The Great Resignation. The Great Attrition. The Mass Exodus. The historic turmoil taking place in today’s workplace has been given many names—and for good reason. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a record-breaking 10.9 million jobs were open at the end of July 2021.[1] This unprecedented turnover will stretch long into the future.…
by Doug Glener and Dr. Victoria Halsey It’s a common workplace belief: You should be able to handle anything that lands on your desk. The specifics don’t matter. You’re a professional and you can tackle the challenge, no matter how long you’ve been at a job. Admitting you need help in a competitive work environment…
Dear Madeleine, I am a fairly new manager for a well established and growing not-for-profit organization that brings arts education to underserved communities. When we have open positions, we prioritize hiring alumni of our programs. About nine months ago, I hired a promising alumnus who seemed perfect for an entry level program administration job. She…
I’m excited to announce that The Ken Blanchard Companies has just made available a free ebook that provides practical information and easy-to-use tools to increase your leadership effectiveness. If you’re familiar with my work, you know I’m a big believer in “different strokes for different folks”—meaning that I believe there is no best leadership style;…
Over the years, I’ve talked with thousands of people about servant leadership. Every so often somebody will come up to me after a speech and say to me, “You know, Ken, the style of leadership you just talked about is exactly the way I’ve been leading people for years—I just didn’t know there was a…
Most people will tell you they are working as hard as they can, says bestselling business author Vicki Halsey. “The problem is, they still aren’t able to keep up with the workload. Today, people need to work smarter, not harder,” says Halsey. “That means leaders need to (1) be sure direct reports are clear on…
Dear Madeleine, I recently took a director level job with a huge Fortune 50 organization. I have been thrown into the deep end and I am worried about completely bombing out. I have had zero onboarding, so I am constantly making errors and spending tons of time backtracking and clearing things up. I am really…
Editor’s Note: This guest post is by Hunter Young. Think about this past week. Did you go to a business where you received below average customer service? Did it make you feel unwanted? Did you feel like leaving right then? If you answered “yes” to these questions, you’re not alone. Thousands if not millions of…
“Don’t forget managers are key to creating a culture of service,” says Vicki Halsey, coauthor with Ken Blanchard and Kathy Cuff of the book Legendary Service: The Key is to Care. “Managers are directly responsible for translating a customer service vision into the goals and tasks frontline service providers need to focus on and be…
Dear Madeleine, I was recently convinced by senior team members to hire someone for my team who is overqualified for the position. I am trained in Situational Leadership® II and it has served me well – but my new hire won’t let me use it. He is competent in some aspects of the job, but…