Month: July 2025

I just started reading the book Multipliers by Liz Wiseman. The below has some excerpts from the book.

Diminisher 😨
Some leaders seemed to drain intelligence and capability out of the people around them. Their focus on their own intelligence and their resolve to be the smartest person in the room had a diminishing effect on everyone else. For them to look smart, other people had to end up looking dumb. We’ve all worked with these black holes. They create a vortex that sucks energy out of everyone and everything around them. When they walk into a room, the shared IQ drops and the length of the meeting doubles. In countless settings, these leaders were idea killers and energy destroyers. Other people’s idea suffocated and died in their presence, and the flow of intelligence came to an abrupt halt around them. Around these leaders, intelligence flowed only one way: from them to others.😱

Multiplier 🙂
Other leaders used their intelligence in a fundamentally different way. They applied their intelligence to amplify the smarts and capability of people around them. People got smarter and better in their presence. Ideas grew; challenges were surmounted; hard problems were solved. When these leaders walked into a room, light bulbs started going off over people’s heads. Ideas flew so fast that you had to replay the meeting in slow motion just to see what was going on. Meetings with them were idea mash-up sessions. These leaders seemed to make everyone around them better and more capable. These leaders weren’t just intelligent themselves—they were intelligence Multipliers.😘

People  may initially be attracted to work with a Diminisher, but it is often the place where people's careers die. 
The Diminisher is an Empire builder. The Multiplier is a Talent Magnet.
The Diminisher is a Tyrant. The Multiplier is a Liberator.
The Diminisher is a Know-It-All. The Multiplier is a Challenger.
The Diminisher is a Decision Maker. The Multiplier is a Debate Maker.

Empire Builders create a vicious cycle of decline. Talent recruited into their organization soon becomes disengaged and goes stale. The cycle of decline begins much like the cycle of attraction (which is why it is easy to be deceived by Diminishers). Empire Builders seek to surround themselves with A players. But unlike Talent Magnets, they accumulate talent to appear smarter and more powerful. The leader glosses over the real genius of the people while placing them into boxes on the org chart. Their value in the job market drops and opportunities begin to evaporate. This cycle of degeneration impacts not only one person. It infects an entire organization. Empire Builders may initially be able to attract top talent, but their focus on building themselves and their organizations underutilizes the true talent that they have in their organization and renders it stagnant and inert. Empire Builders hoard resources and underutilize talent. Talent Magnets attract talented people and use them at their highest point of contribution. 

Talent Magnets/Challengers look for talent everywhere, appreciate all types of genius, ignore boundaries, find people's native genius, connect people with opportunities, remove blockers-people who are blocking and impeding others growth, get outof the way and encourage people to grow and leave-- up and to the right.
  "Challengers, he/she will outstretch all your capabilities to make it happen.  He/she is highly demanding but you feel great.
   You know you are signing up for something that will challenge you on a daily basis for many years to come. You will challenge yourself and all your capabilities. 
  Exhilaration, exhausting, challenging, gratifying"

Twin Obstacles: many people [who (try to) be a multiplier] encounter 

Stuck underneath a diminisher: Is it possible that a Multiplier while working for a Diminisher environment? Can you be a Multiplier can thrive in a Diminisher boss? Given the extraordinary results that Multipliers acheive through others, I believe you can. Give yourself permission to be better than your boss. And then watch the organization take notice.

Overloaded and overwhelmed: They are typically already functioning on overload and can not find the time needed to fund their development. This time crunch is particularly acute for any leader who has been operating as a Diminisher, because after all, it takes a lot of time to be a tyrannical, micromanaging know-it-all! and it sucks much-needed time and energy to work for one. Diminishers not only drain others, they can exhaust themselves trying to stay on top. Yes, becoming a Multipler requires an investment. it takes initial effort to understand one's crucial impact on others and to formulate new approaches. But becoming a. Multiplier doesn't necessitate extra work. It doesn't have to be hard. You can take the lazy way. In fact, the lazy way works best.

🌱🌞🌛🌝🌜🌳 Solution is....waiting!!!
Take the lazy way!: It doesn't need to. be forced. When something is based on sound design. it doesn't need to be forced. It just needs the right amount of effort applied i exactly the right place or in the right amount of effort applied in exactly the right place or in the right way. Changes are you will exert great effort but show little progresses and will eventually give up. Or you can take the lazy way, and with the right approach and tools, make sustainable progress without overwhelming yourself or others. 

Are you a Diminisher or Multiplier? For whom and with whom do we want to work? If we have experience working with a Multiplier leader, how could we forget him/her? So far, I’ve met a Multiplier leader once. I could not forget him. It was exciting and exhilarating. When he left our corps due to the conflicts among the leadership, the whole team crumbled together. However, now I think or understand that even the two characters, Multiplier and Diminisher, could be balanced in one leader. Sometimes, one character is stronger than another based on the situation of the working environment and what we are doing. Multiplier leaders will grow the next generation of multiplier leaders, but it will be harder for a multiplier junior to change his/her boss’s character.

I have a poem that I wrote for a Multiplier boss that I met once so far in my life since after my Ph.D. graduation. The poetry title is “As my first impression“.