One leadership style does not fit all.

There are great leaders and terrible ones. There are leaders that are great for one person and terrible for another.

Some people require a lot of coaching and positive reinforcement to feel fulfilled. Hands on leaders are great for those folks. Hands off leaders make them feel siloed.

Others prefer to be given their assignments and then left alone to accomplish them. Hands on leaders make those workers feel suffocated. Hands off leaders make them feel like they’re being trusted to do their jobs.

Then there are the amazing leaders. The ones who identify employee personality and work traits quickly and adapt their management style to meet employee needs, and support their professional growth.

You can’t lead a team of people in one concrete unbending way, unless you want to wind up with a set of clones. You need a team of people who think and work in a variety of different ways to make the best possible products. In the design industry this is especially important because lack of diversity often leads to products that only cater to a subset of what could otherwise be your core audience.

I’ve been fortunate enough to work for a series of amazing leaders in my life, including my current VP.