Read Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter Online
Authors: Liz Wiseman,Greg McKeown
Tags: #Business & Economics, #Management
Chapter
: Becoming a Multiplier
Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions
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Are You an Accidental Diminisher?
I
n our research, we were surprised to discover how few Diminishers understood the restrictive impact they were having on others. Most had moved into management, having been praised for their personal—and often intellectual—merit and had assumed their role as boss was to have the best ideas. Others had once had the mind of a Multiplier, but had been working among Diminishers for so long, they had gone native.
Accidental or not, the impact on your team is the same—you might be getting only one-half of the true brainpower of your team.
The Accidental Diminisher Quiz is a quick assessment that will allow you to
To access the Accidental Diminisher Quiz, go to
www.multipliersbook.com.
Click on the Accidental Diminisher Quiz link
to complete the online assessment.
To conduct a complete 360-degree assessment or to measure how much intelligence you or your team is accessing from the people around you, contact:
The Wiseman Group at www.TheWisemanGroup.com
or send an e-mail to [email protected].
FOREWORD BY STEPHEN R. COVEY
1. Peter F. Drucker,
Management Challenges of the 21st Century
(New York: Harper Business, 1999), 135.
CHAPTER 1: THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT
1. Bono, “The 2009 Time 100: The World’s Most Influential People,”
Time
, May 11, 2009.
2. Name of leader has been changed.
3. Name of the leader has been changed.
4. Research method and data available in Appendix A.
5. Carol Dweck,
Mindset
:
The New Psychology of Success
(New York: Random House, 2006).
6. Nicholas D. Kristof, “How to Raise Our I.Q.,”
New York Times
, April 16, 2009.
7. Ibid.; Richard E. Nisbett,
Intelligence and How to Get It
:
Why Schools and Cultures Count
(New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2009).
8. Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad,
Competing for the Future
(Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1994), 159.
9. Name of leader has been changed.
10. Carol Dweck,
Mindset
:
The New Psychology of Success
(New York: Random House, 2006), 6.
11. Ibid., 7.
12. Joel Stein, “George Clooney: The Last Movie Star,”
Time
, February 20, 2008.
CHAPTER 2: THE TALENT MAGNET
1. Name of the leader has been changed.
2. Carol Dweck,
Mindset
:
The New Psychology of Success
(New York: Random House, 2006).
3. Dina Kraft, “Israelis and Palestinians Launch Web Start-Up,”
New York Times
, May 29, 2008.
4. Jack and Suzy Welch, “How to Be a Talent Magnet,”
Business Week
, September 11, 2006.
CHAPTER 3: THE LIBERATOR
1. Name of leader has been changed.
2. Students scoring either “proficient” or “advanced” levels have increased from 82 to 98 percent. Students scoring “below basic” or “far below basic” levels have decreased from 9 to 2 percent.
3. Peter B. Stark and Jane S. Flaherty,
The Only Negotiating Guide You’ll Ever Need
(New York: Random House, 2003).
CHAPTER 4: THE CHALLENGER
1. Bill Vlasic, “Mapping a Global Plan for Car Charging Stations,”
New York Times
, February 8, 2009.
2. Ibid.
3. Alan Salzman, “The 2009 Time 100: The World’s Most Influential People,”
Time
, April 30, 2009.
4. Larry Huston and Nabil Sakkab, “Connect and Develop: Inside Procter & Gamble’s New Model for Innovation,”
Harvard Business Review
, March 2006.
5. Klaus Kneal, “America’s Most Powerful CEOs 40 and Under,” Forbes.com, January 14, 2009.
6. Interview with Riz Khan,
One on One
, Al Jazeera, broadcast January 19, 2008.
7. Noel Tichy,
The Leadership Engine
(New York: Harper Business, 1997), 244.
CHAPTER 5: THE DEBATE MAKER
1. Standing in the Rose Garden on Tuesday, April 18, 2006, amid pressure to remove Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld from his cabinet position, Mr. Bush described his approach to making decisions. He explained, “Don Rumsfeld is doing a fine job…I hear the voices, and I read the front page, and I know the speculation. But I’m the decider, and I decide what is best. And what’s best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense.”
2. Joe Klein, “The Blink Presidency,”
Time
, February 20, 2005.
3. Michael R. Gordon, “Troop ‘Surge’ Took Place Amid Doubt and Debate,”
New York Times
, August 30, 2008.
4. David Brooks, “The Analytic Mode,”
New York Times
, December 3, 2009
5. Quoted in Adam Bryant, “He Prizes Questions More Than Answers,”
New York Times
, October 24, 2009.
6. Ibid.
7. Shared Inquiry is a method of learning developed and taught by the Junior Great Books Foundation.
CHAPTER 6: THE INVESTOR
1. Nic Paget-Clarke, Interview in Ahmedabad, August 31, 2003,
In Motion
magazine.2. “The Big Picture” was developed by Catalyst Consulting.3. Based on our research survey on the leadership practices of Multipliers and Diminishers. See Appendix B.
CHAPTER 7: BECOMING A MULTIPLIER
1. John H. Zenger and Joseph Folkman,
The Extraordinary Leader
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002) 143–147.
2. Name of leader has been changed.
3. Name of leader has been changed.
4. Name of leader has been changed.
5. Piero Coppola,
Dix-sept ans de musique à Paris
:
1922–1939
(Lausanne: F. Rouge et Cie, 1944), 105.
6. Bono, “The 2009 Time 100: The World’s Most Influential People,”
Time
, May 11, 2009.
APPENDIX A: THE RESEARCH PROCESS
1. James C. Collins,
Good to Great
:
Why Some Companies Make the Leap—and Others Don’t
(New York: Harper Business, 2001) 7.
2. Shane Legg, and Marcus Hutter,
Technical Report
:
A Collection of Definitions of Intelligence
(Lugano, Switzerland: IDSIA, June 15, 2007).
3. Linda S. Gottfredson, “Mainstream Science on Intelligence: An Editorial with 52 Signatories, History, and Bibliography,”
Intelligence
, 24(1):13–23, 1997.
The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific passage, please use the search feature of your e-book reader.
accelerators
assumptions to start, 207–10, 215, 223
development strategy, 207
Multipliers becoming, 203–14
30-Day Multiplier Challenge, 210–14, 223
top off strength, 206
weakness, neutralizing, 206
work extremes, 203–7, 223
Accidental Diminisher, 29, 67, 241
acknowledging self as, 242
impact of single, 221
Multiplier and, 25–26, 199
realization of, 199
slippery slope of, 184
accountability, 22–23, 175–81
complete work expectation, 177–79, 193
giving back, 176–77
Multipliers demands, 168–69
natural consequences respected, 179–80, 193
of people, 175–81, 193
visible scoreboard, 180–81, 193
addition, logic of, 14–16
Advent International, 73, 235, 246
Affymetrix, 62, 147, 155, 231, 234
Afghanistan war, 138
Agassi, Shai, 97–99, 103, 104, 116, 119, 126, 246
Allen, David, x
Allred, Doug, 169
Amazon.com, 197, 231, 235
ameba model, 42–43
annual question, 216–17
Antartica expedition, 36
anxiety, 88.
See also
stress; tense leader
A
players, 37, 38, 39, 53, 58–59, 64
Apple Inc., 13, 17, 45, 79, 143, 195, 231, 235, 246
assumptions, 223
Challenger and, 109, 130
of Diminisher, 18, 20, 208–10, 221
of leaders, 20–21, 103–4
Multipliers and, 109, 130, 209–10
questions and, 109
starting with, 203, 207–10, 215
strategy and, 109
Atlanta Kitchen and Bath Show, 128
AT&T, 98
attraction, cycle of, 36–38, 39, 63
A-W-K, 178–79, 191
baby steps, of Challenger, 129, 130
Bachrach, Ernest, 73, 76, 246
Bain & Company, 33–34, 37, 235, 245
barriers, Talent Magnets removing, 52–56
behavior change, 237–38
belief generator, 118–21
co-create plan, 119, 130
helicopter down, 118–19, 130
laying out path, 119, 130
orchestrate early win, 119–21, 130
Benchmark Capital, 46
Bennion Center, University of Utah, 108, 128, 235, 247
best work, distinguished from outcomes, 83–84, 95
Better Place, 97–99, 104, 116, 126, 234, 246
Bhatt, Elaben, 165–67, 221, 247
The Big Picture exercise, 169–70, 254n2
Binet, Alfred, 44
Blink
(Gladwell), 137
“The Blink Presidency,” 137
blockers, 52–56, 64
Bloom Energy, 53–54, 84, 118, 173, 234, 246
blunders, 92–93
Boléro
(Ravel), 215
Bono, 1, 222
Booz Allen Hamilton, 171
Bossidy, Jack, 211–12
boundaries
ignoring, 45–46, 64
organizational, 45
Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula, 114, 235, 247
Brandon, John, 79, 80, 246
Brigham Young University, 229
British Telecom, 101–2
Brooks, David, 138
Brown, Tim, 142–43, 247
burden, shifting of, 117–18
Bush, George W., 137, 254n1
bus trip, 128, 130
California Youth Soccer Association, 248
calmness, 70–71
Campbell, Bill, 44–45, 84, 195–98, 248
capability
logic of multiplication leaders on, 16–17
mindset and, 44
opportunities demanding, 49–51
career killers, 40
Carter, Jimmy, 129
Catalyst Consulting, 254n2
Center for the New Generation, 247
Challenger, 22, 23, 31, 97–130, 250
assumptions challenged by, 109, 130
becoming, 126–30
as belief generator, 118–21
bus trip of, 128, 130
curiosity, 126–27
Diminisher assumption, 210
Know-It-All v., 102–4, 130
laying down challenge, 111–18, 130
leading questions asked by, 127–28, 130
massive baby steps of, 129, 130
Multiplier assumption, 210
Multipliers as, 22, 23, 31, 103
need shown by, 108–9, 130
opportunities defined by, 124
practices of, 107–21, 130
problem solving of, 125
reframing problems, 109–11, 130
resource leverage achieved by, 124–26
seeding opportunity, 107–11, 130
starting point created by, 111, 130
stretching of, 129
challenges, 98
clearing bar, 113
concrete, extended, 114–16, 130
confidence from, 116
direction given, 118
growth through, 107
hard questions, 116–17, 130
intelligence increased by, 104
laying down, 111–18, 130
others filling in blanks, 117–18, 130
provocative, 129
raising bar, 112–13
tension created by, 111
Chambers, John, 169, 247
Chandra, Dinesh, 216
children, research on, 12–13.
See also
students
Choi, Jae, 159, 173, 247
Cisco, 169, 231, 235, 247
Claris, 196
Clarke, Michael, 174–75, 177, 247
classroom environment, 75–76
Clinton, Hillary, 137, 166
Clooney, George, 25, 245
co-create plan, 119, 130
collaborative working, 72
Collins, Jim, 230
Columbia University, 44
community building, of Multipliers, 217–18
compromise, 99
confidence, from challenges, 116
“Connect and Develop” (Huston & Sakkab), 110
connecting, people with opportunities, 49–51, 64
consequences, 179–80, 193
consistency, 80, 95
Conway, Craig, 80
Cook, Tim, 13, 143, 245
Cooper, Helene, 138
Cornell University, 114, 187
corporate hierarchy, 66–67
Covey, Stephen R., ix
creating space, 78–82, 95
listening-to-talking ratio, 79, 95, 196
releasing others by restraining self, 78–79, 95
credit givers, 57
credit takers, 57–58
criticism, 88
Crucial Confrontations
(Patterson), 178
Crucial Conversations
(Patterson), 178
curiosity, 126–27
cycles
of attraction, 36–38, 39, 63
of decline, 36, 38–41
of degeneration, 39–40
idle, 124, 125
learning, 86, 88
rapid, 125–26
rapid learning, 84–86, 95
Daewoo, 81, 246.
See also
GM Daewoo Auto and Technology
Dana, Jubin, 180, 248
data assembly, 143, 157, 158
Debate Maker, 22, 23, 31, 133–58, 205, 250
becoming, 155–58
best thinking required by, 145, 149, 158
data assembly, 143, 157, 158
decider v. team of rivals, 137–39
decision framing, 144–45, 158
Decision Makers v., 135–39, 158
decision-making process, 150–51, 158
demand rigor, 146–49, 158
Diminisher assumption, 210
discussion, dissent, and debate, 157
framing issue, 142–45, 158
hard questions of, 156–57, 158
Multiplier assumption, 210
Multipliers as, 22, 23, 31
participation, 157
practices of, 141–51, 158
question defining, 142–43
as resource leverage, 153–55
sound decisions driven by, 149–51, 158
sparking debate, 145–49
team formation, 143, 158
30-Day Multiplier Challenge of, 213
yin and yang of debates, 146–49
debates
Diminisher approach to, 152–53
discussion, dissent, and, 157
Dodgeville, 213
great, 145–46
shared inquiry, 155–56
sparking, 145–49
yin and yang of, 146–49
Decision Maker, 22, 23, 154
Debate Maker v., 135–39, 158
decisions
communicating rationale of, 151
Debate Makers, 144–45, 148–51, 158
debating, 22
of Diminisher, 133, 135–36, 141–42
forcing of Diminisher, 153
of Multipliers, 22, 136, 141–42
reclarifying process, 150–51
sound, 149–51, 158
decline, cycles of, 36, 38–41
degeneration, cycle of, 39–40
demands, 49–51
of Multipliers, 168–69
new, x
rigor, 146–49, 158
The Devil Wears Prada
, 68, 88
DeVito, Danny, 177
Dewey, John, 65
Diminisher, xii, xiii, 6, 7, 240, 242–43.
See also
Accidental Diminisher; Decision Maker; Empire Builder; Know-It-All; Micromanager; Tyrant
acquiring resources, 56–57
anxiety creating, 88
assumptions of, 18, 20, 208–10, 221
becoming Multiplier, 198–99
confessions of, 195–96
costliness of, 89
cycle of decline, 36, 38–41
debate approach of, 152–53
Debate Makers and assumption of, 210
decision forcing of, 153
as Decision Makers, 22, 23
decisions of, 133, 135–36, 141–42
defined, 230
dependent organizations of, 161
directional approach of, 121–23
dominating discussion, 153
dominating space, 87–88
as Empire Builder, 23
environment approach of, 87–89
execution approach of, 181–85
extracting potential, 11
firing, 238
high-cost, 15–16
idle cycles created by, 124, 125
Intel case study, 9–10
intelligence shut down by, 122–23
intelligence view of, 18, 31
Investor assumption of, 210
issue raising, 152
judging others, 87, 88–89
as Know-It-All, 22, 23, 101–3
knowledge gap of, 111
learning cycles of, 86, 88
Liberator assumption of, 210
listening of, 135–36
managing talent, 56–58
as Micromanager, 22–23
mind of, 18–19
Multipliers v., 31
path of, 90
pressure of, 87, 89–90
removing, 62
results of, 10–11
sense of humor of, 25
Talent Magnet assumption of, 210
telling people how to do jobs, 122–23
telling what they know, 121–22
testing what you know, 122
two conflicting approaches of, 87–89
as Tyrant, 22, 23
usefulness of, 239
waste of, 15
Diminisher-Multiplier model continuum, 155, 206–7, 208, 237
direction, 118, 121–23
discovery process, 107–11
discretionary effort, 48
Disraeli, Benjamin, 1, 30, 222
divide-and-conquer approach, 57
Dodgeville debate, 213
Dolan, Marcus, 163
double-dutch jump rope, 80
dream team, 51
DreamWorks Studios, 234
Drucker, Peter, xi, 97
duality, 76–77
Dweck, Carol, 12, 19, 44
eBay, 33, 35
efficiency, resource, 17
effort, discretionary, 48
Einstein, Albert, 219
The Elders World Council, 221, 247
elitism, 18
Ellison, Larry, 105, 107, 172
emotional intelligence, 44
Empire Builder, 21, 23, 36, 59
acquiring resources, 56–57
as career killers, 40
as credit takers, 57–58
hogging limelight, 58
people put in boxes by, 57
talent languished by, 57–58
Talent Magnet v., 35, 36–41, 64
energizing stretch, 113–14
energy investment, renewable, 213–14
enlightened leadership, 240
Enslin, Robert, 70, 80, 246
enthusiasm, 48
La Entrada Middle School, 75
environment
anxiety creating in, 88
classroom, 75–76