Management - Leadership

EQ is often cited as the difference between winners and losers. Use these quotes to up your game.

Dear Madeleine, Can you clear something up for me? I have been told by a former coach and others that I need to be more “authentic.” But I have also just received feedback in a performance review that I am too brusque, condescending, and cold. And if one more person tells me they are intimidated…

In this episode of the Blanchard LeaderChat podcast we speak with David Novak, co-founder and former CEO of Yum! Brands and author of O Great One!: A Little Story About the Awesome Power of Recognition. For Novak, a large part of the success he had with improving performance at KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell…

“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.…

Best-selling business author Ken Blanchard believes leadership is an inside-out proposition. “It begins by asking yourself a tough question: ‘Am I here to serve or be served?’” he says. According to Blanchard, the answer to this question will reveal your fundamental approach to leadership. “If you believe leadership is all about you, where you want…

Let’s face it, performance coaching isn’t easy. In many organizations, if an employee’s performance is poor enough that a coach is called in, it means the manager is in a last ditch effort to save them. Emotions are running high, termination may be looming, and the relationship between boss and employee may have degraded into…

“ Time management is an oxymoron. Time is beyond our control, and the clock keeps ticking regardless of how we lead our lives. Priority management is the answer to maximizing the time we have. ”

Dear Madeleine, I have been described as a high achiever—and a lone wolf—for much of my career. After more than 20 years as an individual contributor, I finally succumbed to the pressure to become a people manager. Here’s my problem. Most of my people are fewer than five years away from retirement and not very…

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…

The ability to speak on the spot is important to leadership. Judith Humphrey shares how extemporaneous speaking makes the difference. Impromptu Leadership

Each month I receive an email with a preview of the latest leadership books. There are always five or six new entrants in this already crowded field. Meanwhile, my Twitter feed overflows with three steps, five tips, and seven ways

Specific skills and experiences are only part of the hiring puzzle.

Over the years, I’ve written a lot about servant leadership. I was recently reviewing Ken Jennings and John Stahl-Wert’s book, The Serving Leader (Berrett-Koehler, 2003 and 2016) when I realized how much I like the term serving leader—it makes the point that leadership is about doing something, it’s not just a philosophy. When you are…

I recently had the pleasure to interview Tom Harper. Tom is the CEO of Networld Media Group and serves as a deacon at Southeast Christian Church. He’s also the publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com and wrote Leading From The Lions’ Den: Leadership Lessons From Every Book Of The Bible. Tom recently released Through Colored Glasses: How Great Leaders […]

As a coach, the majority of my coaching sessions with clients focus on achieving mastery in some form. Some topics are very specific, such as delivering presentations or listening. Others are broad, such as being an effective leader, communicating, or managing emotions. What exactly does it take to achieve mastery? It begins with clarity. Identifying…

Best-selling business author Ken Blanchard believes leadership is an inside-out proposition. “It begins by asking yourself a tough question: ‘Am I here to serve or be served?’” he says. According to Blanchard, the answer to this question will reveal your fundamental approach to leadership. “If you believe leadership is all about you, where you want…

It's hard to pinpoint the characteristics of great managers — the personal and professional qualities that make them so effective at driving organizational success.

When people ask Ken Blanchard what he wants his legacy to be, he is quick to answer, “Servant leadership.” That surprises some people who might expect him to point to his company’s flagship leadership program, Situational Leadership® II, or his best-selling business book, The One Minute Manager®. Blanchard explains he is proud of the concepts…

In this episode of the Blanchard LeaderChat podcast we speak with Mark Miller, Vice President of High Performance Leadership for Chick-fil-A and author of the new book, Leaders Made Here. For Miller, growing great leaders wasn’t an option at Chick-fil-A.  Accelerated growth was putting a strain on leadership bench strength. “We needed more leaders faster.…