Leading Individuals

I believe that the best way to lead people is by understanding them, what motivates and demotivates them, what constraints they operate under (e.g. time, location) and how they prefer to communicate. Every person is unique, and while tailoring your leadership approach to each individual takes more effort than applying a one-size-fits-all model, it ultimately leads to more engaged, fulfilled team members and better outcomes.

Great leadership also means identifying what motivates someone and aligning that with the work that needs to be done. When a person’s interests and strengths align with their tasks, productivity and job satisfaction both increase. Not every task can be passion-driven, but leaders should make a conscious effort to route work in a way that fosters engagement, whether it’s leveraging someone’s domain expertise, or giving them opportunities to grow in areas they want to develop.

One-on-ones should reflect the preferences of the team member, not the leader. Do they prefer a structured agenda or a free-flowing conversation? Do they want to focus on solving problems, understanding processes, navigating team dynamics, or simply building connection and trust? Of course, there are core outcomes that leaders need to drive, like tracking career development goals and giving and receiving feedback, but the format can be tailored.

Some might argue that tailoring your leadership style to each individual doesn’t scale. But in practice, investing time upfront to understand your team members builds trust, psychological safety, and clarity. These foundations enable greater autonomy, reduce the need for constant oversight and allow people to operate more independently and effectively. As a result the team becomes more resilient, self-managing and aligned, making the leader’s job easier, not harder, over time. Scaling isn’t about standardising people, it’s about standardising principles and culture, while flexing your approach to the humans you’re leading.

Another aspect to leading indivduals is the concept of “balconies and basements”, a way to think about how someone’s strengths can also become their weaknesses, depending on context. For example, an engineer passionate about their craft might operate from the balcony when they’re delivering high-quality, maintainable code. But that same passion can lead to a basement: over-engineering, perfectionism, or losing sight of the broader business outcome. Recognising both the light and shadow of a strength allows leaders to coach more effectively and with empathy.

Ultimately, leadership isn’t about driving uniformity, it’s about embracing individual differences and helping people do their best work in a way that’s sustainable and meaningful for them.