Peter Roche is a big fan of Jim Henson, the late, great creator of the Muppets.

In his recent post on LinkedIn, he draws on the work of Elizabeth Hyde Stevens, author of Make Art Make Money: Lessons from Jim Henson on Fueling Your Creative Career and a writer for Fast Company. The book is a fascinating tour through Jim Henson's career.

Ms. Stevens writes, "Jim Henson is remembered as a visionary artist and the creator of the Muppets, but he was also the boss of hundreds of employees who called him 'fearless leader'."

"We intuitively know that Henson was a good boss," she says. "But how should we define a good boss, and better yet, how can we become one?"

Here are 10 powerful ways to acquire the coveted title of Fearless Leader.

Encourage a person's talent. Nurture that talent, and motivate people to look to themselves for ongoing development. Be a teacher. Empower the people who work with you. Be patient. You are developing people, not showing how smart you are. Henson did not need to display a big ego, and heaven knows he had a lot to crow about. Create an infectious mood of laughter. Yes--you can do serious creative work and have fun at the same time. The Muppets demonstrate that over and over again. Listen. Hear the genius in people. Find a way to make others' ideas work. Treat failures as experiments. Take setbacks as lessons on the way to something great. Love your work. But also like and appreciate the people who are sharing it with you. Enjoy success. Not just your own, but also the accomplishments of people around you. Helping them be great does not diminish you-as Jim Henson has demonstrated. Be unafraid. Try new things--it's the only way innovation happens, really. Be a role model. Be fearless, hardworking, generous, and calm. That combination of attitudes will spread and be as contagious for you as it was for Jim Henson.

Check out the verbs in that list of ten ideas. Encourage, be, create, listen, love, enjoy. They make work sound exciting and fulfilling.