As leaders, our best intentions often lead to unintended consequences… even ‘accidentally’ contributing to an unhealthy culture or worst case, germinating a toxic culture.
Liz Wiseman identified ten types of ‘accidental diminishers’:
○ THE IDEA GUY overflows with ideas and believes that sharing his ideas will ignite more ideas in others.
BUT, this magnitude of ideas either overwhelms others who shut down, or they end up spending all their time chasing the latest idea.
○ The ALWAYS ON leader consumes a lot of space with their big personality. They assume their energy would be contagious.
BUT, the ‘noise’ becomes too much and others tune out.
○ The RESCUER feels inclined to assist others in resolving problems.
BUT, it creates a dependency on the leader and deprives others of learning opportunities.
○ The PACESETTER believes their high standards and hard work will set an example for others.
BUT, others slow down and become spectators or they simply give up when they can’t keep up.
○ The RAPID RESPONDER takes action as issues arise.
BUT, there is no time for input from others. It creates a traffic jam of too many decisions or changes to act upon.
○ The OPTIMIST has a can-do attitude and believes their team is smart enough to overcome most problems.
BUT, others feel the actual hard work it entails or the possibility of failure is underestimated. They start to fixate upon the obstacles.
○ The PROTECTOR wants to keep their team safe and avoids exposing them to internal politics or the stark realities of organisational challenges.
BUT, others don’t learn to fend for themselves.
○ The STRATEGIST paints a detailed vision of the future with evangelical enthusiasm.
BUT, it might leave no room for others to figure out how to turn it into reality. They either defer up or second-guess the leader.
○ The PERFECTIONIST offers helpful suggestions for improvement and points out all the small flaws.
BUT, others perceive it as criticism, lose heart and stop trying.
○ The RESOURCE MANAGER limits their talent pool to the people reporting directly to them.
But, talent outside of the ‘inner circle’ is left underutilised.
Reach out to a neutral person to help you spotlight your blind spots. A client of mine reflected:
“Madri helped me identify areas where I was able to shift from unconsciously diminishing to consciously enabling in my leadership style. The impact was so profound that the culture of the team has done a 360.” Linda, 2022
To discover how you might unintentionally diminish the people you lead, take this quiz: https://thewisemangroup.com/quiz/.
So, what did you see when you looked in the mirror?
If you want to develop into a ‘conscious enabler’, please reach out to me by completing the contact form or visit my website.
Source: Wiseman, L. (2017). Multipliers: How the best leaders make everyone smarter.
#leadership #multipliers #accidentaldiminishers #coaching #m3perspectives