Author and leadership development professional Liz Wiseman challenged Nashville-area business executives to maximize the existing resources at their firms by being leaders who multiply the capabilities of their employees.
“Imagine what is possible with all the intelligence that sits in your organization. The role of the leader is shifting from knowing, telling and directing to one where the leader observes, harnesses and unleashes the capabilities of others,” Wiseman said.
The Center for Executive Education at Belmont University hosted Liz Wiseman as the keynote speaker during its Spring Leadership Breakfast on May 1 in the Curb Event Center arena. Presented in partnership with the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, the event explored how executives can become leaders who inspire employees to stretch themselves to deliver results that surpass expectations.
Her talk over breakfast focused on her leadership books Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter and The Multiplier Effect: Tapping the Genius Inside Our Schools, which promote “the multiplier effect” or the influence leaders have on the intelligence of people around them.
“Some leaders tend to grow intelligence and others tend to suck it right out of organizations like wet blankets,” Wiseman said. “As a multiplier, you use your intelligence to amplify and grow the people around you. The people get smarter and more capable when they work with you.”
She highlighted management from Windows Live, General Electric, Better Place, Bloom Energy and Sanford University to illustrate the qualities of “multipliers.”
On the other hand, people in management positions she called “diminishers” waste talent and intellect by being tyrants, know-it-alls and micro managers.
Using a workshop approach, Wiseman’s talk included audience interaction, worksheets, small group discussions and even reenactment of the legend of William Tell shooting the apple on his son’s head to illustrate the difference between pressure and stress.
After the breakfast, she autographed copies of Multipliers and continued her interaction with guests during a Talk Back Session in the Vince Gill Room.
Wiseman, a former executive at Oracle Corp., is president of The Wiseman Group, a California=based leadership research and development center for executives. Among her recent clients are Apple, Dubai Bank, Genentech, Nike, PayPal, Salesforce.com and Twitter. She has a Bachelor in Science in business management and a master’s degree in organizational behavior from Brigham Young University.
About the Center for Executive Education
The Center for Executive Education at Belmont University has been a premier provider of leadership education for more than 25 years, existing to provide world-class learning to meet the needs of the Nashville community and beyond. The Center provides a full range of executive learning opportunities including its Executive Learning Networks, Executive Leadership Experience, certificate programs and customized solutions. ELN membership consists of senior leaders from over 50 Middle Tennessee companies who seek to learn from one another and national leaders through ongoing networking, speakers’ series and small group discussions.
About the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce is Middle Tennessee’s largest business federation, representing more than 2,000 member companies. “Business Is Good” embodies the Chamber’s focus on facilitating community leadership to create economic prosperity for Middle Tennessee. The work of the Nashville Area Chamber is supported by membership and sponsors; the Chamber’s Pivotal Partners (a partnership at the highest level for all Chamber programs and events) are BlueCross/BlueShield of Tennessee, Community Health Systems and Delek US Holdings. Together with its affiliates, the Nashville Chamber works to strengthen the region’s business climate and enhance Nashville’s position as a desirable place to live, work and visit. For more information, visit www.nashvillechamber.com.
