The idea
Expertise can create an odd trap. The more quickly you solve a problem, the less reason everyone else has to wrestle with it. Your answer may be good, but the team learns to wait for you. Over time, one capable person accidentally becomes a ceiling on the whole group.
A multiplying leader changes the unit of success. Instead of asking, “Did I have the best answer?” ask, “Did we use the best thinking available?” That still permits expertise. The difference is when and how you spend it.
Make it concrete
A production incident begins, and the senior engineer recognizes the likely cause. Rather than immediately taking the keyboard, she asks two teammates to state what the evidence suggests and what they would test first. She adds one overlooked constraint, lets an engineer run the diagnosis, and remains accountable for the outcome. The incident gets fixed, and the team gains another capable responder.
Watch the wake you leave
After you speak, do people build on the idea—or simply agree and stop? Do people bring you unfinished thinking, or only requests for answers? These signals reveal whether your presence expands contribution or quietly compresses it.
Try it
In your next meeting, wait until two other people have offered a view before sharing yours. Notice whether the final answer contains something that would otherwise have remained hidden.