One of the executive clients I met early this week inspired me to create this edition of the newsletter.
His leadership style resonates deeply with the principles outlined in Liz Wiseman’s seminal work, “Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter.”
In Wiseman’s framework, she delineates between Multipliers and Diminishers, highlighting the profound impact each type of leader can have on their team’s potential.
Multipliers, as the name suggests, possess the remarkable ability to amplify the intelligence and capabilities of those around them, tapping into the full spectrum of their team’s potential. On the other hand, Diminishers unintentionally stifle growth, limiting their team’s capacity to a mere fraction of what it could be.
The numbers speak volumes: while Diminishers may access only 20% of their teams’ potential, multipliers extract a staggering 100%.
Now, let’s delve into what attributes this executive client of mine embodies to be the Multiplier leader:
🔹 Talent Magnetism:
He effortlessly attracts and retains top talent by demonstrating his authenticity, fostering an environment where his people feel empowered and motivated to excel.
His team members once shared with me that he sits down with each member to understand their priority in life, what are their best time of working on a daily basis and then arrange work to fit the need of each member.
🔹 Liberating Leadership:
By cultivating a culture of trust and autonomy, he liberate his teams to take initiative, make decisions, and contribute their ideas without fear of micromanagement.
You can hear his empowering words often, “I trust your expertise in this area, so I’m confident in your ability to make the right call.”
All of his team members are the owner of their own responsibilities, the leadership culture and mindset are strongly instilled across the organisation.
🔹 The Challenger Mentality:
He challenges his team members to stretch beyond their comfort zones, encouraging continuous growth and development.
He sets ambitious but achievable goals that push team members to go beyond their usual boundaries. These goals often encourage his team to step out of their comfort zones and learn much more they would have no opportunities to learn from. Such a great way to grow his people and make them strive for excellence.
He has put tremendous efforts to create a culture in his organisation where failure is seen as a learning opportunity and encourage employees to experiment and think outside the box.
🔹 Fostering Debate:
He embraces diverse perspectives and healthy debate, multipliers harness the collective intelligence of their teams to arrive at optimal solutions.
He establishes ground rules for respectful communication and ensure that everyone has an opportunity to participate in discussions.
This leader also encourages the team to work towards consensus by synthesizing different viewpoints and identifying common ground. His teams feel comfortable to compromise and collaboration, seeking to arrive at solutions that incorporate the best ideas from everyone involved.
🔹 Investment in Talent Development:
He recognizes that the team’s success is intrinsically tied to individual growth, so he generously invest time and resources in developing the skills and potential of his people.
His organisation not only provides excellent training and development opportunities, but also creates a mentoring culture through senior leaders volunteering in mentoring to junior and young leaders. They invest in high-stake coaching engagement to their leadership team so they can be more effective in leading and empowering their teams.
While I continue to work with this executive client, he vividly reminds me of another world-class leader, Pat Gelsinger.
Pat Gelsinger, the CEO of Intel Corporation, a an excellent example of a leader who embodies an Multiplier’s characteristics:
- Talent Magnetism: Pat Gelsinger has a reputation for attracting and retaining top talent in the tech industry. He fosters an environment at Intel where individuals feel empowered and motivated to excel. Gelsinger’s leadership style inspires loyalty and commitment among employees, making Intel an attractive destination for top talent in the field.
- Liberating Leadership: Gelsinger cultivates a culture of trust and autonomy at Intel, empowering employees to take initiative, make decisions, and contribute their ideas without fear of micromanagement. He encourages open communication and values the input of all team members, regardless of their position within the organization.
- The Challenger Mentality: Gelsinger is known for his challenger mentality, pushing his team members to stretch beyond their comfort zones and embrace new challenges. He sets ambitious goals and encourages employees to continuously strive for excellence, fostering a culture of continuous growth and development at Intel.
- Fostering Debate: Gelsinger embraces diverse perspectives and healthy debate within Intel, recognizing that it leads to better solutions. He encourages constructive dialogue and dissenting opinions, harnessing the collective intelligence of his team to arrive at optimal outcomes. Gelsinger values intellectual curiosity and encourages employees to question assumptions and explore new ideas.
- Investment in Talent Development: Gelsinger is very clear that Intel’s success is determined by the growth and development of its employees. He endorses the organisation’s investment in developing the skills and potential of his team members, offering training programs, mentorship opportunities, and career advancement pathways. Gelsinger prioritizes talent development as a strategic imperative, ensuring that Intel remains a leader in the tech industry for years to come.
Gelsinger’s leadership at Intel has been instrumental in driving innovation, cultivating a culture of excellence, and positioning the company for long-term success in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.
While we are celebrating the power of multiplication in leadership, I would encourage you all to embody these attributes and evolve into a multiplier leader.
As the leader, do remember that one of your fundamental roles is unlocking the full potential of your team so they can become the best version of themselves, grow into the future leaders and propel your organization to new heights of success.
–By Catherine Li-Yunxia
Top Global CEO Coach & C-Suite Coach 2023 | Keynote Speaker on Human Leadership | Author of Integral CEO