The Unexpected Leader

2The Nuances of Leadership

Humans are far from simple.

Our stark and distinct differences in background, preferences, experiences, and desires make us naturally multifaceted. Here are some other humanoid facts that make the 7.5 billion people in the world unique and nuanced:

• Over 4,300 different religions exist.
• There are over 650 ethnic groups across 190 countries.
• There are roughly 6,500 languages spoken in the world.
• There are 16 different personality types that someone can embody.
• There are 5 racial categories.

The way that humans exist organically means that the way that we develop, connect, grow, and elevate must also have a bit of complexity to it, even a healthy dose of nuance.

But nuances complicate things. Wouldn't it be easier if leadership was as simple as 1 + 1? Wouldn't it be easier if the steps, processes, and formulas to lead were always laid out perfectly and worked in every single situation, every single time?

Well, is simplicity really what we aspire to and desire?

Many of us end up with a level of simplicity in our lives and then we crave the one thing that we don't think we want, but we do. We could call this a craving for variation, differences, uniqueness, and/or change. To keep us all on the same page, let's call it nuance, which essentially means a subtle difference in something.

I want you to take a small mental trip into your closet where your shoes live. You may be visualizing several pairs of shoes, many of which are the same color and similar ...