The Multipliers

Book Review by Hirak Raval

Last week I read “Multipliers- How best leaders make everyone Smarter” by Liz Wiseman. The book is all about differentiation between two types of leaders:

1. Multipliers

2. Diminishers

Author made it very clear that both kinds of leaders are important for any organization but multipliers are kinds of leaders who are inspiring and Motivate others to achieve desire goal, While diminishers are smarter and know everything how to figure out and resolve the issue but their intelligence sometimes demotivates the other members of team and unknowingly team mates stop giving valuable feedback to organization which creates low engagement and low ownership amongst team and slowly diminisher leader starts feeling that people won’t be able to figure out problem and resolve without them.

Book gives very clear differentiation between Multipliers and Diminishers:

1. Multipliers – Attract and Utilize Talents, Diminishers- Underutilize talent and always concentrate on elevating own standards at the expense of Others

2. Multipliers – Create space for Thinking by asking right questions, Diminishers- Create stress that stops thinking by questioning intelligence level and solutions

3. Multipliers- Extend stretch challenges to team, Diminishers- Tell people what to do, They are always in directive mode.

4. Multipliers debate to decide actions while diminishers debate to impose their decisions

5. Multipliers give ownership to people to decide while diminishers make fast decisions which other people don’t understand and execution without understanding will always create conflicts.

Author has also given clarity on some accidental diminisher act which Leaders are unknowingly doing:

1. The idea Guy- These kinds of leaders always gives new idea to team for execution but restrict creative thinking amongst others.

2. The always on kinds of leaders who are highly enthusiastic and make others remain silent

3. The rescuer kinds of leaders who jump in and solve every problem. It is very important for leader to understand difference between resolving the problem and resolving the show stoppers and let another person be the owner.

4. The pace setter kinds of leaders make others feel inferior and slowly people will stop participating in issue thinking that I can’t win the race so better I will not race and be the spectators

5. The rapid responder kinds of leaders are smartest bosses of organization who knows everything about organization and respond quickly which does not allow others to be a part of the journey of resolution

6. The Optimist kinds of leaders always show “We Can do it easily” attitude and make others feel that it is very easy while people feed under recognized for task which was difficult.

Author will make you think on your leadership style, definitely it will make you realize that Leader’s job is to set standards, took over and raise quality and efficiency of team/Work, Set the pace, Engage teammates in right direction and not to exhaust, Micromanage, Keeping people busy and uninvolved.

I will highly recommend this book to all future leaders and new managers. I will rate this book 4/5.