Read My Pins
The Creative Way Madeleine Albright Communicated
In 1994, the Iraqi press referred to US ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright as “an unparalleled serpent.”
She responded to the attack creatively – by wearing a golden brooch depicting a coiled snake to her next meeting with the Iraqis.
“I didn't consider the gesture a big deal,” she said, adding: “I doubted that the Iraqis even made the connection. As the television cameras zoomed in on the brooch, I smiled and said that it was just my way of sending a message.”
“I thought, ‘Well, this is fun.’ So then I went out and I bought a bunch of costume jewellery to signal what my mood of the day was.”
When she became US secretary of state in 1997, she acquired more pins, and her jewellery often made a statement.
She expressed her frustration with the slow pace of talks in the Middle East by wearing pins of turtles, crabs, and snails.
When she wanted to “do a little stinging” and deliver a tough message, she chose a wasp pin.
But some of her best pieces were kept for the Russians.
At a summit with Vladimir Putin, Albright chose a pin of three monkeys – the Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil monkeys – to represent ‘that they were not seeing what was going on in Chechnya.’
She also negotiated an anti-ballistics treaty with Igor Ivanov, the Russian foreign minister, wearing a 4in interceptor missile pin.
Albright’s interceptor missile pin
“The best, I think, was the Russians had actually bugged the State Department at a certain period. We discovered that there was a bug in one of our conference rooms, so the next time I met the Russians, I wore this huge bug pin. So they got it.”
For Albright, the pins helped “inject some humor, personality, and messaging into what were very serious times.”
And, she also admitted, “I had a lot of fun with it.”
Others would notice and comment on her pins, and when she was asked what she was up to, she would respond, “Read my pins.”
There was a story behind every choice.
When she wanted to project prosperity and happiness, she’d wear pins of suns, ladybugs, flowers, and hot-air balloons that signified high hopes.
When negotiations were going well, she chose butterflies and flower brooches.
Albright’s blue bird pin
She saved spiders and carnivorous animals for the bad days.
“For me, they were always just a way I could communicate with people.”
The Museum of Arts and Design in New York City held an exhibit of Albright’s pins in 2009. There were more than 200 in the exhibit aptly called, Read My Pins. She released a book aptly titled Read My Pins that same year.
Albright’s pins traveled to 22 museums and presidential libraries across the United States over nine years, and in 2017, Secretary Albright announced she would donate the full exhibition to the permanent collection of the National Museum of American Diplomacy.
Madeleine Albright died on 23 March 2022. She was 84 years old.
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Beth Collier does not own a pin collection. But she does helps companies, leaders and teams improve their communication (and creativity and leadership) through consulting, coaching, and workshops.
Her clients benefit from Beth’s global corporate experience, Midwestern practicality and enthusiasm – and an endless supply of pop culture references.
To find out how Beth can help you become a more confident, creative, and compelling leader – or improve communication in your company – visit www.beth-collier.com or drop her a line at beth@beth-collier.com
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