After analyzing four years of check-in data, Gold’s Gym found that February 18 is the date with the steepest drop-off in gym attendance. And it may be the day you are most likely to quit your own New Year’s resolution around fitness. It’s a common experience, explains best-selling business author Ken Blanchard. “Nearly all of…
We all make mistakes when leading. It’s part of the process—delayed projects, missed deadlines, communication issues, budget constraints, and an endless list of other possibilities that Murphy’s Law dictates are always around the corner. When you find yourself in a leadership failure or debt, here are a few things you can do to get out…
We all want our lives to be stimulating, meaningful, and useful to others. It’s satisfying to be able to solve problems, help others, and be productive overall. But for some people, the pursuit of stimulation can become an unhealthy habit, a compulsion—almost an addiction. When someone continually craves a heightened sense of stimulation in this…
As a leader, you’ve probably encountered situations that can be frustrating. Perhaps your direct report did something wrong or you had too much on your plate. How did you deal with that situation? I was recently asked at a gathering of friends how I remained so positive. Did I have a secret daily ritual of…
Dear Madeleine, I manage a large retail chain store and have been in the job about four years. Up until now, I thought I knew what I was doing. I recently promoted an excellent worker to a supervisory position—and now I seriously regret it. All of a sudden, it’s like she is a different person.…
Dear Madeleine, I am a manager at a large commercial real estate company with nine people reporting to me. I really try to stay connected to them and I want the best for them. Recently, my boss came to me and severely criticized one of my people—and I understand his point. “Pete,” the employee, is…
Nearly all of us have made a New Year’s resolution and then not followed through. Why is it that most New Year’s resolutions don’t work? In his latest column for Chief Learning Officer magazine, leadership expert Ken Blanchard points to two common causes: accomplishing the goal is tougher than we thought, and we rarely get…
After attending a training session, most leaders have the best intentions of applying their new learning toward becoming a more effective leader. However, once returning to daily job responsibilities it’s all too easy to slip back into old, established behaviors. For this reason, it’s important for a leader to dedicate time for the practice, assessment,…
Providing feedback—especially less than positive feedback—is a task many managers dread. But feedback is an essential part of providing the day-to-day coaching people need to succeed—especially in today’s fast-paced business environment where people at all levels are in a constant learning mode. In the new issue of Training Industry magazine best-selling business author Ken Blanchard…
Dear Madeleine, I am a fairly experienced manager. I have worked in several different companies and am nicely settled at my current job. I learned Situational Leadership® II at my last company and I have been using it with my ten direct reports. It is working out well. My company has recently instituted a set…