The
MULTIPLIER OF THE YEAR Award Winners
Each year, The Wiseman Group recognizes leaders around the world who amplify the intelligence of those around them.
2019 Winners
Emma Stone
Sales Manager
SmartSurvey
—
Multiplier Discipline: They're a Talent Magnet (attracts and optimizes talent at its highest point of contribution)
—
Emma’s Nominator said: “By the end of my first day, Emma had sussed out how I learn best and had adjusted her training methods to suit my needs. Emma inspires and empowers us to apply ourselves, ask for help, give help, dig deeper and grow both personally and professionally. She easily identified our individual and team strengths and weaknesses (as well as knowing and embracing her own) and welcomes, encourages, and asks for our input, especially in areas where our strengths compliment her weaknesses. She truly listens, and so her decisions are accepted and respected because we all know we have been heard. We understand that any decision she makes is for the good of the team and the company. She is constantly stretching us and innately knows just how far she can stretch us to keep us motivated and productive and still very much enjoying our job. Emma's modus operandi is a shining example of managing at its best!”
Greg Sears
Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning
Forest Hills Schools
—
Multiplier Discipline: They're a Liberator (creates a climate that both invites and demands people's best thinking)
—
Greg’s Nominator said: “Greg has led the revitalization of professional development in our school district. He takes everyone’s views and builds on that. He built this type of culture by trusting his teachers, his building administration, and his leadership team.
“Greg has created an environment where we, collectively, are invested in the development of our map and taking the journey together, and we are more than happy to accept that at times roads will be bumpy and we may have to off-road, but as a team with diverse skills, we can continue moving forward. We knew Greg was our north star regardless, encouraging our risk-taking and ability to see and move forward, together. We made a shift from being congenial and cooperative and learned how to use our skills to leverage the work of us all, and we became a more solid, collaborative, interdependent team. People are willing to innovate and create new opportunities, all with students being at the center of our work, and for the first time, our district has a genuine district focus where all stakeholders know it, believe it, and are excited.”
Renee Williams
Deputy Director
Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Information Technology, ODE
—
Multiplier Discipline: They're a Liberator (creates a climate that both invites and demands people's best thinking)
—
Renee’s Nominator said: “Renee has fostered a culture of excitement for the mission, improved employee experience, and enhanced employee engagement throughout the enterprise. She has facilitated employee engagement by supplementing and supporting strategic communications. She has planned and implemented Change Management Strategies that have resulted in leaders receiving training and support during the transformation. She has identified and promulgated best practices and increased employee engagement across the enterprise.
“Within the VA and OI&T, morale is low and data indicates there is an increasing issue with employee burnout and turnover. The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) results and the All Employee Survey (AES) results both revealed issues in burnout, turnover, and overall employee satisfaction.
“To combat the poor survey results and organizational turmoil, Renee sought and received the Chief Information Officer’s approval to create the Office of Organization Development & Engagement (OD&E). She leveraged the diversity of existing staff to assemble a highly motivated team. She then trained the team on the fundamentals of organization development, action planning, and employee engagement with great results.”
Ryan McGee
Director, Production Data & Analytics
Walt Disney Animation Studios
—
Multiplier Discipline: They're a Liberator (creates a climate that both invites and demands people's best thinking)
—
Ryan’s Nominator said: "“Ryan looks beyond defined team boundaries to fuse together unique and strong bonds of team members across multiple disciplines and teams. He not only sees people for their own strengths, but also how those strengths can be best paired with the complementary strengths of other people.
“Ryan is a visionary. He understands his world well and knows how it can be better. He can communicate his vision well and excite those to which he speaks about it. He is naturally honest, trustworthy, and values driven. Even traditional, exclusive upper management perks aren't his thing, and if he was ever given a dedicated parking spot, he would give it to the newest person on his team. This gesture is an example of his servant-natured leadership style. He consistently shows examples of empowering his team through idea ownership, stretching their skillset, and growing them beyond what they thought they were confident in.
“Ryan's integrity, kindness, sense of humor, strategic thinking, thought-provoking ideas, and natural human connector makes him a successful leader at our studio and sets a high bar for leadership in the community.”
Taryn Owen
President
PeopleReady
—
Multiplier Discipline: They're a Liberator (creates a climate that both invites and demands people's best thinking)
—
Taryn’s Nominator said: “Taryn creates a culture of collaboration and empowerment, demanding the best from those around her and inviting growth by establishing an environment that allows for experimentation and innovation.
“When you speak with Taryn’s leadership team, you hear things like, ‘We would rather walk through fire than let her down,’ ‘She’s the kind of leader who makes you want to deliver 125% every day,’ and ‘She is the heart of our business.’
“Taryn has high expectations, asking her team members to drive strategy – not just execution. She’s the first to say, ‘I’m not the smartest person in this room. That’s why I hired you – to help me see things I don’t.’ She doesn’t believe she has all of the answers.
“An environment where everyone can be their best selves is something that Taryn is passionate about; she believes it creates an accelerant for creative thinking. An environment that demands people’s best thinking opens up opportunities for those who are willing to work hard, embrace change and bring new ideas. At the same time, she creates a safe environment, so everyone feels comfortable sharing ideas, weighing in on the business as a whole and trying new things – even if they fail.”
2018 Winners
Dr. Anne Marie De Barros Miller
Program Director
Boston Public Schools
—
Multiplier Discipline: “The Talent Magnet” - Attracts and optimizes talent at its highest point of contribution.
—
Dr. De Barros’s Nominator said: “Dr. De Barros is a leader who seeks to find new talent and offers opportunities to people who want to refine their skills.
During her first year at the school, Dr. De Barros spent time collecting and analyzing the operations. It became clear that the current student and staff schedules were not meeting the needs of individual students. Rather than mandating a schedule format, she enlisted the support of the staff “schedule expert” to recommend a schedule that better meets the needs of students.
Similarly, Dr. De Barros enlisted the support of other staff who had exhibited expertise in addressing the social-emotional needs of the students. The result was the creation of a point system that reinforces positive behavior and corrects negative ones.
Dr. De Barros's goal is to change the narrative of every single student attending her school because she believes they can all succeed. She has been able to change the academic and social-behavioral outcomes of the students at her school.”
Felipe Jose III Zamora
President & CEO
The Golden Legacy Financing Corporation
—
Multiplier Discipline: “The Challenger” - Defines an opportunity that causes people to stretch.
—
Felipe’s Nominator said: “Since receiving "Multipliers," Felipe has made a quantum shift in his leadership style. From being a bit autocratic and much too detail-focused, he has shifted to being more of an inclusive leader who welcomes ideas and challenges everyone.
Felipe now has a propensity to assign people projects outside of their job descriptions. An example of this was when he assigned a new project to a younger team member. Felipe saw that her skills and talent weren't being tapped and sought to change this by assigning her a difficult project. Felipe went out of his way to provide personalized mentoring and guidance. He challenged and helped her gain confidence to launch this new product two weeks ahead of schedule. This particular instance sent shockwaves in our organization.
He has become a true example of how being a Multiplier leader can massively impact an organization. By challenging us, we have grown beyond what we thought were the limits of what we could accomplish.”
Dan White
President of Strategic Workforce Solutions
AMN Healthcare
—
Multiplier Discipline: “The Liberator” - Creates a climate of safety and ambition that both invites and demands people's best thinking.
—
Dan’s Nominator said: “Dan is truly passionate about the personal and professional development of his team members. Dan will instinctively give recognition where it is due, agnostic of structure, department, or company.
To provide an example, a substantial client underwent contract re-negotiation, for which I anticipated to make a worthy presentation and business case about our partnership. As a leadership team, we decided that Dan should provide the intro. What I didn’t expect was that Dan took his time to acknowledge the team–he sang our praises and showcased our work in a way that I would never have been able to do myself.
Dan has demonstrated his support for the team time and time again. What’s more, he encourages his team to fail because, “In failure, we learn!” His encouragement for us to read “Multipliers” provides us coaching on abstaining from being Diminishers to our teams.
Dan is a Multiplier because he leads in a way that amplifies capability, innovation, and talent in the people around him.”
Shaun Harris
Director, National Business Care
AT&T
—
Multiplier Discipline: “The Challenger” - Defines an opportunity that causes people to stretch.
—
Shaun’s Nominator said: “Since becoming our director, Shaun has empowered our team to do extraordinary things. During his initial “meet and greet,” Shaun expressed that he wanted to make us the "flagship call center" by bringing opportunities, promotions, and pride back. We had heard this vision before from previous managers, but for the first time, Shaun made it happen.
With morale and discontentment at an all-time low and many obstacles that came his way, including a tornado that hit our city, the retirement of a director which added additional responsibilities, and a complete call system revamp, he stood firm in his vision. He made sure that everyone knew he believed in them and their “why.” Our center transformed from a “Service Center” into a “Service and Sales Center” and exceeded sales by an average of 120% within one year!
Shaun has been a real example of what a leader is. He wants the best for our team and desires to utilize all of our talent and capability.”
Patricia Boyle-McKenna
Interim Chief Information Officer
City of Boston
—
Multiplier Discipline: “The Talent Magnet” - Attracts and optimizes talent at its highest point of contribution.
—
Patricia’s Nominator said: “With over 10 years of service to the City of Boston, Patricia is truly the woman behind the curtain when it comes to innovative ideas, motivating staff, recruiting diverse and talented teams, and retaining talent. For anyone who her work reaches, it is clear that her passion, dedication to constituents, and support for employees are unrivaled.
As a lifelong resident of Boston and the mother of three young girls and a sister herself, Patricia values work-life balance and encourages those that work for her to do the same. She has advocated for better policies and practices for parental leave for the organization.
Aside from the fact that she's brilliant, Patricia is warm and approachable. Her personality makes her the best problem solver around. We’ve also seen her time and again organizing gifts, thank you notes, drives for daycare, lunches, etc. She understands that the little things that show how people are appreciated make all the difference."
2017 Winners
Jon McNeill
Organization: Tesla MotorsJob Title: Former President, Global Sales & Service
"Jon is an innately curious human being and a lifelong learner. He creates a learning environment, where he and his people are continually learning and growing. Jon is a Talent Magnet, bringing in incredibly smart people and letting them loose to do their best work. He doesn’t care about their age, background, what they've done before, or what area they're smart in. Jon is also a daily Challenger: very intense without making people tense. He stays at the highest level of the business but can also dive to the lowest level of the details in a collaborative, supportive way."
Ruth Valdés
Organization: BBVA Bancomer, MexicoJob Title: Directora de Formación y Universidad Bancomer
"Ruth is a genuinely inspiring leader and Multiplier. She is a great coach, providing specific and constructive feedback while balancing the positive and the opportunity areas. She empowers reports and peers for their growth, balancing between freedom and advice. Ruth trusts her team and always challenges us to learn as much as possible. She focuses on driving sustainable business results, helping the team to prioritize work and critical decisions. She builds trust through constant communication, encouraging an open dialogue with peers and reports. Lastly, Ruth is a great strategist: she has a clear vision of the results she wants to achieve and accurately involves the team in accomplishing them."
Shalonda Foster
Organization: Western Middle School for the ArtsJob Title: Assistant Principal
"Shalonda demonstrates Multiplier leadership through multiple events happening within our school. She is our leader for PBIS (Positive Behavioral Intervention Support) and challenges teachers every day to promote a safe culture and climate within the classrooms and school building. She brings a wealth of informative ideas to the team, challenging us to continue to develop safe schools. Her demeanor among her peers is supportive and open to learning and listening as we think outside the box towards a growth mindset and continue to work to provide a safe and caring school for all learners."
Dr. Eric Sholes
Organization: US Army
Job Title: Project Manager/Systems Engineer
"Dr. Sholes spends every day working with team leads to develop them into the best leaders they can be. Because of this, he is continually losing his people to promotions and increased responsibility. I have colleagues across multiple organizations supporting our country's missile defense systems who were trained by Dr. Sholes. I know he is acutely aware of how much harder his life gets when those he trains are then chosen to lead a new team, but he keeps pushing forward. He could choose to focus on his day job (rocket science might be easier than employee development), but he comes in every day and spends hour after hour making others better."
2016 Winners
Ken Fenoglio
Organization: AT&T University, Dallas, TexasJob Title: Vice President
“Ken was a Multiplier before Multipliers were cool. Early on, Ken learned that amplifying others’ brainpower was more effective than having all the answers. As he progressed through the corporate ranks, Ken honed all the disciplines that are hallmarks of a Multiplier. Today, whether he’s freeing executives to have a vigorous debate or cultivating hidden talent, Ken inspires thousands of employees. The result is a world-class corporate university that fosters a culture of continuous learning.”
Dr. Erum Shahzad
Organization: Marcus High School Ninth Grade Campus, Flower Mound, TexasJob Title: Assistant Principal
“Dr. Erum Shahzad is an unparalleled Liberator! She has a calming leadership style which yields trust from myself and other educators when working with her. With this, we take risks in our work with students, bringing innovation to education in order to keep public school relevant to students and parents. Dr. Shahzad is adept at bringing out the best in others; I have flourished since working with her – starting a parent education program and even returning to college to pursue my principal certification. Her humble, trusting leadership style motivates others to be more than they ever knew they could be!”
Mark “Kaiser” Schmidt
Organization: United States Air ForceJob Title: Lieutenant Colonel, USAF
“Lt Col Mark ‘Kaiser’ Schmidt, USAF, is the epitome of a military Multiplier. As a commander, Kaiser created a positive work environment that questioned the status quo, welcomed bottom-up feedback, and purposely developed young leaders. His influence and leadership stretches the minds and capabilities of his people. As a Challenger, he seeks opportunities to grow others up and down his chain of command. The service’s top leaders now propagate his leader development program throughout the force.”
Click an Interview below to Read
2015 Winners
Michael Fishoff
Organization: Wilton Brands, LLC.Job Title: CFO, Wilton Brands
“Get to know Michael and what will surface about him very quickly is that he fosters a very productive work environment! Michael does not operate with an Org chart. His people don’t need permission to speak or think differently. His team generates an intensity that demands high-level work from all, but he also has a high tolerance for mistakes and understands the importance of “learning” along the way, creating mental spaces for everyone he interacts with to flourish. I have worked with a number of C level senior executives across my 30+ year career and Michael is the best I have seen at that level establishing an environment of safety while at the same time challenging people to bring their best. Michael uses humor to neutralize high stress situations to allow people to be transparent about both things that are going well and things that are presenting challenges.’”
Patricia Girardi
Organization: Redwood City School DistrictJob Title: Principal, RCSD
“Trish hires good people, deploys them where they can make their best contributions, and helps them find what they need for success. She shines a spotlight on the talent that she magnetically attracts to the school, giving ownership for end goals, challenging us to use our creativity and ingenuity in finding our way there. She creates an intense environment that requires our best thinking and work. API scores have increased, 119 points in 5 years. Her leadership has unlocked the genius in us all! Since she became Principal, Roosevelt has won the Russell J. Kent Award, 2009, 2012, and 2014, Boyajian Honored Teacher Award, 2011, PIA Hero Award 2010, SMCRA Celebrate Literacy Award, 2012, and in 2013, SMC Teacher of the Year, SMCRA Literacy Award, CSBA Golden Bell, and Biz World Champions.’”
2014 Winners
Susan Brown
Organization: Banana RepublicJob Title: VP of Stores, U.S., Banana Republic
“The retail industry is fast paced, high pressure and notorious for a Diminisher style of leadership; think “Devil Wears Prada.” Managers can be so passionate about the look of their stores, that they often fall into micro-manager mode; sometimes down to how to fold a sweater! For this reason, Susan stands out as a bright spot in how she leads. She is a true Liberator, allowing others the space to innovate and empowering people to ‘take the brakes off and allow them to go as fast as they can.’”
Judy Levinsohn
Organization: Orange County Department of EducationJob Title: Manager of the Institute for Leadership Development
“Judy exemplifies the Multiplier mindset in all of the five disciplines, however, she most exemplifies the challenger. Judy assumes that everyone who works with her is smart and welcomes a challenge. She goes through her day seeding opportunities for us to nurture and grow. We are driven to excellence by the confidence she shows in our abilities. Judy ensures that we know where we are headed and then she stands back and cheers us to victory. Judy challenges us to exceed expectations.”
2013 Winners
Karin Hurt
Organization: Verizon WirelessJob Title: Executive Director, Strategic Partnerships Channel
Karin exemplifies the liberator and investor characteristics in both her professional and personal environment. Two years ago, Karin was recruited to lead the outsource strategy for her company. This role was stacked with challenges from poor results, low morale, and split perceptions of outsourcing to a lack of internal talent to impact change. Karin was the defining change that the organization required. What makes Karin a multiplier is her natural, authentic leadership. Karin believes that people should “skip to work.” She encourages this belief with her high, positive energy. Her energy invites creativity, and innovation and communicates that everyone’s contribution is important. Every idea that was presented to Karin was acknowledged and considered, and many of them were piloted or implemented.
Alyssa Gallagher
Organization: Los Altos School DistrictJob Title: Director
Alyssa Gallagher is a Multiplier in every sense of the concept. Alyssa works with her colleagues to help them understand they can accomplish far beyond initial expectations. She instinctively employs many of the approaches of a true leader and enables others to succeed. She deftly asks the right questions to assist leaders in our school district. There has never been a colleague with whom I have appreciated and enjoyed working more than Alyssa. It’s truly magical.
2012 Winners
Casey Lehner
Organization: NikeTitle: Global Design Ops Director
Casey Lehner is the Global Design Operations Director for Nike, the world’s leading innovator in athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. She leads a team of Design Studio Managers as they shepherd and coach design teams to achieve a high level of productivity, creativity and innovation. Casey believes that healthy, high functioning teams bring forth break-through ideas. Good ideas can change the world. Casey is a shining example of a Multiplier at work. Amanda Shebiel, the Design Studio Director who nominated Casey, says, “Casey is smart, clear and concise, caring and empathetic, and the first to tell her direct reports that we’re smart and capable. She is solution-oriented, and sees an opportunity in every challenge. Casey empowers us to lean into the tension, take risks and iterate. Because she believes we are capable, we believe we are capable.”
Erik Burmeister
Organization: Hillview Middle School, Menlo Park CaliforniaJob Title: Principal
Erik Burmeister, principal of the Hillview Middle School in Menlo Park, was honored as the 2012 Education Multiplier of the Year in recognition of his ability to amplify the intelligence and capabilities of people around him. Erik’s leadership style reflects the key Multiplier principal of being a “genius maker” by tapping into the collective intelligence of the teachers and staff to create a nimble organization and environment of innovation.
