Thanks Liz for taking time from your busy schedule to answer these questions.

Q: In the “Instill Ownership and Accountability” section of Multipliers, you recommend letting people remain accountable for their actions and experience consequences. This is a message I experience difficulty in applying since typical management training says that managers should protect their staff. Under what situation, if any, do you believe managers should attempt to protect their staff from the consequences of their actions?

A: This question is at the heart of the art of good management.  It is certainly naive to suggest that managers should just let their people fail and experience the sting of real learning.  But, I find that in working with management teams on this question, they find that there is far more room for experimentation that they initially thought.  Here’s a quick mental exercise:   Take out two pieces of paper.  On one, make a list of everywhere it is OK to let someone live out a mistake or fail. On the other, make a list of where it isn’t OK and you need to intervene.  Focus on the criteria.  Challenge yourself by making the second list no more than half as long as the first list.  My guess is that two things will happen:

1. You will see that there is a lot more room to experiment that you might feel and

2. You will develop a short set of criteria that you can use to recognize when you need to step in.

Typically this criteria is something like, “when it is business ending, life ending, or career ending (for them or you!).”  Often the criteria for when it is OK to let failure happen sounds like this: “when the opportunity for learning is bigger than the cost to the business.”

Doing this exercise as a management team can be a powerful way to shape the culture and the environment for learning and performance.

The art of management comes in finding this right balance.  When is the mistake too costly and might seriously jeopardize the business or the person?  I like to think of this as finding the right size wave — one where someone will learn from their mistake and not be swept out to sea!  Check out my new Right Size Wave video for the full story.

Q: In the Debate Decisions section of Multipliers, you discuss the successful techniques that multipliers (acting as Debate Makers) take to engage their team. In certain situations there may not be adequate time to engage the team in the usual manner. How should a good Debate Maker handle a ‘crunch time’ situation when there is with limited or no time for debate?

A: I love this question because Debate can be easily used for crunch situations.  Here are two suggestions.

1.  Stop and prep for two minutes.  We find that the best debates are not spontaneous, but rather delayed when people can take time to prepare and to formulate an opening position.  When I am pressed for time, I like to ask the group to stop and do a silent, two-minute prep before we proceed with the live debate and decisions.  In these two minutes, I ask people to pause and outline a) their position on the issue and b) evidence to support this position.  The key is to do it silently, so people are forced to think and to formulate their own thoughts before being influenced by others.

There is now mounting evidence that suggests that we do our best collective work (such as brainstorming) when we first do rigorous individual thinking.  This allows us to bring our best thinking into a discussion and debate.

There aren’t too many crunch decisions when you can’t stop for two minutes to prep!

2.  Debate like a 3rd grader.  There is a fun method called “shared inquiry” that is taught by the Junior Great Books foundation that is a fast form of debate.  The leader has three roles. 1) Ask the question, 2) Ask for evidence and 3) Ask everyone.  This simple technique actually creates significant rigor because everyone learns to cite data and evidence to support their opinions.  And, because everyone gets asked, all points of view get surfaced.

Q: What was the most surprising finding that you discovered as part of writing Multipliers?

The big finding of Multipliers is that Multipliers get twice the capability (or intelligence) from the people that work for them compared with Diminishers.  What is even more surprising is that as we continue to study this, we find that in hierarchical cultures (often found in Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America) this 2X effect is actually 3X and more.

My favorite surprise finding is that Multipliers tend to have a strong sense of humor.  Or, perhaps expressed another way, Diminishers lack a sense of humor.  I’m particularly fond of this one because I was, among other things, voted “class clown” of my high-school graduating class, and I’ve been trying to years to convince my mother that this didn’t bring shame to our family. 

Q: Is there a story or finding from your research that was not included in Multipliers that may be of interest to readers?

Over the last two years, readers have shared hundreds, maybe thousands, of stories of the amazing Multipliers they worked with.  But, my favorite stories are about the new generation of Multipliers — people who read the book and decide to lead more like a Multiplier themselves.  All over the world are everyday managers, teachers and parents who take small steps and have amazing impact on the people they lead.  One of my favorites was an AV technician at Nike, Inc who was in the AV booth during my presentation there and was inspired by this idea of The Extreme Question Challenge that I used one night at home while getting my kids to bed.  He decided to give it a try that night at home with his five young children.  He said it changed the way he and his wife operate as parents and has changed their home.  He is an everyday Multiplier that inspires me.

Q: How can readers learn more about your work and the Multipliers book?

They can learn more by visiting the following web sites: www.multipliersbook.com or www.thewisemangroup.com

Q: What is the last you book you read or are currently reading?

Great by Choice by the incomparable Jim Collins. Unleash genius in everyone!

http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/48440/multipliers-how-the-best-leaders-make-everyone-smarter

Pete the Pointer.  Let me tell you about Pete the carefree pedigree Brittany pointer bird dog that lives on a beautiful ranch in Sulphur Springs, Texas.  Pete loves to hunt and point game birds for his owner, Darrell Stringer.  As a pointer, he finds game birds on the ground and goes rigid, pointing in the direction of the covey of birds.  When the hunter catches up, the birds are flushed into the air.  Hunting guides from across the country have offered Darrell thousands of dollars and begged to buy Pete.  Why?

Not only does Pete hunt for Darrell, he hunts for everyone in the hunting party.  He hunts and points by instinct.  In a hunting outing with 5 other dogs, Pete pointed 85% of the birds.  When he went Woodcock hunting in Louisiana along with three professional guide dogs and their trainer, the three professionally trained dogs found and pointed one Woodcock and Pete found 11.  Why?  Because Pete was not over trained.  He was merely trained to follow his instincts rather than obey numerous detailed commands. Darrell saw that Pete had a natural instinct for finding birds, so he simply allowed him to do it.  He didn’t try to re-teach him what he already knew how to do, he just focused Pete’s efforts by training him to stay in close.  And Darrell never punished Pete for making mistakes. .  He just let him follow his natural instincts.  In fact, Darrrell has a hard time getting Pete not to hunt.  Once Pete and Darrell became separated for over an hour on a hunting trip in Montana.  When Darrrell found him, Pete was still locked onto his target, pointing a rooster pheasant.  Pete is free to follow his natural instincts and gives Darrell and others his maximum.

Diminished Dogs? While Pete refuses to not hunt, these other dogs will hunt only when told to do so.  These dogs have been trained to respond to their trainer’s voices out of fear of punishment.  They were over trained and are now afraid to make mistakes.  These well meaning owners, having stripped them of some of their natural instincts, just may have diminished their dogs!  And, as a result, what do they get from them?  The minimum.

The Texas saying, “That dog don’t hunt” is a reference to people who just don’t get it.  I admit I have said it a time or two over my career.  But could we sometimes be guilty of training the natural intelligence out of our people?

Multiplier Practice. Instead of over training or attempting to homogenize our staff, focus on finding the unique, native genius in each person and allow them to follow their natural instinct to be smart.  Your job? Focus them on the right targets.

Liz

From Stringer Ranch

Sulphur Springs, Texas

Why? It seems most of us aren’t asking people to do the hard stuff.

The Reluctant Challenger. We might think our people are already juggling complex demands or we might sense they are overworked. But, most staff will actually claim that, despite being busy, they are really underutilized. They desperately want more challenge in their job. When we play the “nice boss,” we hold back for fear of breaking people who appear on edge. But what appears like an edge might actually be a learning plateau. Multipliers give people a reason to climb off this plateau.

A reluctant challenger can kick start this cycle by first challenging him or herself to be a better leader.

Challenging Self. Kevin Lawrence, high-growth business coach and Multiplier advocate, was leading a workshop with management team. Kevin introduced the five Multiplier disciplines and asked them to consider where they might be operating as Accidental Diminishers. John, the CEO, was intrigued and stopped the conversation. He asked his team for feedback with two simple questions:

1. Where do you see me as a Diminisher?
2. How could I be more of a Multiplier?

The ensuing discussion was equally powerful on both questions.

Challenging Us. Several of his team members suggested that he needed to challenge them a lot more than he was doing. One member of the management team said, “You are an excellent leader and very, very positive, and we like that. What you could do is to push and challenge us harder, as well as telling us how great we are.” The feedback was enlightening to the CEO. His simple questions ignited a crucial conversation that allowed the whole team to raise their game.

Multiplier Practice. Become a challenger by inviting someone to do something hard. Try one of these questions:

1. What is the next challenge you are ready to take on?
2. What is the hardest thing this team is capable of doing?
3. What should I be asking you to do that would provide you challenge and growth?

Remember, be shameless about it. Your people will thank you for a reason to reach further.

One such leader is Dave Havelek, VP of Investor Relations for Salesforce.com. Dave is smart and driven, often working from 7AM-Midnight—and beyond. He is also a self-declared “super-stressed, super-opinionated” leader.

In his last meeting with his team before leaving for a five-day offsite, he ran out of time. He got through the first four items, but number five was critical: How to organize the team for an upcoming, crazy, eight week crunch. He dreaded the thought of staying up to 2:30AM to put the roles and responsibilities together.

Up against these constraints, he offered an off the cuff remark, “Okay, while I’m away next week why don’t you all just figure out what this should look like.”

The effect was instant. There was a sudden surge of energy in the room. People immediately started talking about how to make this happen.

Dave paused when he told me the story and said, “I think I spend a lot of my time as an Accidental Diminisher but in this case I think I was an Accidental Multiplier!”

What a thought! By admitting his own constraints Dave actually ended up removing constraints from his team.

In the past I have thought of leading like a Multiplier as being harder than leading like a Diminisher. But what if exactly the opposite is true? After all, if you lead like a Diminisher the burden for thinking rests entirely with you. As a Multiplier that burden can be shifted to others.

To take advantage of Dave’s insight, identify an area where you suspect you are a bottleneck for your people: a place where you are in charge but you consistently struggle to get things done in normal work hours. Then work with your team in shifting the whole responsibility to them. You might well liberate your team in a way that also liberates you.

But, our work to get the Multipliers message out into the world continues to be fueled and accelerated by the contributions of friends, colleagues, readers, and influential thought leaders who have generously amplified the message. As tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the U.S., allow me to pause and express gratitude for those who are carrying the message forward.

The Little Book that Could. Last week when I met with Hollis Heimbouch, our publisher extraordinaire, she told me how pleased the team at Harper Business is with Multipliers. She and her team refer to it as “the little book that could” attributing its success to a good idea coupled with phenomenal grass roots support from readers.

It has been deeply rewarding to watch how the readers are multiplying the strength of the message and giving momentum to this book.

Collective Genius in Action. The momentum began by getting initial attention for the book for which we have Mark and Puja at Fortier PR and their magic to thank. But many business books gain initial attention and then fade away. Fortunately, we had the team of geniuses at ntropic who gave us a brilliant book trailer that far exceeded anything we could have produced (or funded) on our own and enabled people to share the message with others. And, Amy and her team at Larsen and the team at HotCoco built a website that allowed people to further explore the ideas and connect with us and other members of a growing community.

Each of these professional teams gave the book its start, but the acceleration came as a result of hundreds, even thousands of people sharing the ideas. Daily, we receive email from readers who have been personally impacted by the ideas. But most don’t just stop there. They blog and tweet; they buy a round of books for their management team; they advocate inside their organizations with the aspiration of creating a Multiplier organization. These champions have built the momentum.

The Little Book that Did. So, to our colleagues, friends, and readers, thank you for sharing this journey with us and for sharing these ideas with others. If the “little book that could” becomes “the little book that did,” we have many, many people to thank. It is certainly our hope that this little yellow book helps put an end to diminishing leadership and inspires a generation of leaders to engage all the intelligence we have in addressing our greatest challenges.

With much thanks,

Liz

Accidental Diminisher Seeking Reform. Several weeks ago we got a short, mysterious inquiry regarding executive coaching on the Wiseman Group website. It simply said, “Accidental Diminisher seeking recovery and reform” and gave contact information. Of course, I couldn’t resist calling to hear the story behind an inquiry so brief it appeared meant for transmission via Morse code or as a personal ad in the newspaper.

“Going out” as a Multiplier. The voice on the other end of the phone belonged to a thoughtful, soft spoken CEO who had founded a creative company that he scaled into a global services firm over 25 years. He said, “I’ve just read Multipliers and it struck a cord with me. I realized that I’ve spent most of my career as an Accidental Diminisher. I believe I am a Multiplier at heart, but all of my role models have been Diminishers. I am now 53 years old, and I have about 10 years of my career left. I’d like to go out as a Multiplier.” His sincerity was obvious. He continued, “And, I’d like to create a lot of other Multipliers inside this company in the process.” I was intrigued by the idea of a company full of Multipliers, but honestly, he had me at “go out as a Multiplier.” I agreed to be his coach.

From Accident to On-Purpose. Yes, recalcitrant Diminishers may not naturally mature into Multipliers – certainly not overnight or without a wake-up call. But, the path is easier for the Accidental Diminisher – the well intended manager who has been relying too heavily on his or her own knowledge, inadvertently underutilizing the deeper capabilities of the team.

What does it take to make this shift? Well, the only way to get beyond accidental diminishing is to begin to lead on purpose, and this requires awareness, discipline and persistence. You might have to admit that some of what you are doing isn’t working. Well, it might have been working well for you, but not for the others around you. You might need to wrestle down a few of the Multiplier practices, especially those that feel contrary to the management techniques that seem to have worked so well for you in the past.

Multiplier Practice. Take a look back at your career. How much of it have you spent as a Multiplier vs. as a Diminisher? Chart it with time on one axis and the “Diminisher – Multiplier” spectrum on the other. How much time do you have left? How do you want to spend it? Will you exit your career as a Diminisher who built your success on your own brilliance? Or, will you leave a larger legacy – a legacy of collective brilliance, of people who have grown around you, and an organization that can continue to thrive after your departure? Will you “go out as a Multiplier?”

Setting Policy from the Bottom. In the September 13, 2010 edition of Time Magazine [http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,2015481,00.html], Joe Klein writes a brilliant column illustrating how leaders can tap into the intelligence of their constituents to make the highest stakes decisions with powerful results. This process has roots in the Kleroterion, an ancient Athenian practice of randomly selecting citizens to make the major decisions for the polis.

Guided by James Fishkin, a professor from Stanford University, the Chinese coastal district of Zeguo uses this “deliberative-democracy” process to decide how to best allocate the district’s entire budget, given a set of competing priorities. The exercise works like this: 175 people are scientifically selected to represent the general population. The group meets and is given briefings on the issues from experts with conflicting views. Next they work in small groups to formulate questions for the experts. They gather again in a plenary session to listen to the expert responses. They regroup and now formulate even harder questions for the experts’ response. At this point, 70% of the participants have changed their initial opinions, based on the rich dialogue and debate. The group is polled and decides the final budget priorities, which are then made known to the population. But, what is remarkable about this process is that it takes only 3 days and that 60% of the participants are farmers.

Getting Smart on the Issues: Fishkin reflects, “The public is very smart if you give it a chance…If people think their voice actually matters, they’ll do the hard work, really study their briefing books, ask the experts smart questions, and then make tough decisions.”

This “deliverative-democracy” process is a brilliant example of institutionalize Multiplier logic. These government leaders create rich debate by properly framing issues, bringing data and expert opinion to the table, and tapping into the natural intelligence and motivation of its citizen base. This debate renders sound decisions that serve the whole. As Fishkin observes, “If you give people real choices and real consequences, they will make real decisions.”

Multiplier Practice: On your highest-stakes decisions, create rigorous debate that combines data and expert opinion with thoughtful deliberation from a cross-selection of stakeholders both inside and outside your organization. Not only will this Kleroterion made the best decisions, but also the collective will likely embrace the decisions fully knowing they have been made with both deep and broad intelligence.

Stuck in NY on 9/11. I was driving to SFO to get on a plane headed to Nice France to join a global management meeting with about 20 of my colleagues. I got the call about 6:45 am from my manager that a plane had been flown into one of the world trade towers and that air travel had come to an abrupt halt. I turned around for home and sat riveted to the TV.

Meanwhile, Chris was watching the events from close up. He had flown into Manhattan a couple days earlier to speak at a conference before heading on to France. With the jolting news of the attack, the conference dispersed. After calling home and the office to let everyone know he was OK, Chris wandered through the crowded streets. It was a surreal experience as people cleared the city. Unclear what to do or where to go, Chris returned to his hotel and started making calls to find a way out of New York. Air travel had locked down completely. Trains had stopped running. Rental cars in NYC had been snatched up — people were buying cars to drive home. Chris waited hoping options would open up. He began to quickly sink into his first experience with depression.

“You are Smart and Will Figure it Out.” Chris remembers two particular phone calls. The first was from me (and my manager John) checking on his latest whereabouts. Chris recalled, “At this point I felt stuck and helpless and I had no idea what to do, so I was just waiting. But then you said emphatically, ‘Chris, you need to get home. Get yourself out of Manhattan and start heading west. We’ll take care of the rest.’” Chris continued, “But behind your words, your message was clear. I knew you were telling me was that I was smart and would figure it out. I just needed to get moving.”

Chris found a train running to New Jersey. He then found a rental car agency that had a car. He started driving west and called in his whereabouts to me regularly (while rationing his precious cell phone battery life). I pressed the VIP desk at Oracle Travel into service, and we scrambled to find airports opening up departing flights.

The second call he vividly remembers came about a day later. It went like this:

Liz: “Chris, are you coming up to Columbus, Ohio yet?”
Chris: “I just passed the sign that says, ‘Welcome to Columbus.’”
Liz: “Good, drive to the airport. I’ve booked you a reservation on every flight leaving Columbus today. Get on one of them.”

Despite the fact that Chris was apprehensive about surrendering the keys to the car that have moved him west and nervous to board an aircraft, he took the flight. He got home safely and 2 days earlier than most everyone else stuck on the east coast.

In hindsight, I had a different perspective on the events. I don’t recall the “kick in the pants” nor the “smarts reminder.” But, I remember vividly how rewarding it was to focus solely on the success of a colleague for 2 days. It was a chance to get out of my own head, my own challenges, and truly enable someone else.

Hearing Chris’ side of the story was a poignant reminder that that team of travel agents and I didn’t get Chris home. Chris got himself home. But, it came with the encouragement of someone serving as a Multiplier in a moment when it mattered most for him.

Multiplier Practice: We can be Multipliers just by reminding people that they are smart and will figure it out!

Never Turn Away a Question. Contrast this with the late Rajeev Motwani, a professor of Computer Science at Stanford University.  Despite being described by Ron Conway, a renowned technology investor, as “one of the smartest people who has ever existed in Silicon Valley” Motwani developed a reputation for building other people’s genius.  The Guardian newspaper explained that he would, “Never turn away a question.  [He would go out of his] way to help any entrepreneur who asked him for advice.”  He was, “Confident, but not brash.”

My Curiosity Was Piqued.  One former student wrote, “Every time I saw Rajeev, my curiosity was piqued, my mind was challenged.” He continued to explain that Motwani spent so much time with him and was so focused, it was as though “it was just me.  [But] then I came to realize Motwani was giving countless others the same attention.”  That this [awkward] former student was Sergy Brin, of Google fame, speaks volumes about the kind of impact a Multiplier can have.

Google Emerged. The impact wasn’t just general, it was practical too.  When Brin wanted to understand more of the intricacies of data mining, an area that Rajeev had deep knowledge in, he organized a group that would meet regularly on the subject.  Brin adds, “Later, when Larry and I began to work together on the research that would lead to Google, Rajeev was there to support us and guide us through challenges, both technical and organizational.  Eventually, as Google emerged from Stanford, Rajeev remained a friend and advisor as he has with many people and startups since.”

Leading@Google. When Liz Wiseman and I were invited to speak at the Leading@Google series here, it was fascinating to reflect on the impact of Motwani’s Multiplier leadership.  Is it possible that there wouldn’t be a Google today if Motwani had been focused only on his own genius?  When we think of intelligence as a hierarchy we tend to think of genius taking the top spot.  But someone like Motwani challenges that assumption.  At the top of the intelligence hierarchy sits the Genius Maker not the Genius.

Multiplier Practice: Be curious about other people’s interests and interested in other people’s curiosity. Ask people, “What would you like to learn about?” or “What are you interested in?”  Or simply pause to be perceptive.  Ask yourself, “What does this person read about without being asked?”  or “What subjects does this person talk about in animated terms?”  Follow up with a few questions to learn more about what they know and why these subjects have a gravity pull for them.  Then when natural opportunities arise where their interests map to business issues you can make the connection for them and tap into their natural curiosity.