TheChapterbyChapterDiscussionGuide

for

The Multiplier Effect

TAPPING THE GENIUS IN OUR SCHOOLS

LizWiseman
LoisAllen
EliseFoster

SomereadershavefounditusefultodoanindepthstudyofeachchapterofTheMultiplierEffect,wherethey
meetfor4560minutesessionsoverthecourseofseveralweeksormonths,anddiscussonechapteratatime.
Hereisachapterspecificguidethatprovidesyouwiththoughtprovokingquestionstogetyourgroupthinking
aboutleadinglikeaMultiplier.Ifyouareshortontime,considerourconciseguide.
When discussing as a group, you may find it useful to present the questions to the whole group or divide the
questionsbysmallersubgroups.Regardlessofhowyouchosetodistributethequestions,weencourageyouto
leadyourdiscussionasyoubelieveaMultiplierwould.Oneofthesimplest waystodothisistousetheJunior
GreatBooksapproach(ref.Ch.5).Channelyourinnerthirdgraderandtryleadingthediscussionusingthesethree
easyasks:
(1) askaquestion
(2) askforevidence
(3) askeveryone

Beforeyougetstarted,askyourself:HowwouldaMultiplierleadthisdiscussion?

Copyright2013TheWisemanGroup.Allrightsreserved.

Discussion Questions
DiscussionQuestions
PreDiscussion

WhydidyouchooseTheMultiplierEffect:TappingtheGeniusInsideourSchools?
WhatisonequestionTheMultiplierEffectanswersforyouaboutleadership?
WhatisonequestionthathasbeenleftunansweredbyTheMultiplierEffect?
Whatisonepersonalobjectiveforcompletinganindepthselfstudyorparticipatinginagroup
discussion?

Chapter1:TheMultiplierEffect
1.
2.
3.
4.

WhatmainideasresonatedwithyouasyoureadTheMultiplierEffect?
WhohasbeenaMultipliertoyou?WhatdidtheydotoMultiplyyou?
WhohasbeenaDiminishertoyou?WhatdidtheydotoDiminishyou?
Whereareyougettingthemostoutofthestaff,studentsand/orparentsinyourdistrictorschoolsite?
Wherecouldyoubeaccessingmore?
5. AretherecertainpeopleorcircumstancesthatbringouttheMultiplierinyou?Why?
6. AretherecertainpeopleorcircumstancesthatbringouttheDiminisherinyou?Why?

Chapter2:TheTalentFinder
1. Howlongdoesittakeandwhatfactorshelptodevelopareputationastheschoolleadertoworkfor?If
teachersoftenoutlastprincipals,whatisthevalueinbecomingknownastheschoolleadertowork
for?
2. Inwhatwayscanyoubettertapintothetalentinsideyourbuilding?Howaboutwaysyourbuildingcan
bettertapintoyourtalents?
3. Thinkoftwoprojectorleadershipassignmentsrecentlymadeinyourschool,whatassumptions
influencedthesechoices?
4. Howcanbothschooladministratorsandteachershelpeachotherattract,support,andsustaintalent
developmentattheschoolsite?
5. WherecanyouputtheSuperSizeItorNametheGeniusexperimenttothetest?
Chapter3:TheLiberator
1. Whatsthedifferencebetweenatenseversusintenseenvironment?Whatcantriggeryoutoshiftinone
directionortheother?
2. Aliberatingclimategivesalotofspaceandexpectsalotatthesametime.Howdoyouknowwhenyou
havegonetoofarwitheitherelement?
3. IfyouworkunderaTyrant,canyoucreatealiberatingenvironmentforyourteam?Ifno,why?Ifyes,
how?
4. Howlongmightittaketoreversethenaturalriskaverseresponseofstaffmemberswhohave
previouslyworkedforaTyrant?Why?Whatmightinfluencethetimeinvolvedinthistransition?
5. WheremightyoubeabletoputtheLiberatorpracticestothetestwiththePlayFewerChips,MakeSpace
forMistakesorTalkupYourMistakesexperiments?

Copyright2013TheWisemanGroup.Allrightsreserved.

Chapter4:TheChallenger
1. HowcanyoushareyourownknowledgeandopinionswithoutDiminishingthepeopleyoulead?
2. Whatsthedifferencebetweenaskingyourstafftodomoreworkversusdoingharderwork?
3. Whataresomesignalsthatyouvestretchedyourteamtoofaroutsideoftheircomfortzone?Orhavent
stretchedthemfarenough?
4. WheremightyoubeabletosafelyexperimentwiththeLayaConcreteChallengeorExtremeQuestions
experiment?
Chapter5:TheCommunityBuilder
1. Imagineyouonlyhavethirtyminutestomakeahighstakesdecision.Shouldyoustillapproachthe
decisionasaCommunityBuilder?Ifno,why?Ifyes,how?
2. BeingaCommunityBuildermeansdrivingsounddecisionsthrougharigorousprocess.Howdoyouknow
whentherehasbeenenoughdebateanditistimetomakeadecision?
3. Whatismoreimportanthowthedecisionismadeorwhomakesthedecision?
4. Howcanyouensureequalaccesstothedecisionmakingprocesswhilestillmovingswiftly(andsoundly)
toresolution?
5. WherecanyouexperimentwiththeMakeaDebateexperiment?
Chapter6:TheInvestor
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Whatisthedifferencebetweenbeingdetailorientedandmicromanaging?
Howcanyougivepeoplefullownershipwithoutbecomingdisengagedyourself?
Howcanyoustayabreastofwhatsgoingonwithoutoverinsertingyourself?
Whatarethewaysinwhichyoumightholdastaffmemberaccountablewithoutregainingownership?
WheremightyoubeabletochallengeyourselfwiththeGiveItBackorGive51%oftheVoteexperiment?

Chapter7:TheAccidentalDiminisher
1. Inwhatwaysmightyouhaveadiminishingimpactonyourstaff,despiteyourverybestofintentions?
Whatintentionsaredrivingthisbehavior?GainadditionalinsightsbytakingtheAccidentalDiminisher
quiz:http://MultiplierEffectBook.com
2. Aretheresomeenvironments,orpeoplearoundwhomyoufindyourselfmorelikelytounknowinglyshut
downintelligence?
3. Whenyoubecomeawareofadiminishingtendency,atwhatpointdoesitnolongerfallintothecategory
ofAccidental?
4. Whatremedies,orworkarounds,canyouemploytoday,tohelpyouavoidunintentionallyshuttingdown
thosearoundyou?
Chapter8:BecomingaMultiplier
1.
2.
3.
4.

Whatcouldyouaccomplishinyourschoolordistrict,ifyoubeganleadingmorelikeaMultipliertoday?
ShouldasuccessfulDiminishertrytobecomeaMultiplier?Why?
CanyoubeaMultiplierifyouworkforaDiminisherorinaDiminisherculture?
Inwhichdisciplinecanyoumakethemostprogressintheleastamountoftime?Why?

5. WhatistheoneMultiplierexperimentthatwillhelpyoupersonally?Whatwillenableyouto
committotrythissingleexperimentforthenext34weeks?

Copyright2013TheWisemanGroup.Allrightsreserved.

6. Ofthevariousorganizationsyouareapartof(school,community,family)wherecouldyouimplementthe
Multiplierapproachwiththegreatestimpact?Why?
PostStudy
Afteryouhavecompletedaselfstudyorgroupdiscussion,youmightconsideroneofthefollowingsuggestionsto
keepupthemomentumandcreateavirtuouscycleofsuccess.
1. IdentifyonethingyouwilldotodaytobeginleadingmorelikeaMultiplier.
2. Inviteparticipantstoorganizeandfacilitatetheirowngroupsessionswithintheirschoolorcommunity
group.
3. IdentifyadatetoreconveneanddiscusseachothersexperiencetakingaMultiplierexperiment.
4. BringinanoutsideworkshopleadertoteachanindepthMultiplierWorkshop.
5. HavepeoplewriteuptheirsuccessstoriesinapplyingMultiplierideasortacklingaMultiplierexperiment.
SharetheseonaninternalblogorwithinourLearningNetworkonmultipliereffectbook.com

AboutTheBook
Weve all had experience with two dramatically different types of leaders. The first type drains intelligence, energy, and
capability from the people around them and needs to be the smartest person in the room. These are the idea killers, the
energysappers,theDiminishersoftalentandcapability.
Ontheothersideofthespectrumareleaderswhousetheirintelligencetoamplifythesmartsandcapabilitiesofthepeople
aroundthem.Whentheseleaderswalkintoaroom,lightbulbsgoon;ideasflowandproblemsgetsolved.Thesearethe
leaders who inspire teachers and administrators to stretch themselves and surpass expectations. These leaders use their
smartstomakeeveryonearoundthemsmarterandmorecapable.TheseleadersareMultipliers.Theeducationalsystem
needsintelligenceMultipliersrightnowespeciallywhenleadersmustdomorewithless.
TheMultiplierEffect:TappingtheGeniusinourSchoolsisaninvitationtoleadersacrosseducationtooperateasMultipliers
accessing and channeling the intelligence, talent, and creativity of the people around them. The book is a sequel to
Multipliers:HowtheBestLeadersMakeEveryoneSmarter(HarperCollins2010),whichwasaWallStreetJournalbestseller,
wasfeaturedonU.S.NationalPublicRadioandinHarvardBusinessReviewandcontinuestorankinthetop50management
booksonAmazon.com.
Inthisengagingandhighlypracticalbook,leadershipexpertLizWiseman,leadershipcoachEliseFoster,andveteranprincipal
Lois Allen team up to offer compelling research showing the overwhelmingly positive and exponential effect on schools
gettingmoredonewithoutincreasingthenumberofteachersandresources.
Takingadeepdivewithmorethan100ofeducationsbestleaders,theauthorsexplorethefivedisciplinesthatdistinguish
MultipliersfromDiminishersandhowtheseleadersattractanddeveloptalent,aswellasharnessnewideasandenergyto
driveeducationalinnovation.Thesefivedisciplinesarenotbasedoninnatetalent;indeedtheyareskillsthateveryeducator
canlearntouseevenwhensteepedinlifelongDiminishersettings.

Copyright2013TheWisemanGroup.Allrightsreserved.