Best-selling business author Scott Blanchard says managers who are effective at goal setting with their people keep two things in mind: The big picture—why we are doing it and what matters about it? The short term—what do we need to do now to move forward toward the larger goal? Blanchard gives an example of this…
The new, completely updated, third edition of Ken Blanchard’s perennial bestseller, Leading at a Higher Level, was released just last month. The first edition came out in 2006 and featured the best thinking from 18 different authors, summarizing the key concepts from all the Blanchard programs at the time. The new edition continues that tradition.…
2019 is right around the corner. What are the top issues leadership, learning, and talent development professionals will be facing in the coming year? 10 industry experts have identified some of the key trends that will be influencing strategies—read on to see how they might impact your organization’s planned initiatives. Each trend includes a link…
Too many leaders have been conditioned to think of leadership only in terms of power and control. But there is a better way to lead, says best-selling business author Ken Blanchard—one that combines equal parts serving and leading. This kind of leadership requires a special kind of leader: a servant leader. “In this model,” says…
Performance planning, coaching, and review are the foundation of any well-designed performance management system, but the results of a recent study suggest that leaders are falling short in meeting the expectations of their direct reports. Researchers from The Ken Blanchard Companies teamed up with Training magazine to poll 456 human resource and talent-management professionals. The purpose was…
Managers don’t have enough high quality conversations with their direct reports, according to Ann Phillips, a senior consulting partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies. This deficiency has a negative effect on both productivity and morale. “Part of effective communication between manager and direct report is a mindset and part is a skillset. Both are required,”…
Taking a servant leadership mindset and turning it into a curriculum and a set of skills can be a challenge, explains Bob Freytag, a senior consulting partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies. You have to resist the temptation to treat a servant leadership initiative as just a training intervention and instead see it, ideally, as…
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…
There are three groups of people you need to take care of if you are going to create a customer-focused organization—but most companies only focus on one. That’s a big mistake, say Kathy Cuff and Vicki Halsey, co-creators of The Ken Blanchard Companies’ new Legendary Service training program. “Every organization knows they need to focus…
“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…