Some bosses make us better and smarter by eliciting and revitalizing our intelligence. Others seem to stifle intelligence and capability, always wanting to be seen as the smartest person in the room. They suck the energy out of the team, whose members end up looking or feeling dumb. IQs seem to drop, and meeting times double.

Multipliers follow five principles to bring out the best in people. Each allows workers to stretch so they can contribute greater effort and productivity.

• 1. Attract and Optimize Talent: Be a Talent Manager
• a. You attract the best people when you take full advantage of their strengths.
• b. They subsequently let other talented people know about the benefits of working on your team.
• c. Talented people seek opportunities to grow and appreciate your efforts.
• 2. Create Intensity that Requires Best Thinking: Be a Liberator
• a. You create an intense environment that demands people’s best thinking and work.
• b. People flourish under the right amount of pressure and support to perform their best work.
• c. You are empathetic, yet firm about expectations for high-quality work.
• 3. Extend Challenges: Be a Challenger
• a. You define an opportunity that causes people to stretch.
• b. You give them freedom to make mistakes, learn from them and be creative.
• c. Instead of giving people answers, you ask the right questions and then stay out of their way.
• 4. Debate Decisions: Be a Debate Maker
• a. You drive sound decisions through rigorous debate.
• b. People own outcomes and participate in course corrections without blaming.
• c. You challenge your people to ask the right questions and debate the true issues.
• 5. Instill Ownership and Accountability: Be an Investor
• a. You give other people ownership for results and invest in their success.
• b. You hold high expectations across the organization, which leads people to hold themselves and each other accountable.
• c. You provide the necessary resources for success.

Becoming a Genius-Maker

You needn’t excel in all five disciplines to be considered a multiplier who brings out the best in your people. You must, however, master two or three disciplines and be “good enough” in the remaining ones.

Instead of trying to perfect all five disciplines, create a development plan with your executive coach. Pick one key area of strength and develop it to a higher level.

Next, choose an area of weakness and strive to make improvements. View your leadership effectiveness on a continuum so it can be realistically achieved.