4 Principles of the Pig
If you have a team of pigs, fall in love with bacon.
Begin with the team you have, not the one you wish you had.
First ask, “Who is on the team?” Then ask, “Where can they take us?”
It doesn’t matter how badly you want eggs, if you’re surrounded by pigs.
Begin Here
Accept people for who they are before leading. It’s sabotage to wish pigs were chickens.
Pigs love mud and slop.
Pigs in a chicken coop won’t produce eggs. Feed them chicken food and you’ll still get bacon.
If you treat pigs like pigs, you’ll get lots of bacon.
If pigs can’t take you where you want to go, hire chickens.
4 Principles of the Pig
- If want eggs, hire chickens.
- Work to ignite pig-passion, rather than imposing chicken-passion.
- Training won’t make chickens of pigs.
- Rewards and punishments won’t turn pigs into chickens.
Build the future. Maximize the people on your team.
How might leaders apply the principles of the pig with their current team members?
The Life You Wish You Had – Leadership Freak
Leading The Team You Actually Have – by Jay Pittman
Applying this principle to my team of spiritual leaders, I need to let go of my own ego and discover and appreciate the brilliance that is already there as them. I need to invest time in learning their strengths and finding ways to help them to apply those strengths ., not as a refletion of me or who I want them to be , but as their unique selves.
Teams are fortunate to have leaders who strive to know them. They are more likely to thrive. Thanks, Pauline.
This is a great post that encourages us to appreciate and accept the people around us and those on our team. At the same time, it raises an important question: How do we work effectively with someone’s natural tendencies while still helping them reach their full potential?
Accepting people for who they are does not necessarily mean accepting their shortcomings without challenge. Rather, it means meeting them where they are, recognizing their strengths, and supporting them in growing beyond their limitations. I don’t think acceptance and development are mutually exclusive—they should go hand in hand.
Thanks for sharing your insights, Dr Kaya. You’re hitting an important truth for today. Acceptance isn’t complacency.
It’s frustrating to see people hiding behind, “It’s just who I am.” Rather than, “I’ve got to be me,” we can say, “I’m striving to become my best self.”
I get what you’re trying to say here, Dan, but I think there are BIG warnings around this metaphor.
“Getting bacon from pigs” means your employees are sacrificing their entire lives.
I was going to suggest switching out pigs for dairy cows, being more akin to chickens in that their “product” doesn’t kill them … and yet once dairy cattle AND chickens can no longer produce, there’s death in the end for them, too.
And if ANY employee feels they’re being “farmed,” that’s not a good look. Definitely not good for retaining and getting the most from your employees.
Hi Lucy, Your observations are right. The best I can ask is to harvest the good, if there is any, and toss the bad. Thank you for sharing your observations.