As I sawed the wingtips off my chicken wings, I looked down at my knife and realized, this is a cleaver.

It’s built to chop, not saw.

So, I took careful consideration with my fingers, separated the wingtips a bit, and chop!

So much easier than sawing.

Thanks to my sister-in-law, Paula Sue, for the fantastic gift, which I have used countless times to saw. I guess she shouldn’t have given the gift without private lessons on how to use it.

I shared this story with my daughter and she said, “You’re going to make a blog post of this, aren’t you?”

Yep.

Because this early morning wing chopping knife event is a great metaphor on leadership.

Leadership Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All

Too many business leaders, pastors, and parents treat everyone entrusted to their care as the same tool.

Not everyone is a cleaver. Some people are butter knives. Others are bread or carving knives, while many people aren’t knives at all. Yet too many leaders never bother to learn who their people really are — what they were made for, how they work best, what motivates them.

People are different.

Think different.

Work different.

Behave different.

React different.

Speak different.

Create different.

Adapt different.

Understanding Everyone’s Motivation

I’ve worked with someone who can keep her nose to the grindstone making widgets 24/7 without an ounce of encouragement.

Me?

I’m an old rusty Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck.

I need oil every 2500 miles to keep running efficiently. But do that and I’ll haul for you day and night without sleep.

Money’s secondary.

Being validated, confirmed that my efforts and work product are good, and appreciated is primary.

The greatest leadership lesson I ever experienced came at just 12 years old during Little League baseball. When a last-minute replacement coach stepped in, he exemplified five essential leadership qualities that every leader should embrace.

Over 45 years later, I’m still waiting for someone to top this man—someone who understood that we all have unique motivational triggers.

Everyone Is Wired Differently

Is this a sign of weakness or immaturity? As a grown man, am I stupid to admit these things?

Yeah, it may be dangerous and ill-advised to admit this quality trait, but the feelings are valid. God either wired me this way or life events shaped me – probably both. Some men could’ve been raised in the same environment with the same circumstances and adapted in a completely different way.

Because God built them differently.

There it is again. People are different.

People Are the Reason for Your Success

All leaders – business, ministry, education, sports, politics, military, family, nonprofits, and community – are driving toward their definitions of success.

Profits. Wins. Conversions. Growth.

They have metrics that measure their progress.

What some leaders forget as they focus on the end results is that their people are the machine that make success possible.

And every machine needs grease.

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