Growth is hand-crafted, not mass-produced. What would make a mouse fat, would starve an elephant.  I  heard this phrase last week, and the visual stuck with me of a rotund mouse next to an emaciated elephant.  Of course we all know that a mouse and elephant require differing amounts of nourishment to survive.  To provide a one size fits all feeding bowl would seem ludicrous. 

Why then, do so many people try and provide a ‘one-size fits all’ solution when developing leaders?  Growth is indeed hand-crafted.  The day after I heard this statement, I saw this on the auto-signature of a woman I am coaching who leads a non-profit organization: If we're growing, we're always going to be out of our comfort zone.” (John Maxwell).

We should always be outside of our comfort zone – as leaders and as individuals, professionally and personally, at work and at home. If we aren’t outside our comfort zone, we aren’t growing, and stale water stinks!

One dimension in our ISHR Group Leadership Model (http://www.ishrgroup.com/hr-leadership-consulting/the-ishr-leadership-model) is maturity.  When we assess global leaders, this competency falls into the ‘differentiator’ category.  In other words, it sets great leaders apart from good leaders.  It makes a difference.  We don’t assume all leaders possess this; it’s not a given. We define maturity in leadership as being comfortable with one’s own style, strengths and development areas (in other words, being aware of your own strengths and development opportunities … owning mistakes … being self-confident and authentic). Maturity is hand-crafted, not mass-produced.  What works for one leader in terms of being comfortable in one’s own style does not work for the next leader.  Too often we see emerging leaders trying to emulate leaders whom they admire, yet their natural styles are so dramatically different that the end result ends up backfiring.  We coach leaders that it is only when they leverage their natural style and talents, that they will develop a hand-crafted leadership style that is just right for them.

What about you?  Are you hand-crafted, or mass-produced?  Are you recognizing and leveraging your differences, or trying to be like someone else?  Are you motivating the people you work with, peers on your team, family members, based on their unique hand-crafted abilities, or are you using the same approach with everyone?  Think about it!  Are you making the mouse fat, and starving the elephant?