Knowing Your Rites

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to orchestrate traditional values in your organization. Reading time 3:17.

The procession of robed professors marched into the convocation ceremony. The lead person carried an ornamental golden staff that immediately attracted the attention of all assembled.

a mace That sparkling scepter infused the ceremony with immediate credibility, authority and dignity.

Leaders know their rites.

Leaders know that symbols are louder than any cymbals – especially in orchestrating the attention of followers. They know that before you can exercise your rights you have to exercise your rites. You have to showcase your symbols.

How can you more fully wield your own ornamental staff used in a convocation ceremony? How can you wield your own five –foot long golden staff called a mace? Consider these five ideas to help you turn your organization into a place of even more A-MACE-ING Grace: Continue reading “Knowing Your Rites” →

Becoming a Talent Agent

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to leverage your workforce. Reading time 3:37.

In the movie The Treasure from the Sierra Madre, a robber holds up Humphrey Bogart. The robber wants the two leather bags that Bogart is carrying. He is sure those are filled with gold.

Panning for gold in the movie Treasure from Sierra Madre

However the robber shoots Bogart. He grabs the bags, looks inside and sees only dirt and dust. He is disappointed when he finds no gold. He empties out the dirty bags then rides off in the distance, taking some solace that he at least he got two good leather bags. Oops!

That wasn’t just dirt and dust that he threw away. You guessed it. There was also gold mixed in with all that dirt and dust. Gold is not shiny. Only fool’s gold–pyrite -is shiny

How often do you discard valuable talent just because that job candidate in front of you is filled with his or her own dust and dirt?

That’s why the most effective leaders subscribe to the view of industrialist Andrew Carnegie who said you develop people the same way you mine for gold. “In the gold mine you move tons of dirt to find an ounce of gold,” Carnegie said, “but you don’t go in there looking for dirt. You look for the gold.” Continue reading “Becoming a Talent Agent” →

Monkeying Around Like a Leader

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to be sensitive to points of view of others. Reading time: 2:43

Think of your organization and its various employees and departments as so many monkeys in a tree. As the CEO, you happen to be the monkey in the highest seat in the tree.

Black-capped Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri boliviensis) From your perch, you can look down and see other smiling monkeys. Now think of the lowest monkeys in that tree. When they look up they see anything “butt” smiling faces and they can only assume the organization stinks – at least from that perspective.

That’s how a low ranking sailor described his view of the organization aboard ship. No wonder that “the key to being a successful skipper is to see the ship through the eyes of the crew,” writes Captain D. Michael Abrashoff in his book It’s Your Ship.

Yes, you are the Monkey in the Middle. All eyes on are you, looking at you. Your role is to look down more often and imagine what they see looking up. That’s what the most effective leaders do: they look around and monkey around with meaning and perception.

“Being a boss is much like being a higher status primate in any group, the creatures beneath you in the pecking order watch every move you make and so they know a lot more about you than you know about them,” observes Robert Sutton writing in his book Good Boss, Bad Boss. Continue reading “Monkeying Around Like a Leader” →

Tiger Tiger Burning Bright In Your Office

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to help you focus your thinking. Reading time: 1:56

The Siberian Tiger stares powerfully yet mysteriously on the wall directly in front of the CEO’s desk.

Andy Warhol's Siberian Tiger — Andy Warhol’s Siberian Tiger

The limited edition print from Andy Warhol’s Endangered Species collection looks down on the CEO, a constant reminder to stay vigilant in order to survive in the jungle of today’s highly-competitive business terrain.

Yet a placid waterfall watercolor painting flows lazily from the wall immediately behind the CEO, a soothing scene that sprays a comforting mist- a salient solution visually situated-to cool down even the most hot-tempered or stressed visitors seated in the CEO’s office. All by design.

The most effective leaders exhibit an art for creating a more conducive environment to do business. And that often includes the collection and display of significant works of art.

Picture the environment in this CEOs office: Refreshing yet Reinforcing. Soothing yet Stringent. Peaceful yet Powerful. Continue reading “Tiger Tiger Burning Bright In Your Office” →

Perspectives in Sailing Your LeaderSHIP

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy
Here’s an idea to help you let go to get a stronger grip. Reading time: 2:03

The leader’s dilemma. Take a look at this sailboat and think of your own leadership challenges. Like this sail, your problems comes in different shapes-be they circle, square or triangle.

The dilemma of course is your resources come only in one size or shape -be they circle, square or triangle. Sure you can patch a circle hole in your sail with your circle resources.

But what do you do when you have a triangle hole to patch and the only resource you have is a circle patch?

You improvise. You use what you have just to solve the issue at hand. But of course that means you will be wasting circle resources on the triangle. Your fix will be costly.

What do you do when your problems come in shapes different from the shapes of your resources? Get creative. Continue reading “Perspectives in Sailing Your LeaderSHIP” →