I was in Italy for part of April. And, odd as it may sound, Italian food makes me think of leadership. In particular, the variety and distinctiveness of the food contribute to an overall quality that is a treasure to taste.

Each region and each town is different. The food in Verona (northern Italy) is different from what you get in Bari (southeastern Italy). The ingredients and the recipes vary significantly according to what is grown locally, what is in season, and to traditions and customs.

One day, on the island of Murano near Venice, we had a lunch that included a variety of freshly caught fish from the Adriatic in an exquisite antipasto. This was followed by an incomparable linguini and crab (granceola) that used locally grown tomatoes as the base for the sauce. The local and fresh ingredients, plus the sophistication of the recipes, made for a meal that couldn't be had elsewhere.

Variety and distinctiveness matter in leadership, too. A once- size-fits-all approach to leadership development creates the unrealistic and unworkable expectation that leadership is the same for everyone. Not so. Leadership is highly individualistic and dependent upon circumstance. Leadership, like Italian food, should be varied and distinctive.

Good leaders are not cut from the same mold. They use their natural talents, personalities, beliefs, and drive as the basis for their leadership.

A few examples.

Several leaders I know had it hard as children. Their families did not have much money. They decided, early on, to work hard to be successful. Their internal drive has shaped their careers by providing the motivation to propel them ahead. Despite the success they have achieved, they cannot stop pushing ahead. Their drive is just one of their distinguishing features.

Another leader I know started out working in the family retail store where his father taught him to "take care of others first and they will take care of you." He has lived by that motto throughout his career. It marked him as different and earned him the undying loyalty and admiration of employees, suppliers, and colleagues alike.

One other leader is impatient. It's been a characteristic of hers since she was a child. Now, as the leader of a large firm, she's still impatient and uses that to drive the business forward. Her personality has influenced her style of leadership.

One of the younger entrepreneurs that I know has a strong belief in both exercise and community service. In his firm, it's expected that everyone will volunteer somewhere in the community once a month. And, they organize a wide range of athletic and exercise events for the staff to participate in. These activities reflect his beliefs and differentiate his leadership from others.

These leaders are not cut from the same mold. The variety and distinctiveness of their leadership is a reflection of who they are as people.

There is another lesson to be learned about leadership from Italian food - it concerns pride and place. No matter where you go in Italy, the people are (rightfully) proud of their food. They know how it's different from other places and they relish and celebrate those differences. Their pride is based on distinctiveness, not arrogance. I heard an Italian from Bari say, "Well, we don't cook like they do in the rest of Italy, we use cecce (chickpeas) here. You know you're in Bari, if you get cecce."

The best leaders are confident of their ability to lead. That confidence results, in part, from knowing who they are and what they are able to do. They recognize and rely on their personal and unique practice of leadership - they don't try to become someone else.

I marvel at the wonderful variety and sophistication of Italian food. Every town, every region, and every little restaurant brings another delicious surprise. I look forward to the day when every leader relishes his or her own distinctive leadership with the same sense of pride as Italians do their food.

What about you? What makes your leadership unique?

I have some olive trees in Greece and decided to ship some of the oil back to the U.S. to share with friends and business colleagues. Takis, the Greek who shipped the oil from his small shop near the bus station in Kalamata, wouldn't take any money from me until the oil arrived here. He said, "Money is not as important as keeping customers and I keep customers if they trust me. I don't want to take your money, I want you to give it to me."

It's easy, in our society, to make money, if all we want to do is take people's money. It's a lot more difficult, and Takis would argue more important, to earn people's trust.

Leaders have the responsibility to build trust with customers as well as others. In what ways have you helped to build trust with the people important to your work?

Charles De Gaulle, former President of France, once said, "Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back on himself. He imposes his own stamp of action, takes responsibility for it, makes it his own."

Leaders are, or ought to be, men and women of character whose basic nature arises when things get tough. They step forward to lead others through the difficulty. History is filled with stories of leaders who took charge when leadership was needed: De Gaulle and Churchill during WWII, FDR during the depression, Lincoln during the Civil War, Washington during the American Revolution.

In every case, they didn't have to search for the resolve, insight, and vision required. It came naturally to them. They were leaders with character. They faced the crisis and put their stamp on it.

Are you ready for the crisis that may loom ahead in your work? Will your character enable you to face it bravely, make it your own, and take responsibility for it?

email: archie@archietinelli.com archie@archietinelli.com