When researcher and author Liz Wiseman of Silcon Valley, Calif., asked leadership consultant Elise Foster to help her write a book, Foster was surprised.
The Columbus resident said that not only was she not a writer, she was a sporadic reader.
“My writing consisted of (engineering) equations,” said Foster, formerly with Cummins Inc.
People can see the work of Wiseman, Foster and retired educator Lois Allen on March 19, when Corwin Publishers releases the trio’s book, “The Multiplier Effect: Tapping the Genius in our Schools.”
The work is a sequel to the 2010 HarperCollins’ release, “Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter.” That volume is an exploration of why some leaders, known as “diminishers,” drain capability and intelligence from their teams, while others, known as “multipliers,” amplify others’ intelligence to produce better results.
Foster bought the first multiplier book at an airport on a weekend trip and finished it before she got home. She quickly became a passionate proponent of the book’s five key disciplines — optimizing talent; requiring the best thinking; extending challenges; debating decisions; and instilling accountability.
She then became certified to present the multiplier concepts and content at workshops nationwide. For the new book, part of her responsibility was interviewing educators and others about getting the best from administrators, teachers and students.