At the (by invitation only) Fish and Richardson's 2011 Annual LEAD retreat (leadership through enrichment, action and diversity) on Friday, women at the forefront of business, law and technology in the Bay Area came together to empower, inspire and energize. Liz Wiseman, founder of Bay Area's The Wiseman Group, was one of the speakers and had asked us if we had ever worked for a person who was a multiplier or a diminisher and how much work that person was able to get out of us. 

A multiplier was someone who extracted people's full capacity, their full brain  power (not how hard they worked), and a diminisher was someone who underutlized talent right in front of them. She had different characteristics for each such as micromanager, tyrant and know-it-all for the "diminisher" and liberator, challenger and investor for the "multiplier." 

Whether you're a leader now or work for one, we've all been the victims of working for a diminisher. Those people who zap the energy out of you and make you not want to go into work. Those who kill your ideas every time you have one, because only their ideas count. It's frustrating and can cause unneccesary stress. In an economy like this, is it worth it? If you're a leader now, is there anything that you are unconsciously doing that is diminishing your employees prime potential?

Many of us have also had the opportunity at least once in our career to work for or with a multiplier. Those people who inspire us the moment they walk into a room. Those that make us generate ideas that we didn't even know we were capable of, those who stretch us to solve problems that we think our beyond our grasp. It's invigorating and exhilirating to work in an environment led by a multiplier. You are excited about work. 

If you are a leader ask yourself - Are you a multiplier? Do you encourage people to be creative, to figure it out on their own? Or are you a diminisher and think that no decision can be made without you? Do you present opportunities that cause people to stretch their brain power? Or do you give directives to showcase how much you know?The answers to these questions are what make a great leader and these great leaders develop great teams who go on to do great things.

Liz Wiseman and her partner Greg McKeown's book called "Multipliers: How the best leaders make everyone smarter" - is a worthwhile read and is available on Amazon.

Have you worked for a multiplier or diminisher? Take our poll!