Workplace Multiplier by Tola Akinsulire

April 9, 2026

Welcome to the Workplace Multiplier newsletter. Published Monday to Friday, equipping you to achieve your professional goals faster and without burnout or overwhelm.

This question will change how you lead people

Howdy ,

I promised you a question yesterday.

Here it is:

When this person struggles, is my first instinct to fix them - or to fix how I am leading them?

That is it.

One question. But the answer will tell you everything about whether you are leading someone or just managing around them.

Here is how to use it.

Think of someone on your team who is not delivering at the level you need.

Now answer honestly:

When they fall short, where does your mind go first?

If your mind goes to them - you are in assessment mode. You are building a case. Consciously or not, you are collecting evidence that the problem is the person. That path ends in one place: removal or tolerance. Neither builds a team.

If your mind goes to you - you are in leadership mode. You are asking what they need that they are not getting. What you assumed they understood that you never actually communicated. What environment you built that may be working against them rather than for them.

Most leaders live in the first mode and call it accountability.

The best leaders learn to start in the second mode - and move to the first only after they have genuinely exhausted it.

That is not softness.

That is rigour applied in the right direction.

The woman I told you about on Wednesday? I didn’t go with my first instinct to push harder when she pushed back. To assert authority. To make the dynamic clear.

I asked a version of that question before I knew it was a question worth asking.

It changed everything between us.

It will change things for you too…if you are willing to sit with the discomfort of an honest answer.

Try it today.

Pick one person. Ask the question. See where it takes you.

And if what comes up is bigger than one question can hold - reply to this email. That is exactly the kind of conversation I have with leaders every week.

Keep winning at work and in life,

Tola Akinsulire

Your Strategic Workplace Mentor