By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to help you wear your name tag more strategically. Reading time: 2:46

You’re standing in the registration area of a major meeting or convention. Look around. You’d think a wind storm blew through the way the conventioneers are wearing their name tags: Every which way. Left- sided. Right- sided. Lop-sided. Who cares? Leaders do.

Leaders know there is a RIGHT way to wear a name tag albeit the preponderance of overwhelming evidence on the left.

On the left, many stick name tags on their chest as if it were a carnation or a gardenia boutonniere blossoming in their lapel.

On the left, many stick name tags on their chest as if it were the base for the ever-present flag pin waving on a politician’s lapel like a red white and blue flower positioned -of course -directly over the heart.

On the left, many stick name tags on their chest as if it were manifesting a corporate logo squarely on the blazer’s left pocket in all its splendor.

And on the left, many stick name tags on their chest as if were another medal of honor amid other decorative ribbons and military plumage strutting proudly with the same zeal that commands attention be paid to a General. Or to a Secretary of State.

Who can ever forget the broaches and other decorative pins that Secretary of State Madeline Albright showcased prominently on her upper left side as a symbol of the kind of work she was doing that day—punitive (snake pins etc) or remunerative (butterfly pins etc)?

Yet most effective leaders know that when it comes to sticking name tags on: RIGHT MAKES MIGHT.

The most effective leaders know their name tag should be clipped, pinned or pasted on their RIGHT chest close to the shoulder. Why? To make it easier for the person to read your name tag while shaking your hand and maintaining relatively more eye contact with you. Continue reading →