How often have you found yourself thinking, when you've read a book on leadership or heard a famous leader talk, "That's interesting, but it doesn't apply to my situation."

Most of the leaders I know realize there is no magic bullet, no guaranteed methodology or approach, and no surefire way to ensure success. And yet, many authors and successful leaders persistently provide specific recommendations for what other leaders should do.

The dilemma lies in the disconnect between the advice and situation. Imagine going to your doctor and asking what you should do to become healthier and the doctor immediately tells you what to do without ever conducting a full examination to ensure that his or her advice fits your physical situation. The advice will miss the mark.

As Tip O'Neill said, "All politics is local." So, too, is leadership. Three areas distinguish one leader's situation from another's and demonstrate how leadership is local.

The first area is the organization being led. Jackie was hired to drive the same kind of growth in the new business that she had achieved before. The problem was that she failed to recognize how the two organizations were different.

The new business was older, more accustomed to lengthy and detailed planning, and unused to taking risks or investing in untried ventures. She tried the same approaches that had worked for her in the dynamic, entrepreneurial company she had come from. Her efforts to expand the budget for new initiatives and rapidly implement new procedures fell flat. She left after only 16 months, complaining about a culture that was stuck in the past and unable to adapt to the new reality.

Jackie is just one of many executives who, when they are brought in from the outside, struggle because they fail to take into consideration the culture, values, processes and procedures, history, resources, and goals and expectations of the business. To ignore these differences is to doom any leadership effort. Jackie recognized that too late.

The second area is the staff you are leading. Helmut had come up through the sales and marketing departments, to become COO. His success was built on his collaborative leadership and hands-on approach, which kept him fully and actively engaged with his staff. The staff he inherited, however, was used to working independently to fulfill expectations set out in detailed performance metrics. They relished their independence and personal autonomy.

It took Helmut nearly a year before he realized the problem and adjusted his approach to fit the situation - he stepped off the throttle and learned to manage the staff by setting clear goals and expectations, providing individual feedback on performance, and holding them personally accountable for specific results. Only after modifying his approach to take these differences into consideration was Helmut able to maintain and build on the performance of the department.

The third area is the leader as an individual. No two leaders are alike - they have different experiences, education, abilities, attributes, skills, personalities, and intellect. Each leader has a unique style and approach.

The problem is that what works for me may not work for you. Billie and Aaron had contrasting styles and behaviors. Billie was dynamic, outgoing, entrepreneurial, and supportive. Her successor, Aaron, was quiet, unassuming, methodical, and demanding. The contrast in their styles created some initial difficulties for the staff. It took a while for the staff to adapt to Aaron's approach after working for Billie. He had to explain how he was different from, not better than, Billie and to help them understand how working for him would be different from working for her.

What became clear, eventually, was that their different styles were just that, styles, and that they both were able to provide effective leadership and obtain the results expected of them. Just as there is more than one way to skin a cat, there is more than one way to provide leadership.

So, what does that mean for you as a leader? Three things:

First, take all advice with a large dose of salt, at least until there is time to evaluate it and determine its relevance to you, your staff, and your business.

Second, take time to determine in detail the nuances, particularities, and idiosyncrasies of your business before deciding on how to proceed.

And finally, accept that your approach is just that, your approach. Your success as a leader will depend upon recognizing, clarifying, and continuously improving how you lead. Frank Sinatra had it right when he sang, "I did it my way." Find how to do it your way, not someone else's way.

If all leadership is local, what can you do to lead in way that works for you, your staff, and your organization?

General David Petraeus, in a Fortune magazine interview, said, "First of all, we're going to tell the truth. We're not going to put lipstick on pigs. We're going to be 100% forthright and brutally honest."

Imagine what it would be like if every leader, and the organizations they lead, was brutally honest?

What truth should you be telling that you have avoided?

Jane Goodall, the pioneering conservationist, was asked in a recent Harvard Business Review article how she succeeded in changing people's minds. She said, "It's important to tell stories. You usually can't change people's minds by the intellect. You've got to find something that reaches into their hearts."

What have you found works when you try to change peoples' minds? How often have you used stories to do so? What stories might you try in the future?

Email archie@archietinelli.com