Today’s leaders need to be skilled at both setting overall corporate vision and serving in the role of coach and supporter for their people. That’s the message that Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller will be sharing in a live online presentation tomorrow.  (A few seats are still available, but registration does close today at 12:00 noon Pacific Time.)

Based on their best-selling book The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do, Blanchard and Miller (who is VP of training and development for quick-serve restaurant chain Chick-fil-A) will share five keys for being more effective in this dual role. 

• See the Future: Start by setting a clear vision for your organization. Leadership is about taking people from one place to another.  
• Engage and Develop People: Once the vision is set, you have to turn the organizational chart upside down.  Great leaders move themselves to the bottom of the hierarchy, acting as a cheerleader, supporter, and encourager to the people who report to them. 
• Reinvent Continuously: Does your organizational structure serve the business, or are the people serving the structure? Great leaders understand that their organizational structure should be fluid and flexible to meet changing needs.  
• Value Results and Relationships: Great leaders value both results and relationships. Both are critical for long-term survival. For too long, many leaders have felt that they needed to choose.  
• Embody the Values: All genuine leadership is built on trust. The leader, above all, has to be a walking example of the vision and values of the organization.

As you think about the great leaders you’ve known, which of these characteristics most define them in your mind?  As you think about developing leaders, which of these characteristics is probably the most difficult to learn or change?