Are your strengths shutting your team down?

Take this quiz to identify your Accidental Diminishing behaviors.

The Accidental Diminisher Quiz

 

Question 1 of 10

1. You are respectful of organization boundaries and hierarchy. When you need to staff a project, you generally turn to the people who work directly for you or the people with the most seniority.

SCALE: To what extent does this describe you:

Question 1 of 10

Question 2 of 10

2. You are a “can-do” manager who sees possibilities and believes that most problems can be tackled with hard work and the right mindset.

SCALE: To what extent does this describe you:

Question 2 of 10

Question 3 of 10

3. When you see people failing, you jump in to rescue them or the project in order to help them avert failure and get on the path of success.

SCALE: To what extent does this describe you:

Question 3 of 10

Question 4 of 10

4. As the leader, you set the pace and the standard for delivering high-quality work. You make a point of working hard and delivering top notch results, so others can learn from your example.

SCALE: To what extent does this describe you:

Question 4 of 10

Question 5 of 10

5. You see your role as protecting your employees from distraction and negative influences from people in the broader organization.

SCALE: To what extent does this describe you:

Question 5 of 10

Question 6 of 10

6. You appreciate excellence and exactness, so you offer helpful critiques and point out mistakes to help people improve their work.

SCALE: To what extent does this describe you:

Question 6 of 10

Question 7 of 10

7. You react quickly when problems or opportunities surface by making rapid decisions that keep the organization moving forward.

SCALE: To what extent does this describe you:

Question 7 of 10

Question 8 of 10

8. You are a big thinker and lay out a compelling vision of the future that you evangelize to those around you.

SCALE: To what extent does this describe you:

Question 8 of 10

Question 9 of 10

9. You’re passionate, energetic, and articulate and can consume a lot of space in a meeting.

SCALE: To what extent does this describe you:

Question 9 of 10

Question 10 of 10

10. Your mind races with ideas and is a fountain of innovation. You come up with ideas for new strategies or products and are continually spouting new ideas for your team to toss around and play with.

SCALE: To what extent does this describe you:

Question 10 of 10


 

Leadership Strengths Gone Bad

What happens when a manager is too quick with ideas and too swift with action? Or too supportive and helpful? Or just enthusiastic or optimistic?

Though these can be character virtues, many popular management practices can lead us, subtly but surely, down the slippery slope to accidentally shutting down our team.

Most Shutting Down is Accidental

While the narcissistic leaders grab the headlines, the vast majority of diminishing is done with the best of intentions by good people who think they are doing a good job leading.

Accidental or not, these leaders only get ½ of the true brainpower of the team by shutting down good ideas and smart people.

Identify Your Own Blind Spots

We all have Accidental Diminisher moments. The secret is knowing what your vulnerabilities are, spotting them in action, and recalibrating them into leadership strengths.

We have identified a few ways that well-intentioned leaders accidentally shut down their team. Discover yours by taking this quiz.

The bestselling book that inspired the quiz

Written by Liz Wiseman, Multipliers began with a simple observation: There is more intelligence inside our organizations than we are using. Learn about the disciplines that set Multiplier leaders apart by fully utilizing all the genius around them.

Buy The Book

The Wiseman Group is a talent development and research organization headquartered in Silicon Valley, California. For people striving to build a high-contribution culture, The Wiseman Group creates insights that ignite multiplying behavior, because developing and using talent is the ultimate advantage.

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