Read Online Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman, Greg McKeown - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Liz Wiseman, Greg McKeown
Tags: Business & Economics, Management
Ads: Link
curiosity continued. Why was he so good at listening to people? It turned out he had a particular aptitude and interest in helping people break through to the next level in their lives and careers. She tested her hypothesis with people who worked with Peter, and they agreed. They said that his conversation always tilted in that direction—even on lunch breaks.
The question for Ann became where to best utilize Peter. She knew he could do good work in customer service, and she gave him reign to make rapid changes there. But she also consciously identified several roles within the company where he could operate at a higher point of contribution.
Within three weeks of being hired in customer service, at Ann’s request, Peter was transferred to the coaching department to work with the company’s toughest clients. In that role he earned more and contributed more as he achieved, amazingly, a zero cancellation rate. But Ann kept tabs on Peter, trying to figure out what opportunity would further increase Peter’s personal net worth while providing significantly more value to the organization.
She cracked the code when she mentioned to Peter that he might want to set up a product line based on the ideas he had developed in his coaching work. He went from being a strong individual contributor to a successful leader within the company. Twelve months from the time he was hired as a part-time customer service representative, Peter launched the highest-margin product in the company, adding $2 million in annual revenue to the company. The difference is more than a tenfold increase in value from the same employee.
This art of connecting people’s genius to opportunities that allow them to be used at their highest point of contribution is a natural butdeliberate management approach for Ann. She doesn’t need to take her team to offsite meetings to analyze their different personality types. Instead, she watches people until she has an idea of what they do effortlessly and what area they are naturally drawn to. Then she has an ongoing conversation with herself about where this person’s aptitude could benefit the company.
Could there be people in your customer service department who would produce a million dollars in value if they were unleashed on the right opportunity? Are there people on your team who are being blocked from working at a higher point of contribution?
Shine a Spotlight
Each summer in the Sierra Mountains of California, roughly seventy-five teenage girls eagerly gather for an annual girls’ camp—a week of fun, adventure, and camaraderie that often serves as a watershed event in their young lives. The camp is run entirely on the volunteer efforts of sixty leaders. For the last six years, Marguerite Hancock has served (also as a volunteer) as the camp director at the helm of this incredible group of youth and leaders.
Marguerite works as a Stanford University research director and teacher and is smart, accomplished, and extraordinarily capable. She is a strong leader with strong ideas of her own. One of her assistant directors said, “Marguerite is so capable, she could do virtually any aspect of girls’ camp herself.” But what is interesting about Marguerite isn’t that she could—it is that she doesn’t . Instead, she leads like a Multiplier, invoking brilliance and dedication in the other fifty-nine leaders who make this camp a reality.
Marguerite begins by building a “dream team” carefully recruited for each person’s individual strengths. One of the assistant directors said, “Marguerite studies people. She watches them until she figures out what they are great at. She chose her assistant directors not only for their strengths but because we each had strengths in areas where she was weak.” She then finds a place where each person’s strengths willshine. For some, it is working with the girls one-on-one; for another, it is managing the sports program; for another it is leading the nightly
The question for Ann became where to best utilize Peter. She knew he could do good work in customer service, and she gave him reign to make rapid changes there. But she also consciously identified several roles within the company where he could operate at a higher point of contribution.
Within three weeks of being hired in customer service, at Ann’s request, Peter was transferred to the coaching department to work with the company’s toughest clients. In that role he earned more and contributed more as he achieved, amazingly, a zero cancellation rate. But Ann kept tabs on Peter, trying to figure out what opportunity would further increase Peter’s personal net worth while providing significantly more value to the organization.
She cracked the code when she mentioned to Peter that he might want to set up a product line based on the ideas he had developed in his coaching work. He went from being a strong individual contributor to a successful leader within the company. Twelve months from the time he was hired as a part-time customer service representative, Peter launched the highest-margin product in the company, adding $2 million in annual revenue to the company. The difference is more than a tenfold increase in value from the same employee.
This art of connecting people’s genius to opportunities that allow them to be used at their highest point of contribution is a natural butdeliberate management approach for Ann. She doesn’t need to take her team to offsite meetings to analyze their different personality types. Instead, she watches people until she has an idea of what they do effortlessly and what area they are naturally drawn to. Then she has an ongoing conversation with herself about where this person’s aptitude could benefit the company.
Could there be people in your customer service department who would produce a million dollars in value if they were unleashed on the right opportunity? Are there people on your team who are being blocked from working at a higher point of contribution?
Shine a Spotlight
Each summer in the Sierra Mountains of California, roughly seventy-five teenage girls eagerly gather for an annual girls’ camp—a week of fun, adventure, and camaraderie that often serves as a watershed event in their young lives. The camp is run entirely on the volunteer efforts of sixty leaders. For the last six years, Marguerite Hancock has served (also as a volunteer) as the camp director at the helm of this incredible group of youth and leaders.
Marguerite works as a Stanford University research director and teacher and is smart, accomplished, and extraordinarily capable. She is a strong leader with strong ideas of her own. One of her assistant directors said, “Marguerite is so capable, she could do virtually any aspect of girls’ camp herself.” But what is interesting about Marguerite isn’t that she could—it is that she doesn’t . Instead, she leads like a Multiplier, invoking brilliance and dedication in the other fifty-nine leaders who make this camp a reality.
Marguerite begins by building a “dream team” carefully recruited for each person’s individual strengths. One of the assistant directors said, “Marguerite studies people. She watches them until she figures out what they are great at. She chose her assistant directors not only for their strengths but because we each had strengths in areas where she was weak.” She then finds a place where each person’s strengths willshine. For some, it is working with the girls one-on-one; for another, it is managing the sports program; for another it is leading the nightly
Similar Books
