If you’ve ever wondered why so many negative and critical leaders seem to rise to power, recent research sheds a little light on the cause. It turns out that even though we say we want compassionate and empathetic leaders, we perceive naysayers as being more powerful than their non-critical colleagues. In one of a series…
Dear Madeleine, I started a business with my best friend about ten years ago after the real estate bubble burst and we were both laid off from our financial services business. Against considerable odds, we have been very successful. We decided when we started to grow that he would be CEO and I would CFO/COO. …
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…
Dear Madeleine, I am a sales leader in charge of half of the US and I have a counterpart who runs the other half. We have a good relationship. We support each other and share ideas and information. I recently figured out that our newish boss, the EVP of sales and marketing, is playing us…
Dear Madeleine, I am a senior executive in a big global company. I am not an American, but it is an American company. With each rise I achieve in the ranks here, the more I realize just how not-American I am. Here’s my problem. I am a large person physically—I was an athlete in my…
In a recent Servant Leadership in Action Livecast, over 3,200 leadership, learning, and talent development professionals had an opportunity to hear from 20 of the contributing authors in a new book co-edited by Ken Blanchard and Renee Broadwell. The book, Servant Leadership in Action: How You Can Achieve Great Relationships and Results features 44 short…
In this episode of the Blanchard LeaderChat podcast, we speak with Ken Blanchard, co-editor of the new book, Servant Leadership in Action. For Blanchard, servant leadership isn’t just a book or a nice-to-have management concept. Instead, he sees it as a movement—a shift from leadership that is self-focused to one that is others-focused. “The world…
Dear Madeleine, I work in a very large company and have managed a small team for a couple of years. About a year ago, my department got a new leader, who is my manager’s boss. This new leader came from another part of the company and apparently is being groomed for the senior leadership team. …
Power. The word itself evokes a reaction. What thoughts or feelings do you have when you think of power? Perhaps you picture an organizational chart where the boxes at the top are imbued with more power than those below. Maybe you imagine an iron fist, representative of a person who rules over others with absolute authority.…
An essential mindset for achieving your goals and contributing to the goals of others is recognizing and appreciating your power at work. I’ve witnessed many amazing transformations as individuals altered their mindset related to power, explored their points of power, and proactively created positive change. This transformation begins by recognizing an important truth about power:…