Building Capability from the Top: How Multipliers Unlock Potential

Today’s leadership is defined by adaptability, emotional intelligence, and a focus on collaboration and innovation.  

Faced with constant uncertainty and challenges, today’s leaders must not only confront present volatility but must also consider: Who will rise to meet the challenges of tomorrow? 

Development Dimensions International (DDI) identified developing the next generation of leaders as a critical challenge for CEOs. Confidence in bench strength has shown meager signs of recovery after plummeting from 18% to 11% in 2020 – with just 20% of HR professionals expressing confidence in the strength of their leadership bench.  

The stark reality is 80% of organisations lack confidence in their leadership pipelines, suggesting that developing new leaders and upskilling current ones will be essential to an organisation’s success. 

How can organisations build better leadership pipelines? 

With so many day-to-day responsibilities and disruptions to manage, many leadership teams are focused on managing, rather than multiplying to build capability.  

Today’s leaders must be multipliers. They must scale the capability of those around them. This approach requires commitment and buy-in from the top; from those who can shape systems, change culture, and drive the performance of the organisation.  

After all, leading isn’t about one-way direction. While traditional leadership development efforts focus on enhancing competencies (skills and knowledge); they often overlook one of the most critical growth levers: multiplying behaviors. These behaviors foster systemic capability and create more leaders within the organisation.  

Related: Leading in a New Way: Why Old Models No Longer Work 

Leaders in action: What research tells us

Liz Wiseman proposes in her book Multipliers: How the best leaders make everyone smarter (Harper Business, 2017) that impactful leaders do not merely lead from the front; they amplify the intelligence, talent, and contribution of their teams. When leaders engage their people this way, guiding and empowering networks of teams, the results are reflected in the organisation’s bottom line. 

Based on research of more than 150 executives across four continents, Wiseman discovered that leaders can be placed on a spectrum between two extremes: Multipliers and Diminishers. 

• Multipliers are leaders who bring out others’ capability and intelligence. They build an organisation’s collective intelligence, resilience, and foster high performing environments. 

• Diminishers are leaders who are so focused on being the smartest person in the room that they stifle others, thus depleting the organisation’s vital intellectual resources. 

The multiplier mindset explained 

Leadership teams often focus on managing performance through directives, policies, and processes. This means opportunities to develop others in innovative ways are overlooked. True leadership involves a mindset shift to become multipliers who scale the capability of people and organisation. This ultimately enables sustainable growth and drives innovation. 

How multipliers build capability from the top 

CEOs, executives and senior managers must first buy into the idea that their role is to unlock human potential, not merely to execute tasks.  

When top-tier leaders embrace multiplier behaviors, they set a culture where capability-building is embedded into the organisation’s DNA. 

This shift in mindset is underscored by a simple truth: effective leadership is not about controlling talent. It’s about empowering it. 

• Multipliers stretch teams beyond perceived limits (but not to the point of breaking), challenging them to do better. 

• Multipliers cultivate a sense of ownership and accountability. 

• Multipliers invest time in developing others through active coaching and feedback. 

Related: How workplace culture helps you attract, keep, and motivate your people 

The often-unintended impact of diminishers 

In contrast, diminishers – often unaware of their impact – can suppress potential, stifling performance and engagement.  

Their actions, rooted in habits rewarded in traditional management training and directive leadership, hinder the growth of their teams. This creates an environment of dependency rather than capability. It manifests as micromanagement, lack of trust, reluctance to delegate, and poor feedback practices.  

Consequences can include:

• Cultural stagnation 

• Decreased agility 

• Reduced innovation 

• Missed competitive opportunities 

The key to reversing this, and transforming leaders into multipliers, is through a mindset shift at the top – and systemic support across the organisation. 

The Five Disciplines of a Multiplier 

Developing leaders is a holistic, ongoing process that cascades down through the entire organisation. In her work, Wiseman (2017) identifies the Five Disciplines of a Multiplier that build capability from the top: 

1. Talent Magnet 

Recognises and attracts talent and makes use of people’s strengths. Talent magnets continually invest in identifying, nurturing and empowering the future leaders of their organisations. This encompasses the entire talent cycle from recruitment, to onboarding new talent, to providing ongoing development opportunities and keeping employees engaged.  

2. Liberator 

Creates a safe, empowering environment. Liberators build psychological safety. This allows team members to voice ideas, take risks, and innovate without fear of judgment. Liberators model vulnerability themselves, fostering trust and authenticity. 

Related: If you want a healthy workplace, start with psychological safety 

3. Challenger 

Stretches people beyond what they think is possible (encourages people to think bigger and develop new skills) fostering a learning culture within the organisation. 

4. Debate Maker

Fosters rigorous thinking, diverse opinions and decision-making to create a feedback-rich environment. Debate makers encourage respectful challenge and diversity of thought. 

5. Investor 

Investors give ownership and accountability. They support people to learn through experience. 

How Keogh supports leaders in building capability 

Leadership capability must be embedded into the core systems of strategy, learning, and culture; it’s not a one-off fix.  

For over 40 years, Keogh has successfully partnered with leaders and organisations (domestically and overseas) to help align strategy, culture and capability. We help you unlock your people’s potential.  

Keogh’s integrated approach includes: 

Strategy-Aligned Leadership Development 

Co-designing leadership capability frameworks aligned to organisational goals and supporting capability uplift that is directly linked to strategic and cultural outcomes. 

Leadership Capability 

Understanding and acting upon feedback from psychometric assessments enables leaders to reflect on their leadership style, and provides teams with insight into how they function. These form the foundations for developing a growth mindset and contribute to successful leadership effectiveness and development. 

Executive Coaching 

Supporting leaders to become multipliers – unlocking potential, building relationships, shifting to developmental leadership styles. 

Team Development & Culture

Building team capability while fostering psychological safety, trust, and open feedback routines. 

Are your leaders building capability, or creating dependency?  

If the answer is the latter, we can help.  

We work alongside leaders to assist them to develop their skills as multipliers – because we know that real transformation doesn’t happen to people, it happens through them. 

We’re ready to collaborate when you are. Why not contact Keogh today to find out more about how our proven approach can benefit you. 

References: 

• Development Dimensions International. (2021). Global Leadership Forecast 2021. DDI World. 
• Development Dimensions International. (2025, January 22). Global Leadership Forecast 2025. DDI. https://www.ddiworld.com/research/global-leadership-forecast-2025 
• Wiseman, L., & Covey, S. R. (2017). Multipliers: how the best leaders make everyone smarter. Revised and updated edition. HarperBusiness, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers.