Last week, I was leading a seminar for a group of Chinese journalists for a leading Asian financial newspaper. They had come to the U.S.A. to spend a week and a half learning about the journalism business here.

A large part of the conversation involved the differences between how leadership is practiced in the U.S. and China. They identified two differences they recognized immediately.

First, leaders in China pay far more attention to the nature of their personal relationships than we do here. They said that they have to be constantly aware of and concerned with the nuances and complexities of their relationships.

Second, they said that whereas most Americans believe in God, they don't. The frequent religious references here don't exist there. This leads to a practical focus on what they can do today without allusions to divine or deferred destiny.

Despite these differences, there were also similarities. The most obvious one was that they struggle with many of the same questions and issues that I've seen in leadership development programs across the U.S. For example:

How do I deal with concerns and complaints about salary, especially, when it appears that there are differences in compensation plans between groups in the same business?

How do I resolve the conflicts between departments within the business?

How do I establish a common culture and way of doing things when we're growing so fast that we don't have the time to bring people together?

I was able, over time, to work with them to address many of their questions and to provide specific solutions to their problems. Creating a viable and practical leadership development program for them required the same basic approach I use with other clients.

Recognize that every organization, like every country, is different and needs to have programs that take their distinctiveness into consideration. There are no off-the-shelf management development programs that work without modifications.

Focus on practical solutions to real world issues they can apply tomorrow. Theoretical or conceptual approaches don't stick.

Leaders are unique - they're all different. Helping them learn to lead requires an understanding of what makes them tick (their driving principle) and where they are in their quest to become a leader.

This approach has worked with such recent and current clients as ExxonMobil, SRA, State Farm, AARP, the International Center for Journalists (for whom I did the work with the Chinese journalists noted above), and the Alexandria City Public Schools. Contact me if you want help in building a leadership development program that addresses your particular needs. I can be reached at 703-303-7261 or archie@archietinelli.com.

Having just returned from a month in Greece, the cultural and leadership differences between these two countries leap to my mind. In Greece, life is lived communally in the outside spaces of the towns and cities. No matter where you are, people are walking along (or often in) the streets, having coffee or an ouzo in sidewalk cafes, and eating dinner outside in tavernas.

Here, we spend our lives in cars, offices, and homes - the communal sense that is so obvious and attractive about Greece and other European countries doesn't exist here to a large extent. We're more individual and independent. We've lost a lot of the communal spirit and energy that we once had. For more about the loss of social capital read, Bowling Alone, by Robert Putnam.

These differences have historical roots. In ancient Greece, life was lived in the common spaces of Athens and all the decisions were made in public by the citizens who were actively engaged in decisions affecting all facets of their lives. In America, we thrived and grew, in part, because of the rugged individualism and pioneering spirit that enabled us to build a new country through personal effort.

These cultural differences impact leadership. Like the driving principles I've described in earlier newsletters, cultural differences shape our leadership. Here, leaders are expected to be strong and independent, whereas in Greece, there is much more public dialogue and debate than here.

Last week, my mother died. As a part of the grieving process, I have been reviewing her impact on my life. She is, for me, a lasting reminder of the importance of living a life of optimism, freedom and courage. Despite being losing her father when she was four, her husband at 43, and her sight later in life, she never once complained and always achieved what she set out to do. She stands as a beacon of how life should be lived.

We all, as leaders, have learned from people who have shaped our lives and our careers in ways we can never repay. It may be parents, or coaches and teachers, or certain bosses, or others, too. The list is as long and diverse as the people in our lives.

Leaders are made, partly, by following the examples and lessons of those who have had an impact on our lives. We need to be thankful for what they've taught us.