I am one of the millions of people who has recently enjoyed a 24-minute video escape into happiness—also known as Paul McCartney Carpool Karaoke. The video is fun, it is revealing, it is touching, and it stays on your mind for days to come. That’s lovely in and of itself. But besides Penny Lane, the…
Dear Madeleine, I work for a great manager at a nonprofit. My manager is wildly committed, super passionate, and really seems to care about his employees. I have reported to him for seven years, during which time I have gone from being known as a green kid right out of college to an old hand…
My wife is a big fan of TV cooking shows. You name it, she likes to watch it: IronChef, TopChef, Great American Food Truck, and MasterChef, just to name a few. Since she owns the TV remote control in our house, I’m pretty much forced to watch all these shows with her (I know, I…
Dear Madeleine, I manage a large team of accountants and other kinds of finance experts. We recently posted a job for a senior budget analyst. One of the applicants is a person who was in the finance department a couple of years back. I wasn’t his boss, but I wasn’t impressed with him then and…
How many times have you wondered who the future leaders will be in your organization? When I listen to organizational sponsors express their needs for leadership development, it can be framed as a need to shift people from almost ready to ready NOW. Coaching is a significant way to develop high potentials into emerging leaders.…
Dear Madeleine, My long-time boss recently left and I finally got a chance to be a manager. But soon after I stepped into the role, upper management informed me I needed to cut at least three people from my team as part of a massive company restructure. I messaged my old boss and she told…
What are the attributes of a modern servant leader in business today—someone who puts the interests of others on equal footing with their own? The Ken Blanchard Companies recently completed a three-city tour piloting servant leadership content with leadership, learning, and talent development professionals in Houston, New York, and Ft. Lauderdale. As a part of…
Dear Madeleine, I am a senior manager in a large government agency that has been decimated and paralyzed by our current administration. Don’t worry, I am not going to get political. But I do need help, because growth and opportunity have ground to a standstill in our organization and I have a whole team of…
Learn how to create a servant leadership culture in your organization. The just published June issue of Blanchard’s Ignite newsletter shares tips and strategies for leadership, learning, and talent development professionals. Highlights include Do’s and Don’ts When Creating a Servant Leadership Curriculum You have to resist the temptation to treat a servant leadership initiative as just…
Great coaches are trained to be fully present with clients. We are good at it. We know how to reduce distractions, quiet the mind, and put all of our attention on the client. But that doesn’t mean it is easy for us! There are times when it isn’t easy at all. Staying in the now…