“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” – Antoine De St. Exupery
A simple shift in your leadership style could double the capacity of your organization. That’s a powerful statement, but it’s a claim that has been proven in research by authors Liz Wiseman and Greg Mckeown in their book “Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter.”
If you’ve had the opportunity to work for an outstanding leader who inspired confidence and motivated you to perform at your very best, then you know about their ability to get you to work harder and make you feel valued for your contribution. Let me share a personal story of how this was accomplished in my life.
When I was in graduate school in 1982, I was recruited by Gary Poppleton, who was the director over evening school programs at Utah State University. He not only hired me to work for his division to expand their enrollment; I learned he had a much larger plan to also work with other directors to grow all of the divisions under what was called LifeSpan Learning Programs, which included: continuing education, enrichment courses, correspondence (precursor to online) courses, and satellite degree programs.
He confided that he wanted me to help him hire four other graduate students and then lead the group to increase enrollment. His confidence in my ability inspired me to rise to the challenge and I helped chose a team that worked well together. We decide that each of us would be accountable for one of the five divisions, but that we would brainstorm and work together to come up with ideas that would achieve the ultimate goal to increase enrollment. Gary provided guidance and direction, but allowed us a lot of latitude. When I told him that I’d like the team to have a title other than “graduate assistant” to improve our image when we met with people, he let us come up with our own name and paid for business cards to be printed. We dubbed ourselves “Product Design Specialists” and I designed a snappy logo for the card. Gary also allowed me to completely design a work center that included a large light table, and storage and filing system. He then had a carpenter build it to my exact specifications.
We threw ourselves into the work by taking surveys, designing brochures, ads, radio copy, going to fairs, and creating dioramas to attract and sign up students into the various programs. We were crazy, had fun, and significantly increased enrollment in all of the programs and doubled it in some.
Looking back, I realize that it was Gary’s leadership style that inspired me and the others to be extremely productive, and his confidence in me that caused me to take personal ownership. He was lavish with praise for the group and recognized our efforts. I can’t remember him ever stepping in to take care of disciplinary issues because we took care of any problems within the group. We realized the good thing we had and when one of the workers started to slack off, we were all over him to get his act together or we would take him off the team – he shaped up.
According to Wiseman and Mckeown, Gary Poppleton would be considered a “Multiplier” because he brought out the best in us and was able to get more intelligent action, better problem solving, and more concentrated effort from our team. Their in-depth research identifies the leadership characteristics that are able to get, on average, twice the capacity from people than do leaders at the other end of the spectrum, called “Diminishers.” These “leaders” are absorbed in their own ability and deplete the energy of those around them, and they may not be aware of their actions. In reality, no one is at either extreme; rather, they are usually somewhere between the two.
The key for you to develop more of the Multiplier characteristics is to be aware of the Diminisher qualities that tend to stifle the talent and contribution your people can make to your department or organization. Wiseman and Mckeown suggest that if Diminishers are unwilling to change, they should be removed or isolated from key leadership roles because of the high cost and long-term damage they can create. However, this is easier said than done because Diminishers who have finagled their way into top leadership roles are smart and intimidating. To learn if you are an Accidental Diminisher, go to their website and answer a simple 10-question quiz: http://multipliersbook.com/accidental-diminisher/
Once you identify possible Diminisher characteristics that you might exhibit as a leader, you can begin to change and develop more Multiplier qualities that will bring out the best in your people. This is not only beneficial in the workplace, but will also help improve your personal and family relationships. A simple shift in your leadership style will significantly impact the productivity and performance of your organization without adding any more expense. That’s something every organization can use at this time.
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