Dear Madeleine, I am in leadership development and talent management for a global manufacturing firm. A reorganization initiative will take place early in the second quarter of this year, causing some redundancies and a reduction in personnel. We know this change will bring a lot of anxiety and we’re trying to put some resources in…
Dear Madeleine, I was recently promoted to lead a team I’ve been on for over a year. We started out with a very good team leader, but it became apparent that he was leading too many teams and didn’t have the time. He recommended to his boss that I take it on. He asked me…
Now that public health initiatives are controlling the pandemic, the return to the office is a hot topic. The Ken Blanchard Companies wanted to know what leadership, learning, and talent development professionals felt about the return. In a June 23 poll, three questions were asked as a part of a webinar series exploring the hybrid…
Dear Madeleine, I am a regional director of compliance for a global services company. Covid has been a trial for everyone. Most of my people had never worked from home before and were not set up to succeed working in what are, for many, cramped and noisy conditions. On top of this, Covid has resulted…
By Pat Zigarmi and Judd Hoekstra The coronavirus pandemic upended our world in a matter of weeks.Businesses closed. Stores shuttered. Unemployment soared. And worst of all, the virus took our loved ones. Companies were forced to reinvent the way they worked in just a few days. IT departments scrambled to provide equipment for employees. Managers…
Dear Madeleine, I am a senior leader in a mid-sized organization. I introduced a new strategic approach to the organization about six months ago. In some parts of the organization, things are going well. In other areas, however, people are just not catching on. Specifically, four departments are still doing things the old way and…
If someone asks my opinion about their organization making a shift to a coaching culture, I won’t say “think again, my friend”—but I will say “let’s think this through before you go spending a lot of money on consultants and a lot of time and energy rallying the troops.” Who am I to say anything?…
In this episode, Susan Fowler explores how most companies expect managers to motivate their people to accomplish goals. Managers may try many different methods to encourage people to reach their goals, from rewards and recognition to pressure and intimidation. But research indicates that these methods just don’t work. “When did we get to the point…
Want to improve customer service? Three learning and development techniques can help. In a recent video interview about the release of The Ken Blanchard Companies new Legendary Service program, co-creator Dr. Vicki Halsey shares how vision, learning, and self-reflection can be used to improve service. An Inclusive Service Vision “You need a service vision as…
One of the biggest challenges leadership, learning, and talent development professionals face when they propose a new initiative is convincing their CEO of the financial impact of the proposed initiative. Without a clear sense of the positive financial impact, it’s easy for a leader to dismiss a new proposal as being too disruptive, too expensive,…