Power. The word itself evokes a reaction. What thoughts or feelings do you have when you think of power? Perhaps you picture an organizational chart where the boxes at the top are imbued with more power than those below. Maybe you imagine an iron fist, representative of a person who rules over others with absolute authority.…
Measuring the impact of coaching is harder than one might think. That’s why it’s essential that any person being coached has a robust development plan that identifies a positive set of outcomes and steps along the way. Here is what we’ve learned after coaching executives for more than 16 years. Be specific—specificity is KEY. In…
Dear Madeleine, I am a senior leader in a large commercial services organization. I spent many years learning how to make good use of an assistant and I’ve always made sure I had a great one. Over the last few years, the company has been reducing the size of the administration group and I have…
“Too many leaders have been conditioned to think of leadership only in terms of power and control,” says best-selling business author Ken Blanchard in the July/August issue of Chief Learning Officer magazine. “But there is a better way to lead—one that combines equal parts serving and leading. This kind of leadership requires a special kind…
Dear Madeleine, I am a young, new manager at a large health food grocery. I love the company, I love the job, and I am really learning a lot about being a new manager. Here is my problem: when I joined the company as a cashier, I told one of my friends about my new…
Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? Each of these one-word questions can push organizational leaders and their team members toward the clarity they need to achieve success. In this post I’d like to focus on who and what. When leaders set clear expectations, outcomes are much more likely to hit the mark. And it’s just…
Madeleine Homan Blanchard is on vacation this week so we thought it would be fun to take a look at the three most viewed managerial questions Madeleine was asked through the first half of 2017. Here are the top three (with Madeleine’s advice) in ascending order. Click the title or picture to see the complete…
“Great managers aren’t born—they’re trained.” That’s the message Scott Blanchard, principal and EVP with The Ken Blanchard Companies, is sharing with audiences as he speaks to groups of leadership, learning, and talent development professionals. Blanchard points to research that shows most managers don’t receive that necessary training, however, until they are about ten years into…
In this episode of the Blanchard LeaderChat podcast we interview Jen Sincero, author of You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life. Sincero shares how to stop limiting yourself and start focusing on your strengths. Drawing on her own experience of personally trying and evaluating almost every…
Learning new skills can be awkward and uncomfortable. Think back to the first time you interviewed for a job or spoke in front of a group. It’s possible you made some mistakes, but in the long run you grew and developed. And if you were lucky enough to have someone supporting and partnering with you—someone…
Dear Madeleine, There are always recommendations for best summer reading and the lists usually point to fiction best-sellers. Any suggestions for top business books? I love a good novel but I also want to keep developing my skills. Business Minded Dear Business Minded, There are so many great development focused books out there. I…
If you’re a leader, particularly in a large organization, the chances are your people don’t see you as a real person. They have a mental image of what they perceive you to be like, not who you actually are, says research by Nathan T. Washburn and Benjamin Galvin. This mental image is formed through random…
