Some managers make you grow and others make you want to quit … This book raises awareness on how to develop your team-members and secure your place in the first group : How to become a Multiplier.
A must read if you manage a team and care about people’s development!
Here are my takeaways :
#1 – Am I a Diminisher ? Are you ?
Diminishers, those managers who drain capabilities, intelligence and motivation from their team-members, have usually very good intentions and they think they are good managers.
Diminishers are most of the time accidental. It can be me, it can be you, not all the time but at some points. Good to keep it in mind!
#2 Give a mission impossible to your team
Having assumptions on the intelligence in your team cannot bring it forward. The question should never be “Is this person smart ?” but “In what way is this person smart?”. Everybody is smart at something.
Push your team members beyond what they know. They are smart and they will figure it out.
Multipliers understand that people grow through challenge. They understand that intelligence grows by being stretched and tested.
#3 You don’t have to shine – Do less to get more
Look beyond your own genius, you don’t need the glory, you need to extract and extend the genius of others. You need to leverage the resources.
It isn’t how much you know that matters. What matters is how much access you have to what other people know. It isn’t just how intelligent your team members are; it is how much of that intelligence you can draw out and put to use.
Talk less, rescue less. Only ask questions and let them find answers.
#4 Give Ownership
Ownership is one of my favorite topic, see my recent post: Let your people add an egg!
It is essential to people’s development to be IN CHARGE. There is a fine line between asking somebody to do something and giving the accountability and ownership of the outcome.
Instead of delegating work, let people know that they (not you) are in charge and accountable. Tell them they get 51% of the vote, but 100% of the accountability.
With 51% of the vote, it gives them flexibility and also room to consult you to make decision or guide them. Once it’s done, make sure you give them back the pen to continue on their path.
#5 Create Safety
You need to let your people experiment, take risks and be bold. If it’s not ok to fail, they won’t grow and they will work in fear of doing mistakes and being blamed for that. They will not offer their best thinking, ideas and work.
Share your mistakes, your screw-up of the week. Show your team that it’s ok to fail. If on some aspects of the job failing is not acceptable, be clear on the boundaries.
Also if you give the right to fail, they have the obligation to learn from their mistakes and not repeat it. Fair trade.
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