Multipliers by Liz Wiseman [Book Summary & PDF]

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Multipliers is an excellent book for leaders who want to bring change in their organisation and the whole world. It will be a valuable tool for everyone from first-time managers to world leaders. Corporate executives will immediately see its relevance, but so will leaders in mid-sized businesses, for- and non-profit organisations, startups, and the government.

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INTRODUCTION

Who is this book for?

About the author

Liz Wiseman is an American researcher, speaker, and the author of The New York Times bestseller Multipliers, The Multiplier Effect, and The Wall Street Journal bestseller Rookie Smarts. She is also the CEO of the Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development firm, and an executive advisor who teaches leadership to executives around the world. She has conducted significant research in the field of leadership and collective intelligence and writes for Harvard Business Review, Fortune, and a variety of other business and leadership journals.

In this summary

Multipliers is one of the most actionable books I’ve ever read. It contains solid questions and steps for you to take, so you can stop being an (Accidental) Diminisher and become a Multiplier leader yourself. In this summary, I’ve outlined the 5 different types of Multipliers, as well as how to become one and what to avoid, followed by practical steps. Let’s get started!

BOOK SUMMARY

THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT

THE PROBLEM: Leaders who follow the logic of addition argue:

Our people are overworked…
Our best people are the most maxed out…
Therefore, accomplishing a bigger task requires the addition of more resources.

This logic seems persuasive, but it ignores the opportunity to deeply leverage existing resources by extracting and multiplying the existing intelligence of their organisation.

The logic of addition (“throwing resources at a problem”) is an expensive corporate norm and has to go.

THE OPPORTUNITY: Leaders rooted in the logic of multiplication believe:

Most people in organisations are under-utilised…
All capability can be leveraged with the right kind of leadership…
Therefore, intelligence and capability can be multiplied without requiring a bigger investment.

Smarter people can solve problems more quickly than the competition. This might make the difference between companies that make it and those that don’t.

The new logic of “getting more productivity from the currently available resources” is the future.

Who the Diminishers are

Diminisher leaders are genius. However… These leaders are absorbed in their own intelligence, stifle others, and deplete the organisation of crucial intelligence and capability.

A Diminisher believes that:

Intelligence is based on elitism and scarcity
Really intelligent people are a rare breed
They are one of the few really smart people – other people will never figure things out without them
Intelligence as static – it doesn’t change over time or circumstance

“People who don’t “get it” now, never will; therefore, I’ll need to keep doing the thinking for everyone”Click To Tweet

Who the Multipliers are

Multipliers are genius makers. These leaders amplify the intelligence in others. They build collective, viral intelligence in organisations.

A Multiplier believes that:

Intelligence as continually developing – what Carol Dweck calls the “growth mindset”
People are smart, they will figure things out, and they will get smarter in the process
Their organisation is full of talented people who are capable of contributing at much higher levels
Instead of writing people off as not worth their time, they ask, “What could be done to develop and grow their capabilities?”
Their job is to bring the right people together in an environment that liberates people’s best thinking, and then to get out of their way

Diminishes vs. multipliers

The difference in the mindset

MINDSET: Diminishers say: “They will never figure this out without me.” vs. Multipliers say “People are smart and will figure this out.”
MANAGING TALENT: Diminishers use talent vs. Multipliers who develop talent.
APPROACHING MISTAKES: Diminishers blame people vs. Multipliers who explore & learn from the situation.
SETTING DIRECTION: Diminishers tell people what to do vs. Multipliers who challenge people to figure it out.
MAKING DECISIONS: Diminishers decide for others vs. Multipliers who consult others.
GETTING THINGS DONE: Diminishers control people vs. Multipliers who support people

The Result? Multipliers extract and extend the genius of others. The author found that they actually get 2.1 times more out of people than Diminishers!

Why?

Because people who work with Multipliers hold nothing back. They offer the very best of their thinking, creativity, and ideas. They give more than their jobs require and volunteer their discretionary effort, energy, and resourcefulness. They actively search for more valuable ways to contribute and hold themselves to the highest standards.

Below we’ll discover 5 types of Multiplier leaders who get the most out of their team.

THE TALENT MAGNET

Talent Magnets attract talented people and use them at their highest point of contribution.

What Talent Magnets Get

A reputation as the person A players should work for (“the place you go to grow”)
Fully utilised people whose genius continues to expand, allowing A players to become A+ players.
Inspired A players who are positioned in the spotlight and get kudos and recognition for their work, attracting other A players into the organisation

On the other hand, Diminishers operate as Empire Builders who hoard resources and make big promises but underutilise talent to appear smarter and more powerful.

What Empire Builders Get

A reputation as the person A players should avoid working for (“the place you go to die”)
Under-utilised people whose capability atrophies
Disillusioned A players who don’t reach out to other A players

The Four Practices of the Talent Magnet

1. Look for Talent Everywhere

Appreciate all types of genius. Some minds excel at quantitative analysis or verbal reasoning, other minds offer creative genius, innovating through fresh thinking and bold ideas. Be open to different types of smart – not everything can be measured with an IQ test.

Ignore (organisational) boundaries. Multipliers aren’t deterred if someone doesn’t officially report to them. These leaders see an unlimited talent pool that they can draw from. Everyone in the organisation works for a Multiplier.

2. Find People’s Native Genius

Look for what is native. A native genius does something not only exceptionally well, but absolutely naturally. They do it easily (without extra effort) and freely (without condition). As you watch someone in action, ask these questions:

What do they do better than anything else?
What do they do better than the people around them?
What do they do without effort?
What do they do without being asked?
What do they do readily without being paid?

Label it. If native genius' aren’t aware of their own capability, they are not in a position to deliberately utilise it. “Fish discover water last”, after all. By telling people what you see, you can raise their awareness and confidence, allowing them to provide their capability more confidently & unconditionally.

3. Utilise people to their fullest

Connect people with opportunities. Spot what people do effortlessly and what area they are naturally drawn to. Then connect them with opportunities that allow them to be used at their highest point of contribution.

Shine a spotlight. Praise publicly others’ work and be specific: “This is X. She’s a creative genius, and we are so fortunate to have her leading our art program.” The other leaders can see the direct link between their work and the success of the company.

4. Remove the blockers

Get rid of prima donnas. Prima donnas suck the energy and block the creativity of the whole team with negative long-term results.

Get out of the way. Sometimes the blocker of intelligence is the leader him- or herself. This simple mantra signals trust in the judgment and capability of others: “Ignore me as needed to get your job done.”

4+1. What NOT to Do (that Empire Builders Do)

Owning (not developing) talent. They bring in great talent, but they underutilise them because they fundamentally undervalue them. This is one of the reasons why Diminishers are costly to organisations.

Acquiring more resources. Empire Builders focus their energy on acquiring resources and slotting them into organisational structures, where they are visible and clearly under the command of the leader. For some leaders, this amassing of resources/talent can become an obsession.

Putting people in boxes. They don’t encourage people to step beyond the org chart walls. You can often spot an Empire Builder because they either operate exclusively through one-on-one meetings or run staff meetings as an official way of reporting to them.

Letting talent languish. They are often the prima donna, insisting that they get maximum time on the stage and that scripts are written to feature them. Whereas Talent Magnets give credit, Empire Builders take credit.

BECOMING A TALENT MAGNET

Become a genius watcher.

Here are three steps to help you begin genius watching:

Identify it. Make a list of 8 to 10 people you work with closely. Start to note the things they do both easily and freely. Go beyond surface-level skills. Ask “why” three times until you find their underlying genius.
Test it. Once you’ve developed a hypothesis about each person, test and refine your views. Ask colleagues what they think. Test the idea with the person itself – ask them what they think they’re good at or give them related tasks to see how they respond.
Work it. Once you’ve found a native genius in someone, make a list of five different roles you could put this person in that would utilise and expand this genius. Go beyond formal jobs and identify ad hoc roles.

Pull Some Weeds

On a work team of 11 people, removing a Diminisher can give back the equivalent of 5 full-time people, with 10 people operating at 100 percent. You may lose one mind, but you gain back five. It is a law of numbers.

THE LIBERATOR

Liberators (Multipliers) create an intense environment in which superior thinking and work can flourish.

What Liberators Get

People who offer their best thinking and really engage their full brain power
The best and boldest ideas
People who give their full effort and learn quickly from any mistakes

On the other hand, Tyrants (Diminishers) create a tense environment that suppresses people’s thinking and capability.

What Tyrants Get

People who hold back but appear to be engaged on the surface
Safe ideas the leader already agrees with
People who work cautiously, avoid taking risks, and find excuses for any mistakes they make

The Three Practices of the Liberator

1. Create Space

Release others by restraining yourself. It is a small victory to create space for others to contribute. But it is a huge victory to maintain that space and resist the temptation to jump back in and consume it yourself.

Shift the ratio of listening to talking. Liberators are more than just good listeners. They are ferocious listeners. They listen intently because they are trying to learn and understand what other people know.

Operate consistently. The consistency of the Liberators’ actions creates two effects:

It establishes a predictable pattern of behaviour, allowing others to know when it is their turn and where there is space for them to contribute.
It creates safety, allowing people not only to jump in, but to do so with full power of thought.

Level the playing field. Liberators amplify the voices that are closest to the real issues, in order to extract maximum intelligence and give advantage to the ideas and voices on the lower end of the playing field.

2. Demand Best Work

Defend the standard. Whenever Kissinger received a report, he immediately asked, “Is this your best work?” If the honest answer was “I can do better”, then he insisted that the report gets reworked till it’s the best work it can be.

Distinguish best work from outcomes. Stress is created when people are expected to produce outcomes that are beyond their control. However, they feel positive pressure when they are held accountable to their best work.

3. Generate Rapid Learning Cycles

Admit and share mistakes. By taking your mistakes public, you create a safe environment for others to take risks and fail early, fast, and cheap.

Insist on learning from mistakes. It’s okay to fail! You just can’t make the same mistake twice. Make this your mantra.

4+1. What NOT to Do (that Tyrants Do)

Suppress people’s thinking and capability. People only bring up safe ideas that the leader is likely to agree with. This is why Diminishers are costly to organisations – the organisation pays full price for a resource but only receives about 50 percent of its value.

Dominate the space. They dominate meetings, leave little room for anyone else and often suffocate other people’s intelligence in the process. They do this by voicing strong opinions, over-expressing their ideas and trying to maintain control.

Create anxiety. A percentage of people’s mental energy is consumed trying to avoid upsetting the Tyrant. People don’t know what will set them off, but it is almost certain that the mood will change when they are around.

Judge others. Tyrants centralise their power and play judge, jury, and executioner. In sharp contrast to the rapid learning cycles of the Liberator, Tyrants create cycles of criticism, judgment, and retreat.

Becoming a Liberator

Play Your Chips. Try giving yourself a budget of poker chips for a meeting, each one allowing you to speak for 1-2 minutes. Maybe it is five; maybe it is just one or two. Use them wisely, and leave the rest of the space for others to contribute.
Label Your Opinions. Divide your views into: Soft opinions, where you have a perspective and ideas for others to consider AND Hard opinions, where you have a clear and potentially emphatic point of view. By doing so, you can create space for others to comfortably disagree with your “soft opinions” and establish their own views. Reserve the right to have “hard opinions” for when it really matters.
Make Your Mistakes Known. As you share your mistakes, try these two approaches:

1. Get personal. Let people know mistakes you have made in the past and what you have learned from them. Let them know how you have incorporated this learning into your decisions and current leadership practices.
2. Go public. Instead of talking about mistakes behind closed doors or just one-on-one, bring them out in the open where everyone can learn.

THE CHALLENGER

Challengers (Multipliers) define opportunities that challenge people to go beyond what they know how to do. As a result they get an organisation that understands the challenge and has the focus and energy to take it on.

What Challengers Get

Collective intent toward the same overarching opportunity

Rapid cycles and accelerated problem solving without the initiation of the formal leader

People’s discretionary effort and intellectual energy to take on the toughest organisational challenges

On the other hand, Know-It-Alls (Diminishers) give directives that showcase how much they know. As a result they limit what their organisation can achieve to what they themselves know how to do. The organisation uses its energy to deduce what the boss thinks.

What Know-It-Alls Get

Distracted efforts as people vie for the attention of the boss

Idle cycles in the organisation as people wait to be told what to do or to see if the boss will change direction again

An organisation that doesn’t want to get ahead of the boss

The Three Practices of the Challenger

1. Seed the Opportunity.

Show the need. You don’t get the most out of people if you just tell them what to do. You get full effort if you help people discover opportunity and, then, get out of their way and let them solve the problem. Challenge the assumptions. Multipliers ask the questions that challenge the fundamental assumptions in an organisation and disrupt the prevailing logic. Reframe problems. “The most powerful work is done in response to an opportunity, not in response to a problem.” Analyse the problem, but also reframe it to show the opportunity presented. Create a starting point. By offering a starting point, but not a complete solution, you generate more questions than answers. These questions then encourage your team to fully define the opportunity.

2. Lay Down a Challenge.

Extend a concrete challenge. By making a challenge tangible and measurable, you allow others to visualise the end result and communicate the confidence that the organisation has the collective brainpower required to accomplish it. Ask the hard questions. Diminishers give answers. Good leaders ask questions. Multipliers ask the really hard questions. They ask the questions that challenge people not only to think, but to rethink and learn new things in order to answer the questions. Let others fill in the blanks. By asking the hard questions and inviting others to fill in the blanks, you are shifting the burden of thinking onto your people, for them to understand the challenge, get intellectually engaged, and find a solution.

3. Generate Belief in What Is Possible Helicopter down.

You have to take them down the pathway that it can be done – and why. Do this once and you’ll have created a meaningful proof point that a bold challenge can be successfully met. Lay out a path. Make the impossible seem possible by suggesting a plan. With this insight, the team can visualise a path toward an implementation program. Co-create the plan. When people create the plan that they will eventually implement, they understand the challenge ahead and know what actions would be necessary to achieve it. Orchestrate an early win. Multipliers begin with small, early wins and use those to generate belief toward the greater challenges ahead. This way, the weight shifts and the organisation is willing to leave the realm of the known and venture into the unknown.

4+1. What NOT to Do (that Know-It-Alls Do)

Showcase what you know. Diminishers consider themselves thought leaders and readily share their knowledge; however, they rarely share it in a way that invites contribution. They tend to sell their ideas rather than learning what others know.

Test what you know. When Diminishers do actually engage others, they want to verify that people understand what they know. They ask questions to make a point rather than to access greater insight or to generate collective learning.

Tell people how to do their jobs. Rather than shifting responsibility to other people, Diminishers stay in charge and tell others – in detail – how to do their jobs. They give themselves permission to generate both the questions and the answers.

Becoming a Challenger

Go Extreme with Questions. The first step is to stop answering questions and begin asking them. Find a meeting that you can lead solely with questions. You might be surprised at what people around you already know.
Take a Bus Trip. Take the whole team on a bus trip to see firsthand the needs of your customers and how they actually use your product. Help your team discover the need that must be met. Make it a learning experience that will ignite a fire within your organisation.
Take a Massive Baby Step. Get the entire organisation to take a small, first step. But do it together, en masse, and make it visible so everyone can see the results and start to believe that something great is possible.

THE DEBATE MAKER

Debate Makers (Multipliers) engage people in debating the issues up front, which leads to sound decisions that people understand and can execute efficiently.

What Debate Makers Get

High utilisation of the bulk of their resources
Real information they need to make sound decisions
Efficient execution with lower resource levels because they have built a deep understanding of the issues, which readies the organisation to execute

On the other hand, Decision Makers (Diminishers) decide efficiently with a small inner circle, but they leave the broader organisation in the dark to debate the soundness of the decision instead of executing it.

What Decision Makers Get

Underutilisation of the bulk of their resources, while a select few are overworked
A lack of information from those closest to the action, resulting in poorer decisions
Too many resources thrown at those who don’t have the understanding they need to execute the decisions effectively

The Three Practices of the Debate Maker

1. Frame the Issue

Define the question. The work of the Multiplier is to find the right issue and formulate the right question, so others can find the answers. A few ideas:

Challenge the assumptions that enslave the organisation in old patterns and ideas
Bring up the downsides, tensions and tradeoffs to be considered in a decision
Force people to examine the facts and confront reality
Explore multiple perspectives on an issue
Form the team. Multipliers ensure a great debate by having the right people in the debate. Potential candidates for a great debate include:
People with knowledge or insight needed to inform the issue
Key stakeholders for the decision
People with responsibility for driving the outcome of the decision
Assemble the data. Multipliers identify the decision-critical data that needs to be gathered and analysed prior to the debate. They ask others to come to the debate armed with relevant information, so they are prepared to contribute.

2. Spark the Debate

Create safety for best thinking. Share your view last, after hearing other people’s views. Encourage others to take an opposing stand. Allow all points of view, even the unpopular ones. Depersonalise the issues and keep it unemotional. Look beyond job titles.

Demand rigour. Ask questions that challenge conventional thinking. Challenge the underlying assumptions. Ask for evidence in the data. Attack the issues, not the people. Ask “why” repeatedly until the root cause is unearthed. Equally debate all sides of the issue.

3. Drive a Sound Decision

Re-clarify the decision-making process. Summarise the key ideas and outcomes of the debate, giving people a sense of closure and what to expect next. Address these questions:

Are we making the decision right now or do we need more information?
Is this a team decision or will the leader make the final call?
If it is a team decision, how will we resolve any differing views?
Has anything that has surfaced in the debate altered the decision-making process?

Make the decision. Multipliers generate and leverage collective thinking, but they are not necessarily consensus-oriented leaders. They may seek the full consensus of the group, but they are equally comfortable making the final decision.

Communicate the decision and rationale. Close by helping people understand what is expected of them and why, so they can prepare to execute the decision at hand.

4+1. What NOT to Do (that Decision Makers Do)

Raise issues wrongly. When a problem surfaces, Diminishers don’t necessarily frame them in a way that allows others to easily contribute. When they raise the issue, they focus on the “what”, rather than on the “how” or the “why” of a decision.

Dominate the discussion. When issues get discussed or debated, Diminishers tend to dominate the discussion with their own ideas.

Force the decision. Rather than driving a sound decision, Diminishers tend to force a decision, either by relying heavily on their own opinion or by short-cutting a rigorous debate.

Becoming a Debate Maker

Ask the Hard Questions. Ask the questions that will get at the core of the issue and the decision. Ask the questions that will confront underlying assumptions. Pose the questions to your team and then stop. Instead of following up with your views, hold yours and ask for theirs.
Ask for the Data. When someone offers an opinion, don’t let it rest on anecdote. Ask for the evidence. Look for more than one data point. Ask them to identify a cluster of data or a trend. Make it a norm so people come into debates armed with the data.
Ask Each Person. Reach beyond the dominant voices and hear all views and all data. You might find that the softer voices belong to the analytical minds who are often most familiar with and objective about the data.

THE INVESTOR

Investors (Multipliers) give other people the investment and ownership they need to produce results independent of the leader.

What Investors Get

People who take initiative and anticipate challenges
People who are fully focused on achieving results
People who can get ahead of the boss in solving problems
People who respond to the natural forces around them

On the other hand, Micromanagers (Diminishers) manage every detail in a way that creates dependence on the leader and their presence for the organisation to perform.

What Micromanagers Get

People who wait to be told what to do
People who hold back because they expect to be interrupted and told what to do instead
Free riders who wait for the boss to swoop in and save them
People who try to “work” their bosses and make sophisticated excuses

The Three Practices of the Investor

1. Define Ownership

Name the lead. Clarifying the role that you will play as a leader actually gives people more ownership, not less. They understand that they hold the majority ownership position and that success or failure depends on their efforts.

Give ownership for the end goal. When people are given ownership for the whole, not only for a piece of something larger, they stretch their thinking and challenge themselves to go beyond their scope.

Stretch the role. One way that Multipliers incite growth is by asking people to stretch and do something they’ve never done before. Stretching the role stretches the person in it. This bigger role creates a vacuum that must be filled, accelerating the growth of the person.

2. Invest Resources

Teach and coach. You are teaching by helping your team solve real problems. Even if you know the solution, don’t offer it. If you do, you’ve lost the teaching moment. It has to be Socratic. You ask the question and tease out the answer.

Provide backup. You’re not the only one who needs to provide the intellectual capital for your team – use external resources, too. Don’t just limits the investment options to what you know and what you have time and energy to personally invest.

3. Hold People Accountable

Give it back. Investors get involved in other people’s work, but they continually give back leadership and accountability, using reassuring phrases like “You’re smart. You can figure this out.”

Expect complete work. Multipliers never do anything for their people that their people can do for themselves. They use phrases like “Don’t just identify the problem; find a solution.”

Respect natural consequences. Investors want their investments to be successful, but they know they can’t intervene and alter natural market forces. By providing the possibility to fail, these leaders give others the freedom and the motivation to grow and succeed.

Make the scoreboard visible. When the scoreboard is visible, people hold themselves accountable and get reminded of the bigger picture.

4+1. What NOT to Do (that Micromanagers Do)

Maintain ownership. Diminishers don’t trust others to figure it out for themselves, so they maintain ownership. When they delegate, they hand out piecemeal tasks but not real responsibility.

Jump in and out. Micromanagers hand over work to others, but they take it back the moment problems arise. This way, not only do they end up doing all the work, but they rob others of the opportunity to use and extend their own intelligence.

Becoming an Investor

Let Them Know Who’s the Boss. Let people know that you will stay engaged and support them, but they (not you) are in charge and accountable. Start with ownership for the current scope of their role, and then take it up one level, for the whole project.
Let Nature Take its Course. Nature teaches best. When we allow people to experience the natural consequences of their actions, they learn most rapidly and most profoundly.

There are natural consequences to our mistakes and good decisions alike. To let nature teach, try these steps:

Let it happen. Don’t jump in and fix an assignment so it doesn’t fail. Let the person experience a degree of failure.
Talk about it. Be available to help someone learn from the failure. Ask great questions and avoid the ever-diminishing, “I told you so.”
Focus on the next time. Help them find a way to be successful next time. Give them a way out and a path forward.
If they succeed, step out of the way. Give them credit and let them reap the full benefits of their victories. Boost their confidence for the next step.

Ask for the F-I-X

Ask for people to complete the thought process and provide a fix. Use simple questions:

“What solution(s) do you see for this problem?”
“How would you propose we solve this?”
“What would you like to do to fix this?”

Don’t assume responsibility for fixing the problem. Put the problem back on their desk and encourage them to stretch themselves further.

Hand Back the Pen

When you see your team members struggling, offer help, but have an exit plan in mind (symbolically giving the pen back). Statements that signal that you are handing back the pen:

“I’m happy to help think this through, but I’m still looking for you to lead this going forward.”
“You are still in the lead on this.”
“I’m here to back you up. What do you need from me as you lead this?”

CONCLUSION

Key Takeaways

Some leaders create intelligence around them, while others diminish it.
Diminishers underutilise people and leave capability on the table – you may be an Accidental Diminisher, too.
You can be a Multiplier, too – you can create genius around you and receive a 2x higher contribution from your people, who will also get smarter and more capable while working for you.
It isn’t about what you achieve for yourself – it is about the impact you can have on others.
Memorable Quote: Bono, the rock star and global activist, said:

“It has been said that after meeting with the great British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, you left feeling he was the smartest person in the world, but after meeting with his rival Benjamin Disraeli, you left thinking you were the smartest person.”

Action Steps

Take a 360 degree assessment at www.multipliersbook.com that will help you identify your relative strengths along the Diminisher/Multiplier continuum.
Read journals of senior leaders and front-line managers taking the 30-Day Challenge, as they documented their struggles and successes at www.MultipliersBook.com.
Download tools to take the 30-Day Challenge yourself, and join the community of leaders taking the Multiplier Challenge.

This summary is not intended as a replacement for the original book and all quotes are credited to the above mentioned author and publisher.