“The institutions, conventions, customs and laws that make up the complex structure of a society are the work of a hundred centuries and a billion minds; and one mind must not expect to comprehend them in one lifetime, much less in twenty years.”
~Will Durant, writer and historian
With respect to the hamburger chain jingle, VIM Executive Coaching has recently noted customized, made-to-order “solutions” for everything from streaming services to injectable medications to (certainly) coffee drinks and jeans. For the right price, most everything is customizable. Having it our way is big business.
The bitter illusion
Within the illusion of the made-to-order solution, are certain boundaries, of course. Even the hamburger chain was not about to source organically-grown onions from Slovenia for their customers in Osh Kosh, nor was any physician about to allow modified weight reduction drugs that used untested supplements.
For, as the historian points out in the quote, most customizable solutions are truly variations of methods and approaches that have been carefully studied and refined over time.
For example, we may be under the illusion that a customized management approach (complete with podcasts, expensive tutorials and motivational speakers) is an innovative breakthrough and even an homage to AI, while it turns out to be a system originally developed by an obscure British Duke in 1820.
Bespoke executive leadership solutions sound good when advanced by consultants in tailor-made clothing. After all, a $1,200 custom-made silk suit is proof the advisor knows what she is talking about, right? Were it all that simple.
Doing the work
Behind the complexity of executive leadership approaches is the reality that the most effective of those approaches requires work. “Work” is not a prospect that many potential leaders necessarily wish to embrace. Customization is a swell concept however, whether we are talking of a unique finish on a sleek sedan or an executive treasured for their people skills and leadership styles, it takes a deceptively huge amount of work to arrive at those destinations.
There have been, and will be, numerous approaches to leadership. Whole industries have been devoted to certain styles of management, all seemingly customized, that inevitably seem to collide into sameness. There are no simple detours around doing the work.
“Work” in terms of executive skills does not have to be laborious or painful, but it must be honest and introspective. The more honest and introspective the journey, the more mindful it becomes. The mindfulness journey is quiet and deliberate, and it inevitably arrives at authenticity.
Who cares about authenticity?
An expensive keynote speaker hammering on, or dancing around a podium, offers “the way.” At the end of the expensive speech, we have attendees with glazed looks, wondering what it is they have heard. They may have attended because they thought the speaker might be offering a customized approach, when in fact, it offered little difference from the speech by another expert the week prior.
The worse part about such customized solutions, in our opinion, are those who are thinking “That’s just not me,” while the motivational speaker and their customized tools, push back saying, “If you don’t get how good this approach is, it is your fault.”
The authentic executive leader is authentic within themselves. They get to the point where they know who they are and how best to assess a situation and to respond to that situation with mindfulness and compassion. Yes, an introverted, methodical person can be every bit as effective an executive leader as a flamboyant and bold person. Sometimes, more effective.
The customization of the making of an effective executive leader is not in the frills but in the mindset and purpose. In truth, there are many people who believe in the exterior, bragging rights of customization rather than understanding that what is inside matters more. There is no amount of fake customization as good as the basic, real thing.