diversity in leadership - LEADERSHIP MINTS

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to enhance your appreciation of diversity. Reading time: 3:36.

The fine wine glasses looked conspicuously out of place, especially at 9 am in a team project room. The team leader was pouring what seemed to be white wine as his team members assembled for their next project update meeting.

“Yes, I know it’s still early but I think a toast is in order,” the team leader said.

He served the filled wine glasses to his seven team members who all looked at him like he just had a nervous breakdown. Alcohol in a project room or anywhere on campus was against company policy. And besides it was 9 in the morning. Most folks were still on their second cup of coffee.

The team leader smiled and said, “No, no. It’s just water.” Now everyone thought the team leader had snapped. The team leader took a sip and then he offered his toast.

“I’ve always been intrigued that you can make white wine from a red grapes,” said the team leader, hoisting his glass to showcase the clear liquid with a tinge of lemon food coloring.

Continue reading “Uncorking Diversity in a Bottle of Wine” →

By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to help you better cope with friction. Reading time: 2:26.

Remember how much fun you had as a kid rubbing your hair with a balloon and sticking it on the wall ? I do. Oh, how fascinated I was when I first saw a balloon clinging to the wall with the magic of static electricity. But later I saw the power of opposites in that hair-raising demonstration that still reminds me of key leadership skill: diversity.

The power of static electricity

Diversity? Sure. The negatively charged electrons in my hair were naturally attracted to their complete opposite: a positive charge on the wall.

Learning that opposites attract in electricity got me to thinking more about the awesome power of diversity.

Indeed the more I learned about electricity the better I understood how leaders connect opposites to generate even greater power.

Here’s an example: Friction is usually something most people would want less of in their lives. Not leaders. They generate friction. On purpose. It’s the friction that stirs continuous improvement and energy.

Likewise in static electricity, it’s the friction that gets those negatively charged electrons to move on the balloon to stick on the wall.

And of course it is the lack of friction that causes that balloon to come crashing down when the diversity degrades into homogeneity: when all the free negatively charged electrons hook up with positively charged mates and become neutral.

Continue reading “Generate Friction to Electrify Your Thinking” →