ACCIDENTAL DIMINISHER
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Great Conversation
DIMINISHER ?
BY LIZ WISEMAN
GREGORY PAL hired Michael , a talented individual with rich foreign trade experience , to help his renewable energy company ’ s efforts to expand rapidly into Brazil . But in an effort to help Michael , Gregory would often jump in to solve problems . Because Michael was still new , Gregory gave him the easy assignments and piecemeal tasks that were not suited for someone like Michael with highly developed skills . Then , because Michael was the only team member working remotely , Gregory would often end up representing him in meetings . After a few months , Michael was using just 20 to 25 percent of his talent on the job .
DIMINISHERS VS . MULTIPLIERS
Michael ’ s case is hardly an isolated one . In fact , it illustrates an all-too-common workplace phenomenon , leadership poorly exercised . Consider these two questions : Have you ever worked for a leader who underutilized your talent or made you question your own intelligence ? Or , have you worked for a leader who drew on every ounce of your brainpower and even made you smarter and more capable ?
We call the first type of leader a Diminisher and the second type a Multiplier . Diminishers tend to assume that “ people will never figure this out without me ,” while Multipliers believe “ people are smart and will figure it out .”
After analyzing data from more than 200 leaders across four continents , our research showed that most managers underestimate how widely employees ’ talent is underutilized . When we began , we expected that Multipliers would get more from their people . However , we were surprised by just how much more they actually received : Multipliers accessed employees ’ capabilities 1.97 times more than Diminishers , nearly twice as much . In other words , leaders who are Multipliers essentially double the intellectual power of their workforce at no incremental cost .
Imagine what your organization would be like if everyone led like a Multiplier , successfully enabling the team to apply the full range of its intelligence and depth of capabilities ? The problem , however , is that most leaders think they are getting more from their people than they really are .
THE ACCIDENTAL DIMINISHER
While the stereotypical Diminisher is the tyrannical bully and know-it-all , it turns out that Diminishers actually aren ’ t all jerks , and some are really good people . While the narcissistic leaders grab the headlines , the vast majority of diminishing happening inside our workplaces is done by the Accidental Diminisher — managers with the best of intentions , good people who think they are doing a good job leading .
How might we , with the very best intentions , be having a diminishing impact on the people we lead ? Can people be hindered by our honest attempts to help , teach or lead by example ?
Here are five signs that you might be accidentally diminishing your people .
1 . You set the pace for your team . You believe managers should lead by example , and you expect others to follow your lead . But when leaders set the pace , they are more likely to create spectators than followers .
2 . You ’ ve got the gift of the gab . You are passionate and articulate and can
Liz Wiseman
Liz Wiseman teaches leadership to executives and emerging leaders around the world . She is the President of The Wiseman Group , a leadership research and development firm headquartered in Silicon Valley . Some of her recent clients include : Apple , Disney , eBay / PayPal , Facebook , GAP , Google , Microsoft , Nike , Roche , Salesforce . com and Twitter . Liz has been listed on the Thinkers50 ranking and named as one of the top 10 leadership thinkers in the world and recipient of the 2016 ATD Champion of Talent Award . She is the author of three best-selling books : Rookie Smarts : Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work , Multipliers : How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter and The Multiplier Effect : Tapping the Genius Inside Our Schools .
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