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Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter

Do you believe that people come to work to make it a bad day for you? Do people come to work to do a bad job? Most likely, the answer is no to both questions. Then why do our employees, who we hired and supposedly trained, let us down? The answer is in this book.

In Multipliers, Liz Wiseman describes two kinds of leaders…a multiplier and a diminisher. Hopefully you have had the chance to work for the former and not the latter. A multiplier makes you feel good about being at work and invites you to higher levels of performance than you thought possible. A diminisher demands, drives and drains the room of energy.

I have had the opportunity to work for both in my career, and working for a diminisher is soul-sucking. It is a drag to be at work. You don’t want to do your best work, you just want to get out and go home. Energy levels are lacking. You can’t wait to find something else and move on.

Working for a multiplier is different. You want to be at work and do your best. My favorite boss was a guy named Ron Pfeiffer. I worked for him for about 3 years, but they were the best three years of my working life. He encouraged me to take risks, develop myself fully and become who I thought I was. He demanded a lot, and I was willing to give it because I knew he cared. One small example: I did an audio recording of my weekly activities and gave them to him each Friday. On Monday, he would return it with notes on what I told him, suggestions how to handle things, helpful stories. A diminisher would never comment. He took the time to do it. Working for him was a great partnership. He is long since retired and has passed away. He was a friend until the day he died. I worked for him 25 years ago, and still tell stories about him.

Pick up a copy of Multipliers. Rate yourself on the scale from multiplier to diminisher. Then apply the five principles described in the book. Become the boss that people will tell stories about…positive stories! Make a difference in you so you can make a difference for others.

Author:

Liz Wiseman with Greg McKeown

Publisher:

HarperBusiness

Published:

2014

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