We’re All Individuals!
Why lazy generalisations at work undermine real leadership, real people, and real progress.
Brian: "Look, you've got it all wrong. You don't need to follow me. You don't need to follow anybody. You've got to think for yourselves. You're all individuals."
Crowd in unison: "YES. WE'RE ALL INDIVIDUALS."
Brian: "You're all different."
Crowd in unison: "YES. WE'RE ALL DIFFERENT."
Single person in crowd: "I'm not..."
The trouble is, we all love generalisations.
Our brains are wired for shortcuts. They’re evolved mechanisms – heuristics –that once helped us survive by quickly judging people, events, and risks. Great tools 200,000 years ago, less helpful in the complex, interconnected systems we call modern workplaces1.
Generalisations can lead to:
flawed judgments of people or events
poor decisions
harmful stereotypes
lazy assumptions baked into planning or policy
…and a raft of unintended consequences
Take this example: “Sandra isn’t nearly extroverted enough for the sales team.”
What’s being missed is that great salespeople build rapport, and that doesn’t always mean being chatty. If you’ve ever walked out of a store because a salesperson wouldn’t stop talking, you know the danger of assuming one personality style fits all.
Sure, some generalisations are useful. But blanket statements like “All successful companies diversify their product range” ignore the graveyard of brands that collapsed after failed diversification efforts. Even well-meaning ones like “Everyone enjoys going away on a residential conference” don’t hold up. No, not everyone does.
And some assumptions steamroll over the need for basic recognition:
“Nobody expects a party at the end of the year.”
Actually, many do. It’s not always about the party – it’s about appreciation.
The Subversive Manager doesn’t default to “all,” “none,” “everybody,” or “nobody.” They understand that their team’s strength lies not in uniformity, but in respectful difference. Some similarities help – commonality of talent, attitude, skill, and knowledge in your team – but the spark of creativity comes from difference.
Lean into that. Honour it. And make space for it to flourish.
Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman is a great read on biases and heuristics.