This is an important lesson that many managers and leaders need to know. Every time you reduce the differences of your people and have them work alike or have the same mindset, you weaken their creativity and natural flow.
Moreover, making employees feel less motivated and less energetic in producing needed output. The differences of people are what makes us have innovative ideas and the production of great results.

Avoid Trying to "Mold" People

By allowing your people to flamboyantly display their differences you show other people that you are:
<ol>
<li>Not afraid of letting other people's capabilities and talents grow; and</li>
<li>You are confident in yourself, enough, to not be threatened by other people succeeding.</li>
</ol>
As leaders, producing leaders from a group is a great achievement and an honor to have. It means that we are successful in creating a framework that makes everyone produce great outputs and that we are open to the uniqueness of others.

Confident Leaders

<img width="720" height="471" src="https://i2.wp.com/dariusforoux.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/leadership-lesson.png?resize=720%2C471&amp;ssl=1" alt="leadership lesson" srcset="https://i2.wp.com/dariusforoux.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/leadership-lesson.png?resize=720%2C471&amp;ssl=1 720w, https://i2.wp.com/dariusforoux.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/leadership-lesson.png?zoom=2&amp;resize=720%2C471&amp;ssl=1 1440w"><div> 2 min read</div>This is the biggest leadership lesson I’ve learned: Avoid trying to “mold” people.Managers and leaders often talk about “getting everyone on the same page”. While they think that it is more productive if everyone works in the same way, the opposite is true. The real reason managers and whole companies try to get everybody on the same page are because they are weak and afraid. They think that molding everyone into a set of company values and processes will create a unified army of workers. This way of thinking is advocated by many managers. They believe that people will work better when they are more alike.By trying to make everything and work alike, you weaken the differences between people. And very often, the differences between people lead to great results. <a href="https://dariusforoux.com/creative-thinking/" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="By decreasing differences between people, you also kill creativity and natural flow (opens in a new tab)" dir="ltr">By decreasing differences between people, you also kill creativity and natural flow</a>. The feeling that you have to work in a described way by your manager, makes most of us less motivated.Leadership lessons show us that the real danger is that when you try to turn people into something they are not, they bring less energy and motivation to the task. Initially, people might be enthusiastic about a new direction. You see this effect often with new managers, they believe that their strategy is working. Which is true, but it will not last.Instead of molding people into something you want them to be, relax and open up to people’s unique visions. As a leader, you can offer your people a framework so they can do their job. For instance, Steve Jobs wasn’t afraid to let Jony Ive flourish. And Jony Ive became one of the most important people at Apple.<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1422157970/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=dariusforoux-20&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=1422157970&amp;linkId=0147c4b4c39098b5788de0c99de6ae23" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Everyone has to be a leader sooner or later. (opens in a new tab)" data-amzn-asin="1422157970" dir="ltr">Everyone has to be a leader sooner or later.</a> Think of small projects you might have to lead with a handful of people That is enough to demonstrate your leadership. By not being afraid of people’s capabilities and talents, you can let them excel in what they do. This will ultimately lead to better results.<h1>Want to improve your life and career?</h1>I'm continually researching ways we can effectively optimize our lives and careers. Join my insiders list to get my latest and most exclusive tips. I’ll also send you my Growth Kit, a bundle of 6 useful resources.<div data-element="fields" data-stacked="false"><button data-element="submit">JOIN NOW</button></div><img alt="🔒" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/svg/1f512.svg" width="13" height="13"> I value your privacy. 1-click unsubscribe.

This is the biggest leadership lesson I've learned: Avoid trying to "mold" people. Every person is different. We can't ignore that.

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This is the biggest leadership lesson I’ve learned: Avoid trying to “mold” people.

Managers and leaders often talk about “getting everyone on the same page”. While they think that it is more productive if everyone works in the same way, the opposite is true. The real reason managers and whole companies try to get everybody on the same page are because they are weak and afraid. They think that molding everyone into a set of company values and processes will create a unified army of workers. This way of thinking is advocated by many managers. They believe that people will work better when they are more alike.

By trying to make everything and work alike, you weaken the differences between people. And very often, the differences between people lead to great results. <a aria-label="By decreasing differences between people, you also kill creativity and natural flow (opens in a new tab)" dir="ltr" href="https://dariusforoux.com/creative-thinking/" rel="noreferrer noopener">By decreasing differences between people, you also kill creativity and natural flow </a>. The feeling that you have to work in a described way by your manager, makes most of us less motivated.

Leadership lessons show us that the real danger is that when you try to turn people into something they are not, they bring less energy and motivation to the task. Initially, people might be enthusiastic about a new direction. You see this effect often with new managers, they believe that their strategy is working. Which is true, but it will not last.

Instead of molding people into something you want them to be, relax and open up to people’s unique visions. As a leader, you can offer your people a framework so they can do their job. For instance, Steve Jobs wasn’t afraid to let Jony Ive flourish. And Jony Ive became one of the most important people at Apple.

<a aria-label="Everyone has to be a leader sooner or later. (opens in a new tab)" data-amzn-asin="1422157970" dir="ltr" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1422157970/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=dariusforoux-20&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=1422157970&amp;linkId=0147c4b4c39098b5788de0c99de6ae23" rel="noreferrer noopener">Everyone has to be a leader sooner or later. </a>Think of small projects you might have to lead with a handful of people That is enough to demonstrate your leadership. By not being afraid of people’s capabilities and talents, you can let them excel in what they do. This will ultimately lead to better results.

I'm continually researching ways we can effectively optimize our lives and careers. Join my insiders list to get my latest and most exclusive tips. I’ll also send you my Growth Kit , a bundle of 6 useful resources.

I value your privacy. 1-click unsubscribe.

Leadership Lesson: Accept That People Are Different - Darius Foroux

Avoid Trying to "Mold" People

Confident Leaders

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