Leadership, learning, and talent development professionals are sometimes a little nervous talking with chief financial officers. CFOs ask hard questions and want to see demonstrable bottom-line impact for training initiatives being proposed. It doesn’t have to be an adversarial relationship, says Craig Spitz, CFO at The Ken Blanchard Companies. “As gatekeeper of the financials, the…
When I started coaching in organizations 25 years ago, coaching was mostly for people who were causing problems and needed to be fixed, so to speak. In some places, coaching is still perceived as remedial help but I can tell you without a shadow of doubt that no organization is investing in that anymore. Coaching…
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,…
“Great managers aren’t born—they’re trained.” That’s the message Scott Blanchard, principal and EVP with The Ken Blanchard Companies, is sharing with audiences as he speaks to groups of leadership, learning, and talent development professionals. Blanchard points to research that shows most managers don’t receive that necessary training, however, until they are about ten years into…
In a recent interview, Scott Blanchard, principal and executive vice president with The Ken Blanchard Companies identified two key competencies missing from most leadership development curriculum. “Managers need to know how to set clear goals, diagnose development levels, and determine the correct leadership style to bring out the best in people. That’s a foundational management framework,” Blanchard…
Blanchard ignite! brings learning, leadership, and talent development professionals free online resources each month plus a deep dive into a hot leadership topic. Subscriptions are free (use the link on the right.) Check out these top articles from recent issues! IMPROVING LEADERSHIP ONE CONVERSATION AT A TIME Executive coach Madeleine Blanchard held the phone to her…
The best way to tell if your advice is useful is to look at how often people share it with others. Here’s LeaderChat’s most shared blog posts via LinkedIn. The most shared topics include coaching tips for leaders, biggest mistakes, and “the #1 thing I’d wish I known before becoming a manager.” A great cross section…
Hi Madeleine, I am a hotel manager for a high end property in a large metropolitan city. I am trying to create a program where department heads and midlevel managers at the hotel can come together to chat candidly about their career goals and how to achieve them. I have a vision to devote 30…
Dear Madeleine, I am a manager who has done well at a professional services company. I run a large and growing group of entry level professionals who manage logistics and customer service for the entire organization. I absolutely love my job. I enjoy helping people be successful as well as being seen as someone who…
In a recent survey conducted by The Ken Blanchard Companies, more than 400 managers were asked to rate different types of training by order of importance. Here’s their top ten, ranked in order from most important to least important type of training (see infographic.) At the top, managers identified communication skills, help with transitioning to…