Leadership Lessons from Super Bowl XLIV

The underdog New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in yesterday’s NFL Super Bowl, in large part I believe, to the power of their purpose. Purpose is defined as “the reason for which something exists or is done; an intended or desired result; determination, resoluteness.” Not that the Colts didn’t have a purpose because…

Five Keys to Better Teams

One of the biggest challenges teams face is building trust and managing conflict. While you want differing opinions, it’s important that conflict stay focused on content and not become personal. How do you encourage healthy debate?  Here are five team attitudes and perspectives that can help you build trust and keep conflict productive in your…

Collaboration at Work: The Promise and Perils

In an article for Strategy + Business entitled The Promise (and Perils) of Open Collaboration, author Andrea Gabor identifies the challenges organizations face when they choose to adopt a collaborative work environment.   According to Gabor, the biggest obstacle for an organization is the deep change required in the way knowledge is controlled and shared —…

Why Work Teams Fail

Most of us have worked on teams that, for whatever reason, never really achieved the results expected.  With all of the focus on the importance of teamwork, why do teams fail so often?  Research by The Ken Blanchard Companies has identified the top 10 reasons for a team failing to reach its potential.  Lack of…

The Challenge of Working Virtually

In a recent column at Forbes.com business consultant Terry Waghorn, (who co-authored Mission Possible with Ken Blanchard) interviews teams expert Patrick Lencioni about the challenges of managing virtual teams. Lencioni points out that the key to being a more effective virtual leader begins with acknowledging the fact that working remotely posing serious challenges. As Lencioni…

Three keys for staying on track at work

Tomorrow we are starting our annual 2-day all company meeting.  Over 300 Blanchard employees from around the world are meeting together to celebrate last year’s accomplishments and discuss this year’s strategies for succeeding in a tough economy.   A couple of us are doing presentations (including yours truly.)  I’ll be talking about engageable moments and…