At The Ken Blanchard Companies we don’t just teach people in organizations to lead, learn, and grow—we live what we teach. Recently, we began implementing a company-wide change process that included redefining our organization’s values. As you might imagine, leading a change initiative in a company that teaches change management poses a unique set of…
I went whitewater rafting down the Kern River this week with my husband and friends. (That’s me, underwater, at the front of the boat.) We had our choice of several guides, and we all agreed the guy with the grey hair looked like he had more experience than anyone else. We were correct. Our guide,…
I’m working with an organization that, like many, is going through change. During coaching sessions I’ve become aware of some dysfunctional patterns of behavior that can prevent both leaders and individual contributors from moving through change as smoothly as they otherwise could. It’s a phenomenon that is quite common in many organizations—one that business author…
Dear Madeleine, I am a senior director at a big pharma company. Our company has grown quickly through mergers and acquisitions—four in the last four years, in fact. I’ve noticed a big problem with what seems to be an “us and them” culture. Even some of my peers forget that we are all one company…
Coaches often are called upon to help people transition to the next thing. Sometimes clients don’t even know what the next thing is, only that it’s time to do something different. And sometimes the choice is not theirs but is being imposed on them. For many of us, it’s not so much the change that…
“Thank you for your transparency!” These words came at the end of a presentation I gave where I shared a new strategy—a strategy that would require change, including new roles and some sacrifice, from everyone. I wasn’t sure how everyone would respond but I knew I would have my best chance of successfully leading the…
Successful change leaders demonstrate three common characteristics—courage, patience, and determination. And they make sure all three are in balance through a manageable dynamic tension. For example, courage might mean speaking up and sharing an opinion different from that of the CEO—someone who has more authority than you do. But it needs to be balanced by…
Dear Madeleine, I am a staff manager at an academic institution. Of my eleven direct reports, seven have been with the University for more than thirty years and the rest have also been here for a long time. They are smart and capable and very good at what they do, as they should be—they have…
Change is inevitable for most organizations—especially in today’s dynamic business environment. For individuals, change may result in new responsibilities, new roles, or new leaders. When coaching clients through organizational change, we see many concerns surface due to people’s feelings of uncertainty as well as the added stress brought about by the change process. So what…
When your organization and people are challenged with impending doom—I mean, impending change—leaders often stick their heads in the sand and hope it passes. Yes, it will pass, but your organization can take advantage of the transition using the science of motivation and what we know about the way people experience change. People go through…