The Book I Give to Every Manager of People
Note - this post (and all posts on ISYN) contain genuine recommendations and NO paid endorsements.
Let’s face it; thousands of inspirational leadership books and strategies are available on the market. I certainly haven’t read them all, but I have read most. The common theme I consistently run into seems to be how to take what I just read and implement it within the organization.
My philosophy has been to focus on practical application and quick wins when leading a company (especially if there is a short runway to get things turned around). In a perfect world, there would be enough time to provide managers with offsite training, reflection, and practice for each manager. In the real world of management, offsite means travelling to a branch or project; reflection is a meeting, and practice is nothing more than drinking from a firehose.
Does any of this sound familiar? Of course, it does!
So I set out to find a book that could help not only managers of people but everyone in the organization, should I decide to provide it companywide. I had a fairly decent starting point from previous reads, which allowed my list of must-haves to take shape.
My must-haves when searching for the best leadership book:
Easy to read
Memorable analogies
Supported by research and application
No restrictions on implementation
Applicable to a broad audience
Skill-building in parallel to day-to-day job requirements
At this point, you probably want me to cut to the chase and share the book! Am I right?
Ok, drumroll 🥁🥁🥁
Multipliers - How the best leaders make everyone smarter by Liz Wiseman
Parts of Multipliers that had the most significant impact on my leadership style
Without a doubt, the appropriately named Diminisher and Multiplier manager comparison had me stop in my tracks and relive every role I have had in my career to identify the category my previous managers would fall in and also the category I would fall in.
Notably, The Accidental Diminisher tendencies show how these individuals tend to operate in the workplace. I would recommend the book solely for the personal discovery you gain from understanding potential Diminisher tendencies in your leadership style.
The Wiseman Group website has an excellent free tool to take an Accidental Diminisher Quiz, which I highly recommend.
Multiplier leadership book experiments that are game-changers
The best part of these experiments is two-fold; first, each of them tends to address a different accidental diminisher behaviour; and secondly, you can put them to use immediately with little effort.
You can download a free 30-Day Challenge from The Multiplier website, where you will find more about the experiments listed below:
Name the Genius: This one will perplex your team as they have likely never been asked to identify the thing they are undoubtedly best at.
Supersize It: Help a team member grow by giving them a more significant task.
Play Fewer Chips: My favourite! I give myself a budget of chips; every time I speak, it costs me a chip! I usually start with a budget of 3 chips.
Talk Up Your Mistakes: Share your own mistakes and be vulnerable.
Make Space for Mistakes: Define where people can experiment, take risks, and recover from mistakes.
Ask the Questions: This is a tough one! Only ask questions in a meeting.
Create a Stretch Challenge: Put a challenge out to the team and then get out of the way!
Make a Debate: It is always a good idea to allow the team to see all sides of a topic.
Give 51% of the Vote: Give a team member the final say!
Give it Back: Allow for ownership and resist the urge to get involved. What's the worst that can happen?
Hopefully, there are some valuable nuggets in this leadership book that you can add to your journey. Thanks for reading!
Ryan