I had an upsetting experience yesterday. Amid our current environment of chaos, confusion, and uncertainty, I find that people are generally behaving pretty well. I’ve noticed this at the grocery store, which I now visit only about once every ten days. Social distancing is in effect, with dots or X’s every six feet marking where…
Trust at work is critical, but it can be difficult to pin down and address. Trust expert Daniel McAllister highlighted this challenge when he presented his initial research on the subject in 1995. McAllister opened with a quote from the book Behavior in Organizations. “Trust … tends to be somewhat like a combination of the weather…
Dear Madeleine, I have a direct report who is diligent and dependable. She is pleasant around the company and everybody likes and respects her. The problem is that she regularly brings up her desire to move to a job in a different department. She says that’s where her passion is. I have spoken to the…
What is “Passion”? The dictionary says: “a strong and barely controllable emotion”; “a state or outburst of strong emotion”; and “an intense desire or enthusiasm for something”. Passion is the positive emotional state of mind – which drives a willingness to apply discretionary effort; long-term commitment; peak performance; and satisfaction. The Passionate Leader Leaders need to…
I once worked with a VP who was at the tail end of a situation that had gotten out of hand. Six months prior, one of his senior directors—who I’ll call Shari, had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Although she continued to work throughout her treatment, her performance suffered and team members had to take…
Join The Ken Blanchard Companies for a complimentary webinar and online chat beginning today at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (12:00 noon Eastern). Best-selling author and consultant Scott Blanchard will be sharing the results of five years of primary research which uncovers the motivational factors that bring out the natural motivation inherent in people, get employees up-to-speed quickly…
A recent survey conducted by Training magazine and The Ken Blanchard Companies asked more than 800 Training magazine readers to share their thoughts on the factors that create an engaging work environment. Readers were asked to rank order 12 factors first identified by The Ken Blanchard Companies as a part of their ongoing research into…
This guest post is written by Austin Johnson, currently in the middle of a 10-week college internship at The Ken Blanchard Companies. What is something you are really passionate about? How do you feel when you’re involved in your favorite activity? Do you feel that same joy and intensity in your workplace? Hopefully, but if…
A new white paper from The Ken Blanchard Companies establishes the link between environmental work factors, employee perceptions, and subsequent intentions to act positively or negatively at work. The paper is the third in a series tracing Blanchard’s exploration into the factors that contribute to a passionate work environment and what leaders can do to…
I’ve never been much of a fan of cooking shows or the Food Network. While they do give some great recipes, I find watching a cooking show is like buying and cooking Kobe beef and then feeding it to your dog instead of yourself. You get all the anticipation (and salivation) of seeing the food…