“A servant leadership mindset is all about focusing on others rather than yourself,” says bestselling business author Ken Blanchard. As part of research for a new book, Servant Leadership in Action, Blanchard had an opportunity to explore both the mindset and the skill set needed for leaders interested in adopting an others-focused approach to leadership.…
Responsibility for leadership shouldn’t fall on only the person with position power. Leadership needs to be more of a partnership, according to Susan Fowler, co-creator of the newly redesigned Self Leadership program from The Ken Blanchard Companies. “We have to look at leadership as a two-sided coin,” says Fowler. “Some people in organizations don’t realize…
The amount of direction and support people receive from their manager directly impacts the efficiency and quality of their work. Without it, people are left to their own devices, have to fake it until they make it, and learn primarily through trial and error. Eventually people get there—but it comes with a cost, says Ann…
Dear Madeleine My question is: how does an organization scale their management team and keep skills sharp as they grow? We are a software development services shop and we are growing fast—we currently have 30 people in management positions. It’s getting more difficult each day to make sure everyone is managing from the same playbook. …
When you are constantly asked by a member of your work team for details on how to perform a task, it’s very easy to keep telling them again and again how to do it—or worse, doing it for them. But does this leadership style help them gain confidence and grow into a high performer? Or…
Feeling disillusioned at work hardly sounds like something to celebrate. How could anyone feel good about low competence and low commitment? In fact, wouldn’t you want to hide it? In The Ken Blanchard Companies Situational Leadership® II training program, we teach that a Disillusioned Learner (D2) development level is part of the natural progression of…
For anyone who might have read my previous blog post, you’ll know I’ve been training for a 54-mile cycle ride from London down to the south coast of the UK, ending in Brighton. When I say training, I mean I’ve looked at the bike and bought a new pink cycling jersey. That’s about as far…
Scott Blanchard, principal and EVP at The Ken Blanchard Companies, likes to use the phrase heart of the house to describe the important role middle managers play in an organization. In Blanchard’s experience, if mid-level management is neglected, the result can be heart trouble—a slow moving organization that doesn’t respond well to feedback. Is your…
This Coaching Tuesday guest post is by Lynn McCreery. For many of us, true leadership is about being purpose and values driven and putting the needs of those we lead above our own. We want the heart of a servant leader to be at the core of how we live our lives. Sometimes it is…
People cycle through four predictable stages when presented with a new task or goal at work. If it’s something they’ve never done before, they’ll usually start out as an enthusiastic beginner—full of confidence but short on experience. This is followed by a dip in commitment and competence as the challenge of learning something new settles…