Tag Archives: Social Intelligence

Make Everyone Smarter – Be a Multiplier

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(This article was first published in the Critical Path, the monthly newsletter of PMI Sydney Chapter publish in May 2023)

If someone asks you to describe the characteristics of different managers you worked with or know of, it is very likely that you would describe someone as ‘brings out the best in me’ while you describe another as ‘puts me down every time’. Liz Wiseman describes the first type as “Multipliers”: the leaders who use their intelligence to amplify the smarts and capabilities of the people around them, while she describes the second type as “Diminishers”: the leaders who drain intelligence, energy, and capability from the people around them.

Liz Wiseman describes in detail these two types of leaders in her book “Multipliers“. The book is thought-provoking that will make you think differently and challenge your own view on your leadership style and the style of people around you.

The book presents the characteristics and disciplines of Multipliers and contrasts them against Diminishers.  The book also claims that Diminishers get less than 50% of the collective productivity of their teams, while Multipliers get twice the collective productivity of their teams.

The disciplines of Multipliers and Diminishers are summarised in the accompanying infographic.

The book also presents the notion of ‘Accidental Diminisher’: “While the narcissistic leaders grab the headlines, the vast majority of diminishing happening inside our workplaces is done by the Accidental Diminisher – managers with the best of intentions, good people who think they are doing a good job leading.” (Page 191).

The book narrates some character virtues and how they can unintentionally lead the manager to becoming an Accidental Diminisher:

  • Idea Fountain: while the intention is to stimulate ideas in your team, they overwhelm them and make them shut down.
  • Always On: The intention to create infectious energy turns out to consume all the spaces and tune other people out.
  • Rescuer: Jumping always to protect your team will make them dependent on you, which weaken their reputation.
  • Pacesetter: The intention to set a high standard for quality will render others to become spectators or give up.
  • Rapid Responder: Responding quickly to keep the organisation moving fast will create traffic jam of too many decisions and changes.
  • Optimist: Continuously promoting a can-do attitude will make people wonder if the leader appreciates the struggle.
  • Protector: By keeping people safe from political forces in the organisation deprives them from learning to defend themselves
  • Strategist: Creating a compelling reason to move beyond the status quo may make people defer up and second-guess their boss rather than finding answers themselves.
  • Perfectionist: The intention to help people produce outstanding work, will make people feel criticised, become disheartened, and stop trying.

The book provides workarounds for the above tendencies, and detailed learning experiments to become a Multiplier.  It is packed with insights and controversial arguments that keep your mind buzzing, long after reading every chapter.

Motivate your team – the Enneagram way

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(This article was first published in the Critical Path, the monthly newsletter of PMI Sydney Chapter publish in March 2023)

Projects are delivered by people, and this will continue at least until AI takes over project management.  While the Project Manager should master the tools and processes they are using to manage their project, project delivery will undoubtedly suffer if the Project Manager ignores the human factor of the project team, and the stakeholders influencing the project.  What “makes or breaks” project success is knowing what makes people “tick” and acting accordingly.  In this month’s Beyond Project Management I will introduce one of the many ways to understand and motivate your team: The Enneagram of Personality.

Taken at face value, the Enneagram is made up of nine numbers representing different personalities interconnected and woven together through human psychology, and traditional knowledge of human nature.  While the Enneagram is basically a useful tool to help individuals manage their emotions and interpret the world around them, many businesses are using it in team building and conflict resolution.  By the same token, when you know more about yourself and the people around you, you will know the ‘hot buttons’ of every personality.  Exploiting this knowledge you will increase the collaboration among the project team and the influential stakeholder, and consequently, this will increase the chances of delivering successful projects.

Caveat: I am not promoting this classification as the only way to understand yourself and the team. This is one of many other ways that can help you manoeuvre the complex landscape of human behaviours and interactions and give you some ideas that could help you in building effective relationships.  I acknowledge that not everyone agrees that this classification works.  The purpose of this article is to enrich your toolbox and give you more options and ideas to consider.  It’s up to as a Project Manager to identify and use the right tool for the right situation.

Enneagram Personalities

Type 1: The Reformer.  Also known as the Improver and the Perfectionist.  They strive to make things right or better.  They often struggle with their condemning inner voice to do better.  They need to be accurate and orderly, and they fear being incorrect or blamed.  The Reformers are motivated by being right and fair, and their focus on excellence.  Imagine their feeling about Agile principles of ‘fail fast, fail often’, or ‘MVP – just enough’. 

Type 2: The Helper.  Also known as the Giver and the Befriender.  They need to be loved and truly cared for.  They also need to be wanted, needed, and appreciated.  They fear they will be rejected for being their authentic self.  The Helper is motivated by verbal affirmation and acknowledgement.  Tell them “thank you” more often and see how they get excited and spread their positive impact across the whole project.

Type 3: The Achiever.  Also known as the Performer and the Motivator.  They need to be valued and accepted.  They adapt to the scenario to achieve success because they fear to be considered unworthy due to failure.  The Achiever is motivated when they are affirmed in their actions and the impressions they make on others.  If you don’t have an Achiever in your project, strive to get one.

Type 4: The Individualist.  Also known as the Romantic and the Artist.  Their life strategy is “I must be understood as uniquely as I am”.  They like to create different and “beautiful” things – ideas or tangibles.  They are motivated when you recognise their uniqueness and authenticity.  With the right guidance, they can help you create better project objectives or resolve your project issues in a creative way.

Type 5: The Investigator.  Also known as the Observer and the Theorist.  They like to be always knowledgeable and equipped with evidence and data.  They are motivated by being independent and undisturbed.  They hate change and get irritated by the break in routine.  With Agile’s embrace of uncertainty and continuous change, the Investigators suffer.  Nevertheless, you can rely on them in your project for validation and evidence-based arguments if and when you need it.

Type 6: The Loyalist.  Also known as the Sceptic and the Guardian.  They focus on being safe and secure all the time, and they rely on a strong support system to keep them safe.  You will lose them if they feel any mistrust or security threat.  They are motivated by reassurances of safety and job security.  Their focus on safety and security makes them good at developing contingency plans and workarounds for risks and issues.  Therefore, if you can assure them of their role on the project, they will help you in resolving the problems of the project.

Type 7: The Enthusiast.  Also known as the Optimist and the Epicurean.  They like to have fun and new experiences while working.  They find silver lining in every challenge and keep options open.  They are motivated with consistent excitement and continuous engagement and stimulation.  The combined wisdom of the Loyalist and the Enthusiast (types 6 and 7) is a blessing for any project.  If you have these types of personalities, ensure they collaborate and your project will reap the results.

Type 8: The Challenger.  Also known as the Protector and Advocate.  They never like to be controlled by anyone.  If you micromanage them, you lose them.  They are motivated by letting them dominate their own environment, and giving them the responsibility to ensure that everyone in their environment is protected.  For Challengers on your project, clarify what and when you want things, and leave it to them to deliver – they will.

Type 9: The Peacemaker.  Also known as the Mediator and the Reconciler.  They strive to maintain peace and calm and create harmony in their environment.  They focus on peace-making so that they might miss their main role.  They are motivated by solving people’s problems and managing conflict.  They bring harmony and serenity to your challenging project.

These are the general characteristics of the Enneagram Personalities.  People usually have a dominant type and few characteristics from other types.  Also, people change over time from one type to the other.  It would be useful to observe your project team and the influential stakeholders to understand the dominant type of each person.  With the right understanding of the needs, fears, and motivations of everyone in your project, you can decide when and how to press their “hot buttons” to align everyone towards the project purpose and objectives.

References

What’s your Enneatype? By Liz Carver and Josh Green (Link).

Taking care of Business with the Enneagram by R. Karl Hebenstreit (Link)

The Complete Guide to the ENNEAGRAM by Sierra Mackenzie  (Link)