The Cookie-Cutter Approach
Our sense of efficiency and common sense often takes us to an approach that says, “let’s do the same thing for everyone. It will be fast, easy, and fair.” It’s undoubtedly logical and how most leaders and organizations have operated until recent history. We want to share a set of outcomes or directions and expect everyone to do the work precisely the same. If you’re building a product, you want each person to follow the same design specs and end up with the identical product, but that doesn’t mean there’s a one-size-fits-all approach to leading the team to that prescribed outcome. A cookie-cutter approach to motivating the team members will not get you to the optimal impact.
The cookie-cutter approach doesn’t work because we’re not all the same. We don’t all show up with the same experiences; we don’t all share the same personality traits; we aren’t all motivated by the same things; and we don’t all think and solve problems the same way. These nuances are what make teams high-performing if the diversity is harnessed. But, if a leader chooses to take the cookie-cutter approach, they’re likely not getting the best from the team. Optimally, you want to share the desired outcome, any specific requirements and then provide the autonomy for the team member to achieve the result that best aligns with their way of working. Let individuals use their unique creativity to solve problems.
We’ve seen a trend for the past several years, and what got more momentum in this post-environment is that employees expect more from their employers. They expect more individualized strategies for their careers. Talking about a standard career path is no longer relevant in many industries. The conversation must be about the experiences someone wants to have, not what most people choose to do. In many industries, people take very different routes to get to the same position, thus demonstrating that there’s no unique path. There might be a set of standard capabilities or experiences that qualified candidates have, but they all didn’t get the same degree or have the same jobs or adopt the same working methods. The cookie-cutter approach won’t work for guiding careers.
The role of the leader is not to share a single path, but instead to first understand:
how team members define their aspirations,
what factors are most important to them,
where they demonstrate differentiated capabilities, and
what success means to them
With those insights, the leader can help chart the set of experiences with their team members to meet those requirements.
When leading your team, it may seem faster to take the cookie-cutter approach in the short term, but you won’t get the optimal outcome. Your job as a leader will be easier if your team members are all working in a way that maximizes their capabilities. It may take an upfront investment to understand them, but the investment will be well worth it.