Multipliers summary

In the early twentieth century, British explorer Ernest Shackleton was preparing to launch a groundbreaking yet deadly journey to Antarctica. He needed a skilled crew. Surprisingly, Shackleton didn’t pull any punches in his recruitment ad – it was honest, and stated that danger and death were highly likely. Even so, the ad attracted hundreds of applications. Shackleton had all the options he needed to put together a talented team, which, in turn, helped ensure that every man came back alive.

Shackleton is a great example of a specific kind of Multiplier, the Talent Magnet. This is someone who has the ability to bring together an outstanding team, thanks to these four key practices:

Now that we’ve seen a special type of Multiplier, let’s look at a special Diminisher. If you’ve ever worked for a boss who likes to create a tense atmosphere by throwing their weight around and pointing out everyone’s mistakes, then you’ve known a Tyrant.

One well-known Tyrant is Timothy Wilson, a famous props master in Hollywood. Wilson had a reputation for criticizing his staff so relentlessly that few are willing to work with him.

When Matt McCauley practiced pole vault at college, he kept a bar nearby that was always set at the world record, so he knew where his goal was. McCauley had a similar approach when he became CEO of the children’s retailer Gymboree: by always aiming high, it helped him increase the company’s share price fivefold in just four years, from $0.69 per share to $3.21.

Matt McCauley’s leadership approach is that of a Challenger, and this one comes with three distinct practices of its own.

According to Time magazine, George W. Bush led a “blink presidency.” He had a tendency to make snap decisions in the blink of an eye, rather than pausing to consult research and weigh the options.

This is typical behavior of another type of Diminisher, the Decision Maker. The Decision Maker doesn’t solve problems with analytical thinking. Instead, they’ll bring up issues, seemingly at random, while forcing their own decisions upon the team and ignoring other opinions.

It’s quite common to see the coach of a sports team yelling frantically from the sidelines, but what you never see is the coach actually taking the ball to demonstrate what they mean.

Many managers and coaches are Diminishers because of how they micromanage their teams to the point that they become wholly dependent on leadership. This is what happened on Marcus Dolan’s high school rugby team. Dolan was so controlling over every action his team made, that when it came time to compete on the field, the players were unable to think without him and lost every game.

Let’s look at the cautionary tale of Sally, an Accidental Diminisher:

Sally was a seasoned school principal, with a data-driven approach to leadership. Along with her colleague Marcus, Sally was tasked with helping the school achieve “blue ribbon” status. Since Marcus was relatively new to his role, Sally was eager to guide him by providing a constant flow of instructions and feedback.

We’ve looked at the different ways a boss can try to change their methods and be the best they can be, but let’s look at things from a worker’s perspective: what should you do if your boss is a Diminisher and makes you feel underutilized and overly criticized?

According to the author, the five most common strategies are confrontation, avoidance, quitting, lying low and ignoring. Yet these are also the five least effective strategies!

Bill Campbell was CEO of the software manufacturer Intuit, and he has leadership experience as both a Diminisher and a Multiplier.

Several times, Campbell’s team has had to tell him to step back and stop smothering them; on other occasions, he’s snapped at a silly question. But Campbell has learned from these mistakes and he’s even gone on to serve as a board member, nurturing other up-and-coming Multipliers.