
safe environment
Is interested in my
success
Valued status quo

and comfort over
change and growth
Ignored my ideas
and gave too much
specific detail on the
process
Took all the credit
Continuously
encourages me to
challenge how we do
things
Allowed me to
determine the
process
Empowered to make
P&L decisions
Never wanted to
listen to anyone
under her
Owned everything;
Not trustworthy, and
doesnt trust me
Talked down to me
Talked over me
Consulted with me on
policies needed to
support sales
Challenges me to do
the impossible
Gave me concepts,
but challenged me to
find the solution
Always critical
Continuously redid
my work
Set my goals for me,

and didnt make them
clear
Refused to reward
Gave me the
challenge and knew I
would achieve it
then gave me more
Gives freedom to be
myself and lead
Gave team freedom

to create and invent,
and used what the
team generated
Took credit for my

work (Note, this was
mentioned 9 times)
Does not value my

contribution
Blamed others
Listened and jointly

took thinking to the
next step
Proposed extreme
challenges and gave
unconditional support
and encouragement
Told me the expected

outcome, but allowed
me to develop the
process
Aside from results,

fails to show interest
in my operation
Ignored my
knowledge
Shut ideas down

Doesnt listen to me
Executive Forum
A victim, not a
victor
Page 4 of 10
Multiplier er Behaviors (contd)
Diminisher Behaviors (contd)
Encouraged me to
always find or
recommend a solution
to issues
Empowered me to
make business
decisions
Gave me a big
challenge plus total
responsibility
Jealous of my
successes
Threw me under
the bus to protect
herself when her
project went wrong
Undermined my
work and judgment
Not supportive
Inspired me by
walking the talk
Encourages new
thoughts
Provides guidance
but allows me to
make decisions
Did not show

respect for our
employer
Questioned my
decisions and
action
Self-absorbed
Removed barriers
Encouraged, coached
and listened
Values my
contributions
Continuously redid
my work
Wouldnt listen
Did not utilize my

skills
Allowed me to run my
department based on
my knowledge
Challenged me; Made

me work harder with
more accountability
Laid out the project or

need, and let me
figure out the process
Hit me on the head

with a pencil: What
do I have to do to
get this through
your head?
Got in the way with

constant editing and
criticism without
contribution
Did not attempt to

understand what
value I brought to
the process
The average elicited intelligence in Portland? Diminishers elicited 43.8%; Multipliers elicited
91.3%. These Portland real-life results are right in line with scientific surveys. Multipliers, on
average, elicit twice the production as Diminishers.
Interestingly, the most frequently noted Portland-area Diminisher behaviors were 1) taking credit
for other peoples work; 2) being untrustworthy; and 3) micro-managing. The most frequently
noted Portland-area Multiplier behaviors were 1) trusting and believing in their people; 2)
challenging people to stretch themselves; and 3) listening. Several attendees noted that the
influence of both Diminishers and Multipliers has a pronounced effect on their personal quality-oflife beyond the workplace.
Surprising Research
As we studied leaders across the world, we found a remarkable amount of consistency and
patterns that confirmed our research. But here are some findings that are surprising and
intriguing.
Multipliers are hard-edged. They expect great things from their people, and they drive
them to achieve extraordinary results. Theyre tough and exacting. They make people
feel smart and capable, but they are not feel-good managers. They look into people and
find capabilities; they see a lot so they expect a lot.
Multipliers typically have a great sense of humor. They arent necessarily comedians, but
they dont take themselves or situations too seriously, perhaps because they dont need to
defend their own intelligence. They can laugh at themselves and see comedy in error and
in lifes foibles. Their sense of humor liberates others.
Executive Forum
Page 5 of 10
Diminishers are typically accidental. Most have no idea about the restrictive impact they
have on others and on the company. They grew up receiving praise for personal and
intellectual merit. They see the world as boss/subordinate, a view often inherited from the
people who promoted them.
There is a continuum between Multipliers and Diminishers, with just a handful of people at
either polar extreme. A Diminisher who moves just a few degrees toward becoming a
Multiplier is likely to experience a noticeably positive effect on outcome. Said another
way, with only slight changes in approach, they can create genius around them and
receive higher contributions from their people. They can recalibrate their mindset to think
and operate like a Multiplier. They can learn to stop leaving undeveloped resources on
the table.
The Talent Magnet: Attracting and Optimizing

Talent
Synergy an interaction of things that creates a result greater than the sum of the things is an
over-used term, but in the case of Multipliers, it fits like a glove. As shown in the following
diagram, Multipliers attract A-player talent which is encouraged to grow, and in turn, attract A+
players who drive profits that increase market value. In doing so, they brand their employer as
the place to grow, attracting yet other A players and creating a continually accelerating success
cycle.
1. Attracting A
players who get
fully utilized and
grow
2. Attracting
A+ players
who drive
profits
4. Building a
reputation as
a place to
grow
3. Increasing
Market Value
Executive Forum
Page 6 of 10
Talent Managers look for talent everywhere, and appreciate the diversity of talent requisite to
building a successful company. They understand that people love to contribute their genius, and
that the most effective genius is native; i.e., something that people do not only exceptionally well,
but absolutely naturally, easily and freely. The goal is to unleash them.
The four practices of a Talent Magnet:
1. Look for talent everywhere. Appreciate all types of genius. Ignore boundaries.
2. Find peoples native genius. Look for it and label it.
3. Utilize people to their fullest. Connect them to opportunities. Shine a spotlight on them.
4. Remove the blockers. Get rid of prima donnas. Get out of the way.
The Liberator: Require Peoples Best Thinking

The Liberator creates an environment where good things happen. Ideas are generated with
ease; people learn rapidly and adapt to new environments; people work collaboratively; complex
problems get solved; and difficult tasks get accomplished.
A key strength of Liberators is their ability to hold two seemingly opposing positions: 1) creating
comfort, letting people do what they do best; and 2) creating positive pressure to get the best
outcomes. The power of Liberators emanates from this duality. It isnt enough to just free
peoples thinking. Liberators create an intense environment that requires peoples best thinking
and their best work. They generate pressure, but they dont generate stress.
Liberators label their opinions so that people know the difference between a random thought, an
opinion, and a policy decision. They divide their views into soft opinions (where they give
perspectives to consider) and hard opinions (where they have an emphatic point of view).
The three practices of Liberators:
Create space for others to contribute. They restrain themselves to give space for others
to contribute. They shift the Talking/Listening ratio to emphasize the latter. They operate
consistently, and they level the playing field so that people closest to the action are
unmuffled and can contribute their unique front-row-seat contributions.
Demand peoples best work by defending the standard. Its not just winning; its giving
your best. They hold people accountable, but they dont hold people accountable for
things that are beyond their control.
Generate rapid learning cycles. Liberators give people permission to make mistakes and
the obligation to learn from them. They admit and share mistakes. They insist on
learning from the mistakes. They institutionalize feedback and challenge even when it is
pointed at them. They set the expectation for full effort.
Executive Forum
Page 7 of 10
The Challenger: Asking Bigger Questions

Challengers have a full range of motion; they can see and articulate the big thinking and ask the
big questions, but they can also connect that to the specific steps needed to create movement.
Wiseman posed a series of questions: Why would you ever take a job for which you are
qualified? Wouldnt you want a job that would allow you to grow into it? What would happen if
everyone on your team had a job he/she had to grow into? How would this affect your teams
production? She noted that when we buy shoes for kids, we always buy them a bit large,
knowing that theyll soon grow into them. Isnt this what you want for your team? She also
noted the performance limitations of job descriptions and hiring qualifications. Throw them
away!
The three practices of Challengers:
Seed the opportunity. Show the need, and challenge the assumptions. Reframe
problems. Create a starting point.
Lay down a concrete challenge. Ask hard questions, and let others fill in the blanks.
Generate belief in what is possible by helicoptering down, laying out a path, and cocreating the plan. Orchestrate an early win.
The Debate Maker: Building Up-front Engagement

Multipliers make decisions by first engaging people in debate not only to achieve sound
decisions, but also to develop collective intelligence and to ready their organizations to execute.
Debate Makers, says Wiseman, encourage people to engage up front so that they contribute their
best thinking to frame the issues and create well-considered solutions rather than being delegated
to fixing them later on. With this level of understanding, efficient execution becomes the norm. In
contrast, Diminishers tend to make decisions within a tight circle without the input of the broader
organization. Enormous energy goes into selling their directives to uninvolved and often
resistant executers.
The three practices of Debate Makers:
Frame the issue and define the question. Form the team, assemble the data, and frame
the decision.
Spark the debate by creating safety for best thinking and by demanding rigor.
Drive a sound decision. Re-clarify the decision-making process. When making decisions,
communicate both the decision and rationale.
Executive Forum
Page 8 of 10
The Investor: Instilling Ownership and

Accountability
Multipliers invest in the success of others. They may jump into each situation and share their
ideas, but they always give the pen back, knowing that when leaders fail to return ownership, they
create dependent organizations. Multipliers enable others to operate independently by giving
people ownership for results and investing in their success. They cant always be present to
perform emergence rescues, so they ensure that people on their teams are self-sufficient and can
operate without their direct presence.
In other words, Multipliers refuse to micromanage. You might ask yourself, how would I coach if I
could never be out on the playing field? How would I lead if I couldnt jump in and take over?
How would I respond to a performance gap if I were a Multiplier?
The three practices of Investors:
Define ownership by naming the lead, giving ownership for the end goal, and stretching
the role.
Invest resources to teach and coach, providing backup.
Hold people accountable. Give the pen back. Expect complete work and respect natural
consequences. Make the scoreboard visible.
Becoming a Multiplier
Learning to lead like a Multiplier can feel overwhelming. Many organizational cultures lean to the
Diminisher side. The path of least resistance is frequently the path of the Diminisher. It is
definitely easier to be a Diminisher. However, with the right approach, leading like a Multiplier is
within reach.
Wiseman suggests three approaches which she designates as Accelerators.
1. Work the extremes. Rather than trying to become strong in all five Multiplier disciplines,
select just two: one a weakness, the other a strength. The weakness: despite what you
may have read or heard, you are unlikely to turn a weakness into a strength, but you can
probably move it into a reasonably acceptable or neutral zone where it will not handicap
your leadership. The strength: becoming world-class a tower of strength, as it were in
an area where you already have strong capabilities is a worthy and achievable pursuit. If
the people you work with were to describe you in only one word, what would it be?
2. Start with assumptions. Behavior follows assumptions. If you make the correct
assumptions if youve adopted the belief that people are smart and will figure it out
youre likely to see opportunities everywhere.
Executive Forum
Page 9 of 10
3. Take a 30-day multiplier challenge. The most effective and enduring learning involves
small, successive experimentation with new approaches. Over time, these experiments
form new patterns of behavior that establish a new baseline. Rather than focusing on
several behavior disciplines simultaneously, choose one and give it concentrated attention
for 30 days, long enough for the habit to become ingrained.
Allow yourself to build your Multiplier skills, layer by layer, over time, staying with each layer for a
year or a lifetime. Building a community of like-minded people is another tool, just as building a
community of fellow exercisers or weight-losers or foreign language learners can help develop
those skills. We incorporate the power of peer pressure to sustain momentum.
Summing Up
It has been said that after meeting with the great British Prime Minister William
Ewart Gladston, you left feeling he was the smartest person in the world; but
after meeting with his rival Benjamin Disraeli, you left thinking your were the
smartest person. (Bono, rock star and global activist)
To which Wiseman concludes:
Which will you be: A genius? Or a genius maker? Your choice matters.
--------------------------------------------
Executive Forum encourages you to consider the value of Multipliers in non-business settings as
well; especially, in family settings. Are you a Multiplier who elicits the intelligence of your
spouse/partner, or do you call the shots? Are you teaching your children how to think, or do you
focus on their obedience? In families as well as in business, the smartest leaders make everyone
else smarter, too.
Executive Forum
Page 10 of 10

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What is possible if you can access all of the intelligence in your organization?

They attract and optimize talent

They require peoples best thinking

They extend challenges

They debate decisions

They instill accountability

Wisemans Executive Forum presentation is built around these disciplines.

Management Forum Series 2011

People are smart and will figure this out.

They will never figure this out

Attracts talented people and

Hoards resources and

Creates an intense environment

Creates a tense environment

Defines an opportunity that

Gives directives that

Drives sound decisions through

Makes centralized, abrupt

Gives other people the

Drives results through

Management Forum Series 2011

Bringing It Home to the Pacific Northwest

What were the behaviors of each?

How much intelligence did each of them elicit from you?

Management Forum Series 2011

Saw the best in me,

Wouldnt let another

No trust; I did just

Gave free rein to

Didnt act on any of

Took undue credit

Laid out the tasks and

Never asks for input

Suggests, then steps

Did not involve me

Asked for my input

Cleared road blocks

Expected more from

Mind closed to new

Celebrates small wins

Set lots of rules

Explained the needs

Had faith in me;

Valued status quo

Took all the credit

Set my goals for me,

Gave team freedom

Took credit for my

Does not value my

Listened and jointly

Told me the expected

Aside from results,

Shut ideas down

Management Forum Series 2011

Multiplier er Behaviors (contd)

Diminisher Behaviors (contd)

Did not show

Did not utilize my

Challenged me; Made

Laid out the project or

Hit me on the head

Got in the way with

Did not attempt to