Our strengths are our shadows
- Hanna Poskiparta
- Apr 17
- 5 min read
Think for a moment about the qualities that have brought you to your current position. Decisiveness, expertise, the ability to solve problems quickly. Could it be that in leadership, these very super strengths become shadows – preventing your team from growing?
Liz Wiseman spent years studying leaders around the world and found two types of leaders, both of whom want the best for their teams – but whose impact on those teams is very different. She calls them Multipliers and Diminishers. Under Multipliers, people feel they can use their full potential. Under Diminishers, people feel stuck and begin to shrink their own contribution. It's no wonder, that according to Wiseman's research, Diminishers need twice the resources to achieve the same results as Multipliers.
What's most interesting is that these two types of leaders are, in many ways, very similar – high performers who care about their teams. What sets them apart, however, are small, everyday actions. The raw and unfortunate truth is: every one of us is a Diminisher sometimes. A Diminisher almost always has good intentions – a desire to help, protect, ensure quality – yet the approach is counterproductive.
Do you recognise yourself in any of the following?
You always have the answer – but is anyone listening?
Diminisher: "Let's do it this way, I have the solution." / "You should do it like this."
You're bursting with ideas, and they're usually brilliant. When someone asks for advice, you have the answer ready. It feels efficient – but do you notice what's happening around you? Your team quickly learns that they don't need to come up with ideas themselves. Every answer you give shuts down someone else's thought process. Gradually, people stop trying, because the outcome seems to be decided already anyway.
Multiplier: "What ideas would you have for this?" / "How would you go about solving this?"
What if you held back your answer for a moment? The best idea isn't the one that comes fastest, but the one that emerges through shared thinking. When you turn the question back, you don't do it because you don't know the answer – but because every self-solved problem expands thinking and strengthens professional confidence. When people come up with a solution themselves, they are also more willing to implement it.
REFLECT: How often does the first solution come from you?
Always ready to help and step in – but who grows?
Diminisher: "I'll take care of it." / "I'll sort this out right away."
This is perhaps the most human form of diminishing. You see a team member struggling, and your first reflex is to step in yourself. You're always the first to jump in, no matter the task. It looks efficient and feels good – but every time you rescue, you're sending your team a message: I don't believe you could handle this on your own. The team learns that there's no point stepping up – because you'll take care of it anyway.
Multiplier: "I trust you – how can I support you?" / "Who will take ownership of this?"
A Multiplier neither abandons nor rescues. They pause, create space, and trust that someone on the team will step up. And most of the time, someone does – as long as they're given the opportunity. When you make it visible that mistakes are something we learn and recover from, you build ownership instead of dependence on rescue.
REFLECT: How often does "let me just help quickly" in practice mean "let me do this for you"?
Speed and quality above all – but at what cost?
Diminisher: "We'll get this done today." / "This needs to be perfect."
You set tight deadlines and high standards. You constantly ask where things stand, whether it's ready yet. When the result arrives in your inbox, it's not good enough in your view. Your team is running – but doesn't necessarily know where to. People polish documents late into the night without knowing what is good enough. Urgency combined with perfectionism creates a culture where no one dares to experiment.
Multiplier: "This is the direction – let's move forward together." / "What did we learn from this?"
When you clarify the why – the direction and the meaning – people find the pace themselves. No pushing is needed; what's needed is a compass. And when you shift attention from the result to learning, you nurture a culture where people dare to stretch themselves. Even mistakes are valuable when we know how to draw lessons from them.
REFLECT: Does your team know where you're heading – or only that they need to get there fast and flawlessly?
Safety and stretch – the Multiplier's core recipe
Wiseman's insight can be summed up into two words: safety and stretching.
Give people an environment where it's safe to speak up, where they are trusted, and where they can be themselves. In such an environment, people are ready to take on challenges and stretch their potential. Without safety, stretching feels like a threat. Without stretching, safety turns into drifting in comfort.
As an expert, you were rewarded for your knowledge and quick answers. As a leader, what's expected of you is drawing out insight, asking questions, and encouraging others. This requires unlearning – and unlearning is often harder than learning something new.
How to develop into a Multiplier?
Multiplying can be learned, but you can't go on autopilot. A few intentional actions in everyday work will take you forward:
Get to know your team members more deeply. Take a genuine interest in where each person is at their best and what motivates them. People who feel seen give more.
Offer responsibility, not pressure. When the fear of failure decreases, experimentation and learning increase.
Resist the urge to share your own ideas first. This single change can be the most impactful – and at the same time the most difficult.
Ask for help in decision-making. Explore your team's thinking first, then decide.
An honest look in the mirror
No one needs to be a perfect Multiplier in every situation. But everyone can become more aware of when and how they diminish.
REFLECT: When did you last create space – and when did you take it? At what point did your team grow – and when did they shrink, because you had already taken care of things? Simply reflecting on these questions – or asking them of your team – is itself an act of multiplying.
Don't be the one who has all the answers. Be the one who makes others think.
Sources: Liz Wiseman, Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter
If you'd like to discuss leadership development or building a multiplying culture in your organisation, get in touch:
netco@netco.fi or call +358 400 811693 / Hanna Poskiparta.
