Leaders who use the right type of approach can leverage all types of capabilities!

Multiplication or Addition… Which logic do you use? – Tracy Clark

 "Isn't it interesting that as soon as you and your leadership team decide to aim higher and increase targets, the overall reaction is: of course we'll need more headcount to do that!”

Those were the recent words of a client of mine, let's call him Max, who wants his profit margins to increase. By increasing the headcount (the default suggestion), he knows that his profit margins will remain the same.

So, understandably, Max was frustrated.

I empathised - but I felt excited too. He is not the first CEO to be in this position.

It was time to challenge his thinking and his team's thinking. Time to introduce… a new logic.

What I saw was Max's leadership team using dominant logic, i.e. the logic of addition. This logic concludes that new resources will be added whenever new requests are made.

Leaders who apply this logic will argue that their best people are overworked and, therefore, accomplishing a bigger task requires more resources.

Of course, this is exactly what Max was hearing from his team. So, I asked him to think about the following:

"How might you be able to achieve growth without providing additional headcount?" He paused for quite a while. I continued...

 "Have you heard of the logic of multiplication?"

Leaders who use the logic of multiplication, instead of the logic of addition, see a very different perspective. They will see:

            * Most people in an organisation are under-utilised,

            * Intelligence AND capability can be multiplied (without more resources), and

            * Leaders who use the right type of leadership can leverage all types of capabilities.

But to do all that, you have to shift your mindset - and that of your leadership team too! Fortunately, that can be done.

Once I explained all of this to Max, a smile of hope emerged! He left our conversation with a better understanding of how he was going to increase their targets AND improve their profit margin.

Research has shown that when you shift your mindset you can more efficiently extract and expand the capability of your people. And when done correctly, your teams will become more energised as a result.

Leaders who use this logic of multiplication become Multipliers. As I've said before, Multipliers assume that people are smart and will figure things out. They have the "growth mindset" that Carol Dweck talks about; the belief that basic qualities like intelligence and ability can be cultivated through effort.

Armed with this assumption, leaders will begin to think about how a person can grow their capabilities. They will gain a competitive edge. And growth will skyrocket!

It's a game-changer! And, like Max, you can start using the logic of multiplication to see immediate results.

And if you did, what impact would it have on your business? Where could you do more?

-        Tracy Clark - Next Level Leadership and Mindset Coach