Workplace Multiplier by Tola Akinsulire

January 20, 2026

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

When Too Many Hands Kill Great Work

Howdy ,

I’d like to take you on a quick musical journey.

The 2026 Grammy song of the year nominations have dropped.

And they're proof that something fundamental has broken in how we create.

Let me explain what I mean with a bit of history.

The 1984 Lineup Song of the Year nominees included Michael Jackson's Beat It and Billie Jean. Sting's Every Breath You Take. Lionel Richie's All Night Long.

Each written by one person. The only song written by two people was "Maniac" by Michael Sembello & Dennis Matkosky.

Forty-two years later? Those songs still get streamed by new generations.

The 2026 Reality

This year's nominees?

Rosé and Bruno Mars's APT took 11 writers. Kendrick Lamar and SZA's Luther took 10. Most don't even create original melodies. They sample or borrow from older hits.

Doechii's Anxiety uses the melody from Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know... which itself used the melody from a Luiz Bonfá 1967 song Seville. Yep, took the melody and added her lyrics.

Derivative work built on derivative work.

Music critic Rick Beato asks the question bluntly: Will anyone remember these songs in three years, let alone forty?

Probably not.

Why This Matters to You

What killed memorable songwriting isn't lack of talent.

It's collaboration dilution.

When 11 people write a song, no one's singular vision survives. Every sharp edge gets smoothed. Every distinctive choice gets negotiated into something safer, more palatable, more forgettable.

You get consensus, not craft.

Now look at your workplace.

How many people review your proposal before it ships? How many stakeholders weigh in on your strategy? How many rounds of "alignment" does your presentation go through?

Each input sounds reasonable in isolation.

"Let's just get Finance's perspective."

"We should loop in Marketing."

"Can Legal take a quick look?"

But the cumulative effect is the same as those 11-writer Grammy songs.

Your best work gets committee'd into competence.

This is one of the reasons why I sometimes tell team members who send me something they work on for my review to send it out. Without any additional review from me.

Because I want to train to be confident of their ability to produce great work. Especially after I have taken the time to train them to do great work.

The Real Cost

High performers don't worry about getting fired.

You should worry about becoming forgettable.

You know you're capable of standout work. The kind that gets remembered, that advances your career, that positions you differently.

But when every project runs through the collaboration gauntlet, your distinctive thinking gets diluted into team consensus.

No, I am not telling you to refuse to work together with others. But do you really need them to tell you if what you did hits the spot, every time?

Sometimes, it’s your simple way to protect yourself. “Let them blame us instead of just me.”

And you give in to the collective.

The proposal that would have repositioned your division becomes "a solid recommendation."

The strategy that would have been visionary becomes "well-balanced."

The presentation that would have changed how leadership sees you becomes "a good overview."

You're not failing. You're being made generic.

I am sure you already know that my posts sound different from everyone else. I also write like this at work.

Yep. In a typical “business-like” workplace, I write this way to be memorable and stand out in a way that is uniquely me.

I even talk like this too.

And that’s the same way I deliver great work.

The Pattern You Need to See

Collaboration dilution follows a predictable pattern:

Original thinking gets replaced by "best practices" borrowed from elsewhere. The workplace equivalent of sampling someone else's melody instead of writing your own.

Bold proposals get negotiated into incremental improvements. Every stakeholder shaving off the edges until what remains is safe but unmemorable.

Your distinctive voice gets edited into corporate speak. 11 people polishing your email until it sounds like it came from no one.

The work gets done. Projects ship. Metrics get hit.

But nothing stands out.

Including you.

Here's the Truth

This happens so gradually you don't notice.

You think you're being collaborative. Inclusive. A team player.

You are.

But you're also letting the committee smooth away the very qualities that would make you irreplaceable.

The difference between forgettable and unforgettable isn't talent.

It's knowing exactly when collaboration multiplies your impact and when it dilutes it. When to invite input and when to protect the vision. How to build the conditions where your distinctive work can survive contact with organizational reality.

Your Action Step This Week

Pick one project where you're doing your best work.

Before you send it for "feedback," ask yourself: Does this input make it better, or just more acceptable?

If it's the second one, don't send it.

Ready to Go Deeper?

If you're tired of watching collaboration dilute your best work, and you're ready to produce the 2-3 standout results that fundamentally change how you're positioned, let's talk about what that looks like over the next 90 days. Just reply this email with the word “STAND OUT”

Because 40 years from now, no one remembers the committee.

They remember the vision that refused to get watered down.

You don’t believe me? Just ask the 1984 Grammy song of the year nominations list.

As always, keep winning at work and in life.

Tola Akinsulire

Your Strategic Workplace Mentor