What does “ neat little boxes” mean in the sentences below，please？

1. We can't put people and events into neat little boxes.
2. People are complicated and can't be separated into neat little boxes, so we blend leadership styles together.

Thank you very much for reading.

Question

What does “ neat little boxes” mean in the sentences below，please？

1. We can't put people and events into neat little boxes. 
2. People are complicated and can't be separated into neat little boxes, so we blend leadership styles together.

Thank you very much for reading.

Answer

Neat here has the meaning of tidy and well organised. The idea in 1 is that we can't categorise people with simple definitions because people are complicated with different parts to their personality. The idea of "neat little boxes" is just a phrase used to talk about defining/labelling/categorising people and that it doesn't make sense to do so.

In 2 they are saying a similar thing that because people are all different and complex that a varied approach of leadership is necessary instead of "putting people in boxes." That would be like saying "Person A is always quiet and shy so they should always be categorised with other similar people that are also quiet and shy".

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