Blanchard LeaderChat

There have been a large number of nominations posted over the weekend for Ken Blanchard’s Top Leader Survey/Contest on Twitter.  (Thanks to all of you who have nominated someone, or re-Tweeted the original post.) In looking over the latest group of nominees, one thought that came to mind was the inspirational side of leadership.  Many people have nominated someone who they felt inspired them to higher levels of performance, stood up for what was right, or displayed honesty, integrity, and courage during difficult times.

 As you look over the latest group of people who have been nominated, consider who is the most inspirational leader you have ever met.  What was it about them that caused you to be inspired?  Was it something they said?  Something they did?  Or was it something harder to describe?

Once you’ve identified that inspirational leader, let us know about it.  Post a tweet with @kenblanchard in the body of the message.  That will get your message posted at Ken Blanchard’s Twitter page and also enter you into our raffle on Tuesday for one of two gift baskets of Ken Blanchard books. 

This weekend’s new nominees:

• USC football coach Pete Carroll
• Social visionary, Eboo Patel
• Steve Irwin, famed Australian “Crocodile Hunter”
• Croatian tennis player, Marin Cilic who reached the quarterfinals of this year’s US Open
• Pastor, and best-selling author, Rick Warren
• Jack Stack CEO of SRC Holdings Corporation
• Jack Canfield, best-selling author of Chicken Soup for the Soul

Who’s inspired you?  Let us know, and check back here at LeaderChat to see who is inspiring others.

Survey/Contest Details

LeaderChat is partnering with Ken Blanchard on Twitter to conduct a fun and interesting survey/contest.  Through October 13th, we’d like you to Tweet the name of the person you think is today’s top leader.  In order for us to know who your selection is specifically for this contest, just include “@kenblanchard” in your Tweet.

For example, your Tweet could read: “Today’s top leader @kenblanchard: John Smith”

By doing that, you will be entered into our Twitter contest. After October 13th, we will randomly select two submissions for this contest on Twitter, and we’ll send each of these winners a gift pack of 7 of Ken’s best books, including best-sellers together with some of his newest releases. If you win, Ken will send you a direct Tweet to get your contact info, and we’ll also post the winners here.

Yesterday’s posting on “Do You Need to Be Famous to Lead?” generated a lot of discussion on Ken Blanchard’s Facebook page.  The general sentiment was that you didn’t. 

People felt that there were plenty of leaders in all walks of life who weren’t necessarily famous, but were still having a big impact on the people around them.  One example was a parent’s nomination of a teammate on a son’s high school baseball team. As the parent noted, “He (the teammate) is the leader without anyone telling him he is the leader. He is a model player who gives the credit to his teammates. No vote was needed.”

Another nomination was for a retired U.S. Navy captain.  This nominee’s leadership traits?  “He knew each person’s name in our command of over 400+ people. Never looked at your name tag–looked you directly in the eye so you knew he knew your name.”

The takeaway from today’s postings?  As one Facebook fan identified, “To be a great leader you must see something…and I’d like to add, that something can be a special trait in another, an idea for doings things a new way, or a vision for a better future.   

Who’s your nominee as one of today’s top leaders?  Let us know by posting your nominee. Be sure to check back again on Monday to see the results from this weekend.

Today’s nominees in our top leaders survey/contest are beginning to push the edges of what many of us might consider a traditional leader.  In addition to leaders from business and government, today’s nominees included 24-year-old Daily Beast columnist Meghan McCain and 30-year-old Doc Hendley, the founder and president of Wine to Water.

McCain is part of a young generation of writers and columnists covering everything from current events to the latest in entertainment and fashion. She first began to receive media attention when she documented life on the campaign trail with her father Senator John McCain.  You can read McCain’s latest posts at The Daily Beast.

Hendley is a great example of a young man who, beginning at the age of 25, travelled to Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Cambodia, working with local communities to build clean water wells and sanitation systems.  Upon coming home and returning to school, Hendley continued working for clean water in developing nations through fund-raising at bars where he worked. By hosting wine tastings and providing information about the clean water crisis in other less-developed parts of the world, Hendley was able to later launch Wine to Water, Hendley’s organization that provides clean water to people in developing countries.  You can learn more about Hendley and Wine to Water at www.winetowater.org

Who are other examples of non-traditional leaders that you would like to highlight?

Let us know by posting your nominee on Twitter.  When you do, you’ll also be entered into our drawing for a specially chosen selection of Ken Blanchard best-sellers and new releases.

To participate, go to Twitter.com and “tweet” the name of the person you think is today’s top leader.  In order for us to know who your selection is specifically for this contest, just include “@kenblanchard” in your Tweet.

For example, your Tweet could read: “Today’s top leader @kenblanchard: John Smith

We’ll keep posting the latest nominees and keeping the survey/ book raffle open until October 13 when two random winners will be chosen from among all of the people who have participated.

Join us in this opportunity to recognize leaders who are making a difference .  Also, be sure to check back every day for updates, and to see who people are talking about!

Susan Zlatin, of The Ken Blanchard Companies, will be speaking at the 2009 Women In Defense National Fall Conference next week in Alexandria, VA.  The topic of this year’s conference is “Innovation, Inspiration, Imagination: Incentives for the Future”

Each year, WID invites defense professionals to invest a day to look at trends in the defense and national security fields. Sue will be addressing top women in the industry about what it takes to be successful in today’s competitive environment.

Sue will be joining an impressive line-up of speakers that includes:

• Hon. Kathleen Hicks, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Forces
• Ms. Lynly Boor, Director on External Affairs, USO
• Former Vice Admiral Nancy Brown, U.S. Navy
• Brigadier General Barbara Doornink, USA (Ret.), Senior Vice President, SAIC

Congratulations Sue! And if anyone out there has a friend or colleague in the DC area, be sure to let them know about this event. It’s a great way to hear from top women in industry, government, and the media, plus engage in conversation and exchange ideas. Both women and men are welcome.

To learn more, visit http://wid.ndia.org/events/9WD0/index.htm