Global pharmaceutical company embraces a Multipliers sales culture

Based on Liz Wiseman’s groundbreaking book, Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, the Multipliers simulation shows leaders how to lead as Multipliers (rather than Diminishers) of their employees’ talents and intelligence.

We talked to a tenured sales leader at a global pharmaceutical company about the organization’s experience with the Multipliers simulation and how Multipliers has impacted their culture:

“We take development seriously. When we were looking for a way to help our sales leaders develop and lead their people better, we discovered the Multipliers simulation. It was exactly what we were looking for, so we decided to implement it right away.

“Since then, we haven’t looked back. Over the past few years, every single sales leader in the organization has gone through the full Multipliers simulation. In fact, it’s been so successful that the Multipliers language and way of thinking have become part of our culture.

“After seeing the impact of Multipliers across the sales organization, the company decided to embed the Multipliers language into the incentive compensation plan. We used the Multipliers 360 Assessment to assess sales leaders to identify the areas they needed to focus on the most. Those assessments helped determine the behaviors that we wanted to specifically encourage and incentivize through compensation.

“We’ve also certified Multipliers coaches within the sales organization to provide small-group coaching to leaders after they attend the simulation, to help them with application and implementation. The internal coaches have been a huge help with sustainability.

“We help leaders train their own teams on the Multipliers language and concepts, to make sure everyone understands when they are being multiplied or diminished and how to respond. I know that with my own team, this helps with accountability. They have permission to tell me when I’ve diminished them and when I can do better.

“In this way, Multipliers helps with morale and keeps people moving in a positive direction. It helps leaders keep people engaged and focused when they are dealing with significant customer and market issues. 

“By proactively incorporating the Multipliers language and concepts into the everyday work of sales leaders, the company has been able to create and sustain a culture of continuous learning and development. In fact, the Multipliers culture has contributed to increased promotion and retention of sales leaders.

“When we first looked at Multipliers, we thought it was cool. I don’t think we anticipated that it would be this successful. Multipliers sells itself – you just have to give it a bit of a push.”