Multipliers and the massive opportunity for accidental diminishers

Right now, it’s nearly impossible to think about business in the context of anything other than the pandemic. But as challenging as it is, this crisis can also present us with learning opportunities.

Leaders and managers are in a position now where the external stress is clearly known. We don’t have to wonder about what the other might be going through. We know for sure that we are each going through something massive -- on a global scale. And as leaders, we need to control how we show up, how we communicate, and how we integrate the backdrop of the pandemic into our everyday actions. And that means we might be even more susceptible now of being an Accidental Diminisher.

I’ll explain. 

I don’t recommend many books, but one that I have recommended many times is one that a client recommended to me several years ago, called Multipliers. And it’s especially relevant right now.

This book does not have a lot of publicity around it and isn’t particularly ‘sexy’ as leadership books go. But it’s very informative about leadership behaviors, which distinguishes it from many other books. The authors did a sizable amount of research around leaders who multiply the intelligence of their teams—making them smarter and more effective in their roles. And those other types of leaders who are less effective and diminish the intelligence of their employees and teams. 

According to the book, there are some layers to making your team smarter and perform better by a significant factor. And other layers where you actually don't raise the bar or intelligence level or effectiveness of your team at all. 

But it’s not simply one or the other. The most impactful part of the book, in my opinion, is something that the authors label the “Accidental Diminisher.” This is really about the intent to do well with a specific behavior, but the behavior itself has an ineffective impact on the employee.

For example, a leader who is “accidentally diminishing” may ‘rescue’ other people. The leader operates in a way that indicates, “I need to make sure that people are successful,” as opposed to “investing” in the process of failure and/or growth (e.g. “Intelligence is developed through trial, error, and correction.”)  

Now, rescuing might sound like a noble approach, especially when done with good intent. But the effectiveness for a leader who constantly rescues his/her team is not going to sustain or grow people in the long-term. 

What's also really powerful about the concept of the “Accidental Diminisher” is that we can all relate to it in some context, and we can all work to improve it. The book provides a framework for how to think about your behavior within specific contexts and forces you to ask yourself a challenging, yet important question: How am I accidentally diminishing people? 

We will all find an answer to that question as we consider the combinations of people and situations we engage with on a daily basis. But beyond the awareness, what matters most is modifying the behaviors we want to change to grow ourselves and our people…

Now that is multiplying.