Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter (34 page)

ARE PEOPLE EITHER DIMINISHERS OR MULTIPLIERS OR ARE THERE PEOPLE IN THE MIDDLE?

We see the Diminisher–Multiplier model as a continuum with a few people at the extremes and most of us somewhere in between. As people have been introduced to this material, they almost always see some of the Diminisher and some of the Multiplier within themselves. One leader we’ve worked with is illustrative. He was a smart and aware individual who didn’t fit the archetype of a Diminisher, and yet when he read the material he could see how he sometimes behaved in a Diminishing manner. While we studied this leadership phenomenon as a contrast, we see the model as a continuum with only a very few people at the polar extremes and the majority of us somewhere in the middle.

CAN EVERYONE BECOME A MULTIPLIER OR ARE THERE SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE TOO MUCH OF A DIMINISHER TO CHANGE?

Anyone who can see their Diminisher behavior can change. Anyone can be a Multiplier if they’re willing to shift their center of weight and look beyond themselves. There may be a few people who are so staunchly invested in their Diminisher approach to leadership that they won’t be able to change, but we think of them as outliers.

In our work teaching and coaching, we have seen people make
significant changes. For example, one leader we worked with had some strong Diminisher tendencies. He worked hard to adopt a more Multiplier approach to his leadership. People noticed the difference. Then, after he took a larger role at another company, he was able to start with a clean slate and a new approach. He is now seen as a Multiplier and has even introduced these ideas to the people in his organization.

We aren’t under the delusion that every Diminisher
will
change, but we believe that the vast majority can make the shift. It begins with awareness and intent.

SHOULD COMPANIES FIRE THEIR DIMINISHERS?

Smart companies don’t have to fire every Diminisher, but they should remove them from key leadership roles. If someone insists on being a Diminisher, they may need to be isolated or contained where they can’t do great damage. If they are removed from key leadership roles, other people’s capability gets released and the Diminishers are less likely to inspire managers underneath them to adopt Diminishing leadership practices.

This is easier said than done. Diminishers are, by definition, smart and intimidating. The course of least resistance is to keep them in their leadership roles. But once you start to calculate the high cost of Diminishers in your organization, you will be better prepared to take action. For example, if you had a machine that was a bottleneck causing the rest of your production line to operate at 50 percent capacity, you would see immediately how expensive that machine was to your operation. If you replaced that one machine you could double the capacity and throughput of your entire production line! That is what is at stake with every Diminisher you have in a key leadership role. Even if they are operating at full capacity, they operate as a bottleneck to everyone else around them. So while the answer may not be to fire every Diminisher, we suggest that it’s just too expensive to leave them in key leadership roles.

ARE THERE TIMES WHEN DIMINISHER LEADERSHIP IS CALLED FOR?

Yes, there probably are times when the Diminisher approach is justified, but they are few and far between. If you can honestly say that you can afford for your people to operate at 50 percent of their capacity, that there is an impending crisis, that your insight is genuinely and significantly greater than the people around you, and that there is no reasonable chance that others could get up to speed quickly enough, then the Diminisher approach may be the right approach. By parallel, if your child is running into the street, any number of Diminisher practices are reasonable and advisable.

In allowing for this, we would still emphasize that most situations, even extreme ones, can be viewed through either a Diminisher or Multiplier lens. Situations people often think call for a Diminisher approach can be exactly the time to call upon the full intellectual horsepower of the people around you. When the stakes are high, when the challenges are complex and nonlinear, that may be just the time when the Multiplier approach is most relevant.

There are times when every leader may, in good conscience, operate as a Diminisher. We advise keeping those moments to a minimum. These can and should be extreme exceptions to the rule.

WHEN YOU SAY MULTIPLIERS GET 2X MORE FROM THEIR PEOPLE, THAT SEEMS LIKE A REALLY BIG CLAIM. IS IT REALLY THAT MUCH?

Yes, the number seemed high to us at first, but for several reasons we believe the ratio is correct.

First, we asked the nominators to contrast Multipliers
to Diminishers
, rather than contrasting Multipliers to an average manager. The 2X effect assumes a best-to-worst comparison. Second, we repeated this question to people across industry, function, and management level and have confirmation that this ratio holds true as an average. Third, the surprisingly high difference may be the result of discretionary effort. As managers we can observe whether someone is working at, above, or below their usual productivity level. What is harder to know
is how much a person is holding back. The way people answer this question suggests that people believe they hold back a considerable amount around certain managers.

We have concluded that while it is an amazing difference, Multipliers really do get, on average, 2X more than their Diminisher counterparts.

ISN’T THIS JUST ENLIGHTENED LEADERSHIP WITH A NEW NAME?

The Multiplier model is more than just enlightened leadership. Sure, it is enlightened in that it benefits the people who work around Multipliers and get to work at their highest point of contribution and thrive. But the Multiplier model is also a practical approach to management because Multipliers get more from the people they lead—much more. They get more intelligent action, more adroit problem solving, and more concentrated effort. While that might seem “enlightened” it is also just a practical and productive way to lead.

ARE MULTIPLIERS MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN DIMINISHERS?

Yes, they are more successful
at getting more out of people
. This was amazingly consistent throughout our research. Even high-powered executives, icons in their own right, who hammered their people simply could not get as much out of people as their Multiplier counterparts. We didn’t study the career trajectories of Diminishers and Multipliers themselves, but we did study the success of the people they worked around. We found that people and their careers thrived and became more successful around Multipliers than around Diminishers.

HOW DO THESE DYNAMICS CHANGE ACROSS CULTURES?

The international research we have done thus far confirms that this model is relevant and recognizable across continents and cultures. There is more research that could be done to verify this and to look for the subtle differences. We do find that some national cultures have inherent Diminisher tendencies and a management legacy built on
Diminisher assumptions and practices. But in the original research and the subsequent teaching of this material we have found almost universal resonance.

THERE ARE SOME LEADERS YOU MENTION WHOM YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED AS MULTI PLIERS, BUT WHO ARE SOMETIMES KNOWN TO DIMINISH THE PEOPLE THEY WORK WITH. HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE CONTRADICTION?

Yes, this was interesting to us, too. Even in our original data pool, we occasionally found that some leaders were named as both a Diminisher and a Multiplier by different people. On closer inspection, we found this to be a paradox rather than a contradiction. As just one illustration, we found that some leaders had figured out how to involve their direct reports, but hadn’t learned to scale their leadership to the broader organization. The farther removed people were from the leader, the more diminished they felt. It was a classic case of Accidental Diminishing. It appears that being a Multiplier to
everyone
takes deliberate intention and effort. A leader needs to think consciously of the people at the periphery of the organization in order to be a Multiplier to them.

DID YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION YOU SET OUT TO?

Yes, but it has raised other questions.

Along the way, as any good researchers should, we have found ourselves asking new and related questions. One question is: How can you create a Multiplier culture in an organization (business, hospital, school)? We studied leaders who have already created such a climate, but what if someone is starting from scratch? We have some experience with this, but we hope with further work and study to be able to answer it with more rigor.

A second question this research has raised is: Why are some people never diminished? This is fascinating to us. Some people showed up in our research as being relatively immune to Diminishers. They appear to be able to turn any situation into one they can learn from and thrive
in. They appear somewhat invincible or unbreakable. We think this might deserve a more serious examination.

We have answered our original question to our own satisfaction, but we have found that it has raised new questions for us. We are eager to dig into these new questions.

DO YOU HAVE TO INTRODUCE THESE IDEAS AT THE TOP OF AN ORGANIZATION?

It is easiest to drive wide-scale change by starting at the top. However, you can still begin within your own team. If the CEO is on board, that is to your advantage, but it isn’t necessary. You can begin where you are, make your team a success story, and build momentum from there. In every organization we studied we found leaders who created Multiplier cultures, even without top-level support and often in Diminishing cultures. We recently worked with a team who had spent several years being diminished by their CEO. But as they became aware of their own management choices, they realized they could start where they were. They could make Multiplier choices. If you can get executive sponsorship, it will be to your advantage. But you can start with your own team, learn what works, and then involve other people from the broader organization.

SHOULD I EVEN TRY TO HAND THIS BOOK TO A RAGING DIMINISHER?

Yes, drop it and run! Or perhaps you can send it from one of your other Diminsher colleagues!

More seriously, if you share the book from a Diminisher’s perspective, by judging and dictating, you are likely to close down the person and continue the Diminishing cycle. However, if you approach it as a Multiplier, and make it safe for someone to learn new ideas, you might find surprising levels of receptiveness and impact. Here are two Multiplier strategies:

• 1.
  Focus on your own experience. You might begin by acknowledging how each of us can be an Accidental Diminisher at times and say something like, “This book has shown me how
  I sometimes diminish people without meaning to.” Or you can focus on the impact it has had for you and introduce it with, “I’ve been working on being more of a Multiplier and I’m seeing how it is increasing performance on my team. I thought you might be interested, too.”
  
• 2.
  Focus on the upside to the organization. Most managers would be interested in doubling the capacity of their organization. You could introduce the ideas with, “I think we have more intelligence in our organization than we’ve been able to tap into. I think there are some things that we could do as a leadership team to raise the IQ level of our organization.”
  
• 3.
  Additionally, you could introduce the ideas indirectly by holding a brown-bag lunch discussion or by sharing a single idea or Multiplier practice. We believe that there is a way to share this material with almost anyone, but you are more likely to succeed if you approach it like a Multiplier. You can’t diminish people into being Multipliers!
  

IF I COULD DO ONE THING TO GET ON THE PATH OF MULTIPLIER, WHAT SHOULD IT BE?

The one thing we would suggest you do is to ask really insightful and interesting questions that make people think. This is a practical step and it applies across all of the disciplines. For example, whether you are trying to become a Liberator or a Challenger or a Debate Maker, asking insightful and interesting questions will get you started down the correct path. So if you are looking to build one skill, start with questions.

If you want to work on one assumption, we would suggest trying on “people are smart and will figure it out.” One way to do this is ask the question, “How is this person smart?” Asking that question can interrupt any tendencies to judge people in a binary fashion. It can work like a fast-pass into the Technicolor world where Multipliers live.

T
he following is a list of the “Hall of Fame” Multipliers featured in this book. Several appear in multiple chapters, but they are listed only once below in the chapter that they are featured in most prominently.

Chapter 1
:
The Multiplier Effect

Multiplier
:
Lior

Featured Role
: Company Commander, Israeli Army

Multiplier
:
George Schneer

Featured Role
: Division Manager, Intel

Current Role
: Executive-in-Residence, Sevin Rosen Funds; Partner, Horizon Ventures

Multiplier
:
Tim Cook

Featured Role
: COO, Apple Inc.

Current Role
: COO, Apple Inc.

Multiplier
:
Deborah Lange

Featured Role
: SVP, Taxation, Oracle Corporation

Current Role
: Retired

Multiplier
:
George Clooney

Featured Role
: Actor

Current Role
: Actor; Activist

Chapter 2
:
The Talent Magnet

Multiplier
:
Mitt Romney

Featured Role
: Consulting Manager, Bain & Company

Current Role
: Political Leader

Multiplier
:
Andreas Strüengmann

Featured Role
: Cofounder, Hexal, Germany

Current Role
: Executive, Sandoz (Generics Division of Novartis); Billionaire Investor

Multiplier
:
Thomas Strüengmann

Featured Role
: Cofounder, Hexal, Germany

Current Role
: Board of Directors Novartis; Billionaire Investor

Multiplier
:
Zvi Schreiber

Featured Role
: CEO, G.ho.st, Israel and Palestine

Current Role
: CEO, G.ho.st, Israel and Palestine

Multiplier
:
Larry Gelwix

Featured Role
: Head Coach, Highland High School Rugby

Current Role
: Head Coach, Highland High School Rugby

Multiplier
:
Marguerite Gong Hancock

Featured Role
: Girls’ Camp Director

Current Role
: Associate Director, Stanford Program on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Multiplier
:
K.R. Sridhar

Featured Role
: CEO, Bloom Energy

Current Role
: CEO, Bloom Energy

Chapter 3
:
The Liberator

Multiplier
:
Robert Enslin

Featured Role
: President, SAP North America

Current Role
: President, SAP North America

Multiplier
:
Ernest Bachrach

Featured Role
: Managing Partner, Advent International, Latin America

Current Role
: Chief Executive, Advent International, Latin America

Multiplier
:
Steven Spielberg

Featured Role
: Film Director

Current Role
: Film Director

Multiplier
:
Patrick Kelly

Featured Role
: 8th-Grade Social Studies and History Teacher

Current Role
: 8th-Grade Social Studies and History Teacher

Multiplier
:
Ray Lane

Featured Role
: President, Oracle

Current Role
: Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Venture Capital

Multiplier
:
John Brandon

Featured Role
: Vice President, Channel Sales, Apple Inc.

Current Role
: Vice President, Channel and Commercial Sales, Apple Inc.

Multiplier
:
Nick Reilly

Featured Role
: CEO, GM Daewoo, Korea

Current Role
: Executive Vice President, General Motors Co.

Multiplier
:
Alan G. Lafley

Featured Role
: CEO, Procter & Gamble

Current Role
: Coauthor,
The Game Changer

Chapter 4
:
The Challenger

Multiplier
:
Shai Agassi

Featured Role
: CEO, Better Place; Executive Vice President, SAP

Current Role
: CEO, Better Place

Multiplier
:
Irene Fisher

Featured Role
: Director, Bennion Center

Current Role
: Former Founder/Director, University Neighbor Partners; Community Activist

Multiplier
:
C.K. Prahalad

Featured Role
: Professor, University of Michigan

Current Role
: Professor, University of Michigan

Multiplier
:
Matt McCauley

Featured Role
: CEO, Gymboree

Current Role
: CEO, Gymboree

Multiplier
:
Sean Mendy

Featured Role
: Director, Center for the New Generation, Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula

Current Role
: Stanford University Graduate Student; Director, Center for the New Generation,, Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula

Multiplier
:
Wangari Maathai

Featured Role
: Founder, Green Belt Movement, Africa

Current Role
: 2004 Laureate, Nobel Prize for Peace

Chapter 5
:
The Debate Maker

Multiplier
:
Barack Obama

Featured Role
: President-Elect, United States of America

Current Role
: President, United States of America

Multiplier
:
Lutz Ziob

Featured Role
: GM, Microsoft Learning, Microsoft Corporation

Current Role
: GM, Microsoft Learning, Microsoft Corporation

Multiplier
:
Tim Brown

Featured Role
: CEO and President, IDEO

Current Role
: CEO and President, IDEO

Multiplier
:
Sue Siegel

Featured Role
: President, Affymetrix

Current Role
: Partner, Mohr Davidow Ventures

Chapter 6
:
The Investor

Multiplier
:
Jae Choi

Featured Role
: Partner, McKinsey & Company, Korea

Current Role
: Executive Managing Director, Doosan, Korea

Multiplier
:
Elaben Bhatt

Featured Role
: Founder, SEWA, India

Current Role
: Member, The Elders World Council

Multiplier
:
John Chambers

Featured Role
: CEO, Cisco Systems

Current Role
: CEO, Cisco Systems

Multiplier
:
Michael Clark

Featured Role
: Division President, Flextronics

Current Role
: Division President, Flextronics

Multiplier
:
John Wookey

Featured Role
: Executive Vice President, Oracle; Executive Vice President, SAP

Current Role
: Executive Vice President, SAP

Multiplier
:
Kerry Patterson

Featured Role
: Cofounder, Interact Performance Systems

Current Role
: Author; Cofounder, VitalSmarts

Multiplier
:
Jubin Dana

Featured Role
: Coach, California Youth Soccer Association

Current Role
: Coach, California Youth Soccer Association; Lawyer

Multiplier
:
Narayana Murthy

Featured Role
: CEO, Infosys, India

Current Role
: Nonexecutive Chairman, Chief Mentor, Infosys; Political and Business Thought Leader, India

Chapter 7
:
Becoming a Multiplier

Multiplier
:
Bill Campbell

Featured Role
: CEO, Intuit

Current Role
: Chairman, Intuit; Advisor to Silicon Valley CEOs