Dear Madeleine, I work for the tax collector’s office at my local county tax agency. The bulk of my efforts go to facilitating change into that environment. I am a career-driven person and I am finding it very difficult to influence others. My job is under the umbrella of a state agency and I recently…
Dear Madeleine, I was recently hired as regional manager of a large retail company. I come with lots of experience and a successful track record. In fact, my new company actually approached me and made me such a good offer, I couldn’t refuse. Unfortunately, I expected to be able to make some much needed changes…
In a new column for Fast Company, Scott and Ken Blanchard recommend taking a mid-year look at how you and your company are doing against yearly goals. The purpose is to identify what’s working and what might be in need of a mid-course correction. For goals where momentum has stalled, the two authors recommend reconnecting…
If there is a traffic sign indicating where you get on or off a highway, it’s important that you see it, and take action. Otherwise, you risk making a wrong turn or getting lost. In addition to regular traffic signs, drivers often encounter other types of signs. For example, have you ever been surprised by…
Accountability, accountability, accountability. It’s an issue that comes up time and again as leaders and HR professionals think about the one underlying challenge in their organizations that holds performance back. It’s a silent killer that operates below the surface in organizations and it’s tough to address. A best-selling business book (and one that I had…
If there was one question I’d like to hurl into deep space, “What’s in it for me?” would be it. The main reason is that the “What’s in it for me?” question breaks down our hope that we might accomplish something special together, and all be better for it. When individuals prioritize their own needs…
“Change is hard,” explains Madeleine Homan-Blanchard in a new article for Chief Learning Officer. And being asked to help someone change is a tough assignment—especially when that someone is a senior leader in your organization—just ask anyone responsible for learning and development and they’ll tell you. Have you been asked to help someone change? Here…
Innovation requires passion. It takes a lot of energy to develop an idea and implement it successfully in an organization. Fortunately, innovators have passion in abundance. Innovation also requires collaboration. Very few ideas can be successfully implemented without the cooperation and buy-in of others. Unfortunately, innovators often struggle in this area–especially if they fall in…
The way an organization responds to mistakes tells you a lot about its corporate culture. In an article on innovation for Fast Company, Scott and Ken Blanchard look at the different responses they’ve seen in working with organizations. Some organizations see mistakes as opportunities to learn. These are the organizations that create innovative environments where…
In a recent Legendary Service course, one of my participants—we’ll call him Chad—wondered aloud if leaders ever adhered to the same standards they continually ask of their service providers. When asked for an example of what he meant by this, he said, “Well … we are asked to acknowledge the customer, get details about the…