How Leaders Can Inspire Performance Through Better Conversations

Improving communication skills is entirely achievable. If you're even thinking about enhancing your communication style, you're already halfway there. Every small step toward better communication is significant and that asking thoughtful questions and showing genuine care can immediately create a positive impact. Trust in your ability to grow. With commitment and genuine care, any leader can transform their communication style and foster a more engaged, successful, and fulfilled team.

Succeeding at the Empathy/Accountability Challenge

Empathy has become a cornerstone of effective leadership that is increasingly critical in today's evolving workplace. Leading with Empathy™ program gives leaders a practical approach to developing empathy as a leadership strength. Leaders who develop curiosity, helpfulness, and self-awareness skills learn to understand others better while maintaining their ability to hold people accountable. 

AI Doesn't Care About You (But it Sure Feels Like it Does)

At the end of the day, AI is an incredible tool. But leadership is still on YOU says leadership expert Britney Cole. Use it to reflect, expand, and challenge your thinking, but don’t let it replace your gut, your values, or your ability to truly connect.  AI might seem like it cares—but real leadership means actually giving a darn.

Why Mid-Size Companies Hit a Wall—and How Strong Managers Can Break Through

Mid-size companies are built to move fast. They’re agile, creative, and not bogged down by corporate red tape. But despite these advantages, many hit a ceiling—one that isn’t caused by market conditions or competition. It’s about what’s happening inside the company: a lack of skilled, prepared leaders.

Growth doesn’t fall apart overnight. It unravels piece by piece through miscommunication, stalled execution, rising turnover, and misaligned teams. At the centre of it all is a management bench that simply isn’t ready.

The Leadership Cure for Burnout: How to Reignite Engagement and Retention

In a work environment defined by rapid change and unpredictability, leaders are being called upon to provide clarity, compassion, stability, and motivation in the workplace. Leaders should provide steady communication, clear expectations, and reliable support while adapting to employees' readiness for change. How can managers effectively lead their teams through uncertainty? “Start with conversations that provide clarity and care, to show you value your people….”

The Leadership Cure for Burnout: How to Reignite Engagement and Retention

“Engagement has just tied an all-time low, trust in leadership has dropped seven additional points, and burnout is affecting four out of ten workers—especially middle managers. That’s a lot to deal with. In spite of this, there are pockets of greatness occurring in every organisation—places where individual managers are creating what I call environmental excellence.

From Vision to Achievement: How Clear Goals Drive Performance

Goal setting is fundamental to good performance, yet, most people gloss over it because they think they are good at it. The reality is that most people go into each new year with only a general sense of what they want to accomplish—but no specific goals, targets, or plans. “It’s the leader’s job to illustrate the through line—connect an individual’s tasks to the bigger picture,” says Homan Blanchard.

Leaders Identify Top HR and L&D Challenges for 2025

Blanchard’s 2025 HR / L&D Trends Survey looks at some of the ways that leadership, learning, and business professionals are focusing to meet the challenges of ever-changing workplace dynamics. Talent acquisition, retention, and engagement issues combined with new technology and learning methodologies underscore the need for innovative solutions and strategic thinking.

Making Learning Stick

True learning is a journey from knowing to doing. Those who complete this journey are empowered to make big things happen—not only for their organisations but also for the world around them.

Do't make this Mistake when Designing Learning Journeys

To be successful with learning journeys you have to leverage about what we know about the ways people learn best. Organisations invest billions of dollars each year on learning initiatives with the goal of fueling growth and improving organisational vitality. However, learning programs won’t make a difference if participants don’t learn—and apply—their new or improved knowledge and skills.

Don’t Worry About Micromanagement—This Is the Bigger Problem

Managing today is a critical, rewarding, and challenging task. As a manager, you have to be efficient with your time to find ways to support your people, help them, your department, and your organisation achieve their goals, and get your own work done.

Try this proven three step process if you are serious about wanting to avoid being labelled a micromanager. 

Women in Leadership: Creating Inclusive Environments

An interview with Jennifer Brown a globally recognised DEI thought leader, best selling author of the book, "How to be an Inclusive leader".

3 Skills for Becoming a Best Boss

When you learn how to adjust your leadership style to match the needs of your people, you will become a trusted leader they will remember as one of their best bosses say Randy Conley.

A Modern Approach to Inclusiveness and Belonging

What can we do to make employees feel like they belong? High-impact organisations inspire and engage employees around inclusion and belonging holistically from three different dimensions. In terms of talent: it’s about how an organisation retains and grows talent (internal), how an organisation attracts talent (external) and how an organisation attracts and retains raving fans of their brand (marketplace).

Leading Successfully in a Time-Challenged World

One of the biggest challenges we face today is meeting the daily demands of leadership in a way that is consistent, empowering, helpful, and in the moment.

Most people will tell you that the percentage of truly helpful conversations they are having with their leader is low. In a recent webinar, most people said less than 10 percent!

Use a High-Involvement Approach to Innovation and Change

Innovation and change are hot topics these days. Leaders everywhere recognise that increased agility is required to keep pace with today’s work environment. But it shouldn’t be the work of a select few, say Britney Cole and Judd Hoekstra at Blanchard^®.

Developing Great Leadership Habits: Making Common Sense Common Practice

“Becoming a trusted servant leader is a journey,” says Randy Conley, coauthor with Ken Blanchard of the new book, Simple Truths of Leadership Playbook. “It's something we're always working on. No matter how far along we are on that path, there's always room for improvement.”

“Leaders looking to start that journey need to put their ego aside,” says Blanchard. “Changing your behavior can mean going to your people and saying, ‘I need your help. My goal is to be a servant leader. I think I’m almost there, but there are a few areas I could use help with.’

“It’s common sense, but not common practice,” says Blanchard. “Good leaders know what to do—they just need some help putting the concepts into practice.”

4 Ways Leaders Can Support Innovation

Data from a soon-to-be released Blanchard^® survey identifies the following factors as being most responsible for slowing or dampening innovation in today’s organisations:

• Workload pressure
• Poor leadership support for innovation
• Fear of failure
• Risk-averse culture

In looking at some of the ways leaders can support an innovative culture, Dr. Jay Campbell points to four focus areas.

Developing our Change Capabilities

“Organisations are still launching large, strategic change initiatives aimed at moving the business forward and helping the business grow—but what’s new in this space is the need to build agility and change-readiness into the fabric of the organisation,” says change expert Judd Hoekstra.

“This requires today’s leaders to do something we’ve never done before: develop a level of comfort with ambiguity and a readiness to move forward with change initiatives that are less than perfect. We must recognise that as soon as we figure something out, the world may change and we may need to learn and quickly adjust course.”

Self-Awareness, Goals, and Priorities: Improving Personal Effectiveness at Work

“One of the big challenges is that most people are just surviving,” says Blanchard Community thought leader Betty Dannewitz. “They are getting done what they must get done today and letting tomorrow take care of itself. You can't really hit that sweet spot of being your best if you’re busy playing catch-up all the time. To be effective, you have to think ahead, plan, and do things intentionally.”

Coaching Senior Leadership Teams

Conflict. A lack of clarity. Unclear process for decision making. Even though senior leaders are highly experienced, they often operate as a group of individuals rather than a team of people working toward a common purpose.

Matching Your Leadership Style to People's Needs

Do managers need to be more proactive when it comes to providing direction and support to their team members? Lately, managers have been leaning toward a more hands-off approach.

A Head and Heart Approach to Next-Generation Leadership

Ken Blanchard and Scott Blanchard are leaders from different generations bound by a common goal—infusing today’s leadership development practices with a head and heart approach. It’s something Ken Blanchard has championed for over 50 years—and it’s something Scott Blanchard is reshaping for the next-generation workplace.

We recently sat down with both men to learn what’s changed and what’s stayed the same when it comes to focusing people’s energy and efforts toward a shared goal.

Making Progress with DEI Initiatives

“In some ways, we’ve made progress with DEI initiatives, but in other ways, we’ve actually slid backward,” says Blanchard DEI practice leader, April Hennessey.

“There's a great deal more visibility. More conversations are happening around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Organisations are investing in courses—and that’s important. But we've started to see another trend with organisations that have had to downsize: some of the first jobs to go are DEI or HR-related.

“It’s coming from a business perspective,” says Hennessey. “Initiatives that are not immediately revenue producing, or tied to client work, are seen as expendable.

“When it comes time to make cuts, those cuts are often made somewhat indiscriminately using a ‘last hired, first fired’ way of thinking. On the surface it seems fair, but if all recent hiring has been done with diversity initiatives in mind, guess who is the first to be fired?”

That’s short-sighted, says Hennessey. She recommends that organisations look at integrating DEI initiatives more fully into the fabric of the company.

Improving Employee Experience: The Leader’s Role

There’s a lot to unpack in the 2023 HR/L&D Trends Survey, says Scott Blanchard, president of The Ken Blanchard Companies.

“We asked over 700 leadership, learning, and talent development professionals to share their biggest challenges and how they are planning to address them in the coming year. There are a lot of challenges but also a lot of optimism for the new year.

“Retaining people and reducing turnover, improving employee experience and engagement, and developing a close-knit culture despite shifts to hybrid work arrangements were all cited,” says Blanchard. “Some 67% of respondents said it’s harder to create engaging employee experiences in a hybrid/remote work environment, 75% believe hiring will be more challenging in 2023, and 79% believe it will be harder to retain their best people.”

To address these challenges, survey respondents indicated they will be focusing on increased spending for leadership development initiatives—with a majority of respondents indicating a 10-30% increase.

It’s a Challenging Time to be a Manager

Researchers at The Ken Blanchard Companies® surveyed more than 800 leaders, asking them about the biggest stressors/challenges they are facing and what would help them to be more effective. More than 70,000 data points were analysed, yielding an in-depth look into the lives of today’s managers. Learn more about the results of the 2022 Manager Challenges Survey.

How Leaders Create and Sustain Inclusivity within Teams

Our workplaces have reshaped appreciably. We have created an exponentially large talent pool with employees working in a significantly more diverse context. How do we ensure team members feel they belong and are included? There are four major components for creating an inclusive team environment. Here is a closer look at each of them.

HR/L&D Trend Survey Identifies Top Issues for 2023

“Hiring, retention, and employee experience will be the top issues for HR professionals heading into the new year,” say Jay Campbell and David Witt, after looking at the early results from The Ken Blanchard Companies^® recent trend survey. More than 700 leadership, learning, and talent development professionals took part in this year’s annual survey, entitled Enhancing the Employee Experience in a Hybrid World.

“Some 76% of respondents believe hiring will be more difficult in 2023 than it was in 2022,” says Campbell. “And 79% of respondents report that employee retention will be even more of a challenge next year.”

Employee experience will be the focus area in the battle for engagement next year, adds Witt.

3 Ways to Help People Decide to Stay, Not Stay

In order to feel comfortable staying with an organisation, people must have a manager they can trust—someone who cares about them, recognises their efforts, and wants to help them grow and succeed. If that sounds like the type of leader you’d like to be, here are three ways to get started.

Confronting Workplace Ostracism

According to social scientists, workplace ostracism is a widespread phenomenon. Workplace ostracism is rarely overt; it is subtle and insidious. Over time, those who are ostracised may feel invisible and unable to have positive social interactions and may suffer negative impacts to their mental and physical health. Let’s take a look at confronting workplace ostracism.

What My 3-Year-Old Taught Me about Goal Setting

Would you consider half of your people not knowing what is expected of them at work a recipe for disaster? Based on Gallup’s work with companies worldwide this is the case. When it comes to knowing what is expected of them, employees need more that a job description.Helping employees to set and achieve goals is a manager’s key responsibility. Here's how you can help your people set compelling goals.

Take a Quite Approach to Reengaging Your People

Are you able to recognise the symptoms of physical and emotional withdrawal associated with quiet quitting, and proactively address them? What can you, an individual manager, do to make some progress on engagement without it turning into a major event? Here’s a 3-step “quiet” approach to reengaging your people.

Quiet Quitting: A Step Down the Path Toward Complete Burnout?

Burnout is a response to chronic job stressors people deal with on a regular basis.  It’s a constant grinding that wears people away a little bit each day until they find themselves in a state of exhaustion, cynicism, and discouragement that is deep and pervasive. One widely discussed technique people are using to ward off burnout is called “quiet quitting.”  Quiet quitting begs the question: What's wrong with the work in the first place? Let’s take a look.

The Self-Aware Leader: Take an Inside-Outside Approach

Being self-aware brings tremendous freedom. And that makes you a better human and a better leader. Self-awareness is foundational to inspiring leadership and comprises of two parts. The first is being able to observe your own feelings and thoughts and their relationship. The second part is being aware of how you affect others and how they perceive you. If you want to be an inspiring leader, you must have some degree of mastery over both parts of self-awareness. In this blog we discuss this key requirement of leadership.

4 Principles for Gaining and Retaining Power

The word “𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓” evokes a strong reaction in may. It is a dynamic present in all of our relationships and it’s one we need to properly manage to help our relationships develop to their fullest potential. In and of itself, power is amoral; it’s neither good or bad. The way we use power is what determines its value. This blog contains four specific social practices as ways we can develop power and sustain it over time.

Asking for Help When You’re Overextended

There are a lot of different ways to respond to burnout and disengagement. Quiet quitting has certainly been a popular option lately. However, most of the positive options for dealing with burnout involve stepping into conversations, not withdrawing from them, says Dr. Vicki Halsey. 

More than two-thirds of managers have reported symptoms of burnout within the past year. This is a critical problem that needs to be addressed. Managers are the ones who hold things together in an organisation and serve as positive energy role models. How do we keep this important group well-nourished and functioning at a high level? Halsey recommends a three-step process for managers that begins with self-evaluation.

4 Tips to Make Sure You Really want to Say “Yes”

Have you ever found yourself overcommitted and then wondered how you got yourself in the predicament in the first place? 𝑫𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝑵𝑶? In this blog we introduce you to the “Will this bring me joy? test”. Comprising four simple steps, use this test when taking on a commitment. Complete your due diligence so you can say yes wholeheartedly.

4 Principles for Using Your Leadership Power

“𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒖𝒑𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒖𝒑𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚. 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒏.” You’re probably familiar with this quote from Lord Acton. Unfortunately, there is much truth in it. Is it a bad thing to want to be in power? Randy Conley, the author of this blog pondered this question and shared his ideas.

Does Being a Naysayer Make You a More Powerful Leader?

Have you wondered why so many negative and critical leaders seem to rise to power? Should you incorporate more negativity into your leadership style in order to become more powerful? In a very thoughtful, sensitive and diplomatic way we answer this question in this blog.

Make Career Conversations a Regular Agenda Item in One-on-ones

Why would anyone want to be a career builder when they risk losing the people they develop? Because it energises, makes people feel good about who they are and what they contribute.

Career development is about the employee experience. It’s about the leader learning what’s important to the individual on a very personal level and discovering their strengths. It’s about understanding that people are happiest when they are growing and when they are respected for their skills and strengths.

Don’t Let Power Dynamics Derail Work Communication

There are a lot of conversational dynamics in play when people from different levels in an organisation get together for meetings.

“The problem,” says Craig Weber, “is that nothing lowers conversational capacity more predictably than the presence of authority. So managers at every level of the organisation, from frontline supervisors and team leads to CEOs and senior executives, need to be careful about how they wield their authority.”

Are You Taking the Time to Connect? A Coach’s Story

Do you build relationships as part of your job or do you spend your time focused on executing—getting work done and marking tasks off your ist? Would you act differently if you knew that in most cases the most successful leaders are the ones who are all about building connections? In this blog we provide three ways for you to get started to get a little more connection in your life.

4 Steps to Escape From Your Leadership Prison Cell

All of us, in various areas of our lives, have constructed cells that imprison us and constrain our ability to experience true freedom and joy. In the realm of leadership, some of us are career criminals. There are ways you can escape from the prison of ineffective leadership practices, but it takes planning, patience, and perseverance. You didn’t build those walls overnight and it’s going to take time to tunnel your way out. Here are four steps to break out of your leadership prison cell.

Measuring the Impact of Coaching: 3 Key Steps

Effective coaching can be the best experience leaders have ever had in terms of supporting their own development and growth, but measuring the impact of leader growth can be tough. Can the true impact of coaching be measured? In this blog we look at three key steps organisations can take to simplify the measurement process.

New Blanchard Survey Explores Top Manager Challenges

What are the top challenges facing today’s managers? What are the realities they’re facing? What’s getting in their way? What can organisations do to improve the environment?

“That was the genesis of the Manager Challenges Survey we just completed. We strongly suspected that new work realities such as the increasing pace of change, the shift to hybrid work arrangements, and heightened turnover have been adding to an already long list of managerial challenges. We wanted to get a sense of what the impact has been and how today’s managers are coping. More than 800 managers shared their experiences with us.”

In preparation for an August 10 webinar where he will formally share results, Campbell has been identifying major themes in the data.

6 Ways to Shake It Up to Achieve Mastery

What does it take to achieve mastery? 

🔍 It begins with clarity.

🔑 Repetition is one of the keys. 

🕚 It will take time and dedication, and it will be uncomfortable. 

✅ Believe in yourself and you will achieve.

Giving Constructive Feedback—Focus on the Goals, Not the Person

1. Do you dread giving feedback? Do you fear that it will be seen as negative or critical? In this blog we help you change focus and keep an individual’s personality out of the equation and help you move toward closing any potential gap between expectation  and delivery.

Getting the Most from Your One-on-One Conversations: 6 Tips for Managers and Team Members

A survey conducted by Training magazine and The Ken Blanchard Companies found that 89 percent of those polled want to meet with their manager at least monthly, and 44 percent want to meet weekly. The majority of respondents are looking for either 30 or 60 minutes of one-on-one time with their manager on a regular basis. The survey also identified six specific topics that direct reports want more discussion around in their one-on-ones.

Building a Better Organisation

Organisations are critically aware that investing in management and people is the key to succeeding in market. Great companies have always been dedicated to creating great leaders and investing in their people. But there are a lot of other companies where that hasn't necessarily been a top priority—until now. Right now, every company is trying to be better. There's a higher need to act good, to do good, and to be good. In this blog we explain how many companies are taking this opportunity to build a better business. They’re not just building the same business back to the way it was; they are building something better.

Stop Procrastinating—Start Doing! 6 Steps to Help You Begin

Overcoming procrastination, especially as a leader, is important. Much of what makes people happy or unhappy is affected by procrastination. The time to start improving is now and the key is something you’re probably already good at.

Leading with Empathy

Do you consider leadership to be about people or tasks? Is empathy an important quality of leadership? How would you define “empathetic leader”? Did you know that, according to Forbes, only 40% of people rate their leaders a being empathetic. Is there an empathy deficit in your workplace?

The Most Successful Apologies Have These 8 Elements

How good are you at apologising? What have you learnt from your experiences? In this blog, our author Randy Conley has identified eight essential elements of an effective apology and shares these with you.

You Must Address These 3 Things if You Want to Restore Broken Trust

Trust is often one of those things we don’t think about until we don’t have it. Much like oxygen, we take it for granted, but once it’s gone…YIKES! We suddenly realise how critically important it is and we’ll do just about anything to get it back. The good news about broken trust, if there is any, is that it can be rebuilt in most circumstances. The first thing to deal with to restore trust is…

Managing Negativity at Work

How do you manage negativity in the workplace? How do you respond? The first step is to acknowledge that we all feel big feelings, then feel compassion for yourself when you have them and, eventually, for others when they do. It’s important to remember you have a choice—and then choosing the path that leads to your growth and happiness.

Becoming Comfortable with Constant Growing Pains

A new hire will need one to two years to become “fully productive.” However, longevity at a job doesn’t make one immune to needing help. We recognise that organisations and teams succeed as people get what they need to grow, learn, and succeed and the greatest gift you can give to people is a place to share their emotions and the encouragement to keep going.

Six Keys for Setting Team Priorities and Delegating

Where’s the sweet spot when managing your team’s priorities and delegating? Where’s the sweet spot when adjusting the direction and support each person in your team needs in each case? Can you balance performance with learning while helping your people develop and be successful? If you can, you have found the place where your people truly work as a team and you provide inspiring leadership. If you can’t, here are some tips for getting there. Read blog.

Does Your Team Know Who You are as a Leader?

What’s your leadership legacy? How do you want to be seen as a leader? How do you want to be remembered? Your leadership point of view is something only you can give. It’s your signature—your unique perspective on leadership. Let your people know who you are. Read blog here

Empathy in Action: A Thoughtful Look at the Empathetic Leader

A good leader is an empathetic leader, but empathetic leadership must not be used in isolation It’s a virtue that thrives when it’s coupled with other virtues. Being only empathetic does lead to its own set of problems. In this blog we start with some basics before we explore the complexity of this topic. Read more about empathy in action.

Stop Trying to Be Everything to Everyone—Making Distinctions between Managing, Coaching, and Mentoring

Do you understand the difference between management, coaching and mentoring? Do you know how to conduct useful management, coaching, and mentoring conversation to address the needs of your employees. In this blog we provide distinctions that can help leaders and managers identify the best conversations to use based on the questions people ask. Read blog now.

Creating a Culture of Accountability

Workplaces are evolving so quickly. The hybrid/virtual work environment presents many challenges for leaders. and creating a culture of accountability in this dynamic space requires leaders to develop a new skill set. Some leaders still think accountability equals to “bums in seats.” But that outdated belief has become completely antiquated during the pandemic. Here are a few things you can do to upgrade your skill set.

Five Strategies to Strengthen and Leverage the Voice of Women Leaders

It’s Women’s History Month—time to celebrate women’s accomplishments in the workplace! It’s essential to take a moment to recognise women’s contributions when you consider that in 2020 women still made just 84% of what men earned for the same job and were significantly underrepresented in leadership roles.

Help Wanted: VUCA Leaders! Dealing with Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity

Our collective future is unfolding right before us. An event happens on the other side of the world and its ripples are felt kilometres away. We are experiencing dramatic shifts in global markets, supply chain disruptions and new technologies. These changes leave a path of creative destruction marked by the birth of start-ups and the fall of former Goliaths. We’ve now accepted that many things will never go back to the way they were. What do our future leaders need to look like. In this blog we advance seven skills the VUCA leader must master.

The Power of Micro-Innovations

It requires the willingness to be wrong; to fail; to be resilient, and micro-innovation also requires ambition and fearlessness. Groundbreaking innovation takes lots of people and often small and incremental changes. How do we best micro-innovate? In this blog we look at ways to harness your power.

Game Time for VR Leadership Development

What makes VR so powerful? It’s powerful because it results in unmatched retention and behavioural change. In scientific terms it creates episodic learning. It’s experiential and sticks with the learner as a lived memory. VR is accessible when you need it. It offers a risk-free proving ground. It enables real learning and behaviour transfer. And it provides personalised, accurate feedback every time.

Providing Legendary Service in Challenging Times

No matter our role, we’re all human—and no one is immune to what’s been happening in our world. Still, businesses need to stay in business. Oganisations must remind their employees about the power and value of Legendary Service. Now is the moment for organisations to show their true colours and prove to their customers how much they matter. Turn a bad experience into a great one.

Inspiring Yourself When You’re Depleted

Choice, connection, and competence are the building blocks of psychological vitality. However, our current world situation makes us feel that these building blocks are under siege. Next time you’re feeling sluggish and depleted, you can take steps to consider your choices, your connection to others and how much you’re learning. In this blog we discuss these vital steps.

Building Trust by Sitting on The Same Side of The Table

Let’s talk about why we don’t trust each other. If you are vulnerable to the actions of another, then trust is required. You have two choices when presented with relationship risk: you can withhold trust to protect yourself, or you can extend trust in the hopes it will be reciprocated and both parties will benefit. How do you get both parties on the same side of the table?

Becoming a Trusted Servant Leader 

A lot of people say that, keeping your commitment to your commitment is the toughest thing. How do you turn good intentions into new leadership habits? Ken Blanchard and Randy Conley set this as one of their goals to address in their new book, Simple Truths of Leadership: 52 Ways to Be a Servant Leader and Build Trust.

2022 Learning and Development Trends: 3 Key Insights 

People are exhausted and professional development has suffered. This is one of the key findings of our 2021 L&D professionals survey. Has the pandemic affected your ability to learn? In this blog we discuss the results of the data analysis and summarise the survey’s key insights.

Five Ways to Carry On Through Challenging Times 

What’s your purpose? Know this and keep yourself on life’s track. In this blog we visit the five core principles of power that can be easily applied by anyone struggling to keep on track. It’s simpler that you think.

Keeping Your Best People from Resigning

Are you reassessing your priorities because of COVID? Are you looking for something new? The pandemic has unleashed a wave of work resignations. Can business owners afford this cost? Dr. Vicki Halsey shares six strategies to stem the tide of departures.

4 Types of Team Conflict—And How to Deal With Each Effectively

Differences are inevitable when passionate people work together. As a leader it’s important to differentiate between the different types of conflict teams experience and to have a plan for helping the team move forward. In this blog we look at four examples of team conflict and provide some advice on how a leader can intervene properly.

Creating More Community in 2022

It can bring joy and fulfilment that simply isn’t possible in the virtual world. When planned safely and well a major good thing about coming to the office is that it can spark creativity–and sharpen our collaborative and social skills and creates a collective energy even greater than the sum of its individual energies. Read blog now.

We Don’t Have a Crisis of Trust – We Have a Crisis of Untrustworthy Leaders

We don’t have a crisis of trust so much as we have a crisis of untrustworthy leaders. Are your institutions acting is such a way that causes you to trust or distrust the them? Leadership sets the tone for an organisation’s culture and performance and it’s there we need greater accountability for leading in trustworthy ways. In this blog we provide four easy to remember key elements to being trustworthy.

2022 Trends: Deep Emotional Change and More Compassionate Leadership

Have you reevaluated your work life? Have you adapted to the shifting needs and realities of your people? Many of us are struggling with this, but we still have to get the balance between people and results. The learning environment is changing too and the best leadership development programs are also evolving. COVID has created a spike in the evolutionary cycle for the training industry. In this blog we discuss the evolutionary trends for 2022.

Real Talk About Leading Hybrid Teams

Are you after some straight-up, real talk about leading hybrid teams? Here it is. In this blog we name the single most important foundation for leading a successful hybrid team. We identify mistakes to avoid, help you deal with team meetings, manage expectations, performance management, proximity bias and more. Read blog.

Crafting Your Own Personal SWOT Matrix

Simple and user friendly, a SWOT analysis is an effective personal strategic planning tool. Crafting your personal SWOT matrix is a powerful technique that can be used when you are seeking a career change or facing a major shift in your life. In this blog we provide three steps to get started.

How Sales Managers Can Help New Hires

Some 41% of the global workforce is “considering leaving their employer in the current year”. This turnover comes at a staggering cost. These costs are particularly steep for the sales function and a company cannot succeed if there is significant turnover in its sales force. The cost of the investment, the long lead time before success, the risk of a salesperson quitting, and the opportunities lost along the way are significant. In this blog we discuss how sales managers can help their new hires?

The Highest Performing Teams Have These 4 Mindsets

It doesn’t happen by accident. We are talking about leading productive, effective teams, leveraging the strengths of team members, addressing cross-functional challenges, and getting work done. Our research and experience has shown that high performance teams exhibit a mindset that sets them apart. What are these mindsets? Read this blog.

4 Keys to Realising Your Authentic Leadership Presence

Are you able to command a room? Do you possess that “Leadership Presence”? When we are with someone who possesses leadership presence, we feel it, know it, admire it, and want it for ourselves. In this blog we discuss how you can realise your authentic leadership presence.

Trust – You’ve Got To Give It Before You Get It

Do you withhold trust in order to protect yourself, or you can extend trust in the hope it will be reciprocated? Reciprocation is a key factor in the development of trust. Are you courageous enough to extend trust to your stakeholders with the positive expectation they will reward your trust by responding in kind?

Want to Lead a Successful Change? Involve Your People

People don't actually resist change. They resist being controlled. High involvement in the change process by those who will be impacted by the change lessens their feelings of being controlled and builds momentum for the needed change. Do you have the skills of an effective leader who can encourage large numbers of people to buy into a change at the same time?

Don’t Stigmatise Your Learners

Are you a peak performer? Business says only 10% of their people are.  How do you keep your best talent growing and get your new talent up to speed quickly.  When you learn the SLII® development model you realise everyone can develop to a higher level of performance with the right leadership approach. Get clear on the skills needed and who’s performing well and you can teach others how to perform like that through coaching and support. It’s a great way to build a positive, generative type of environment. Read blog now.

Succeeding in a COVID-Disrupted Work Environment

Has your business been disrupted because of COVD? Some have described their business world as severely changed. In this blog we visit our just completed webinar series and highlight some of the key points and action steps that were shared. You can also check out our range of related articles.

The 3 Mind Shifts (and 4 Skills) to Effectively Lead Hybrid Teams

Hybrid teams can be really exciting. Since COVID, the big difference is the sheer volume of people looking to work either full time or part time from home. A big lesson learned is that both individuals and organisations can be far more productive when people work from home at least part time. In this blog we discuss the need to adopt three fresh mind shifts and four skills to guide our team members as we embrace the new future of work.

Communicating Constructively in Challenging Times

When conversations get challenging do you, avoid conflict, or pull out all stops to win? We all get triggered; the trick is to catch your emotional reaction to what someone is saying and consciously choose a balanced response. In this blog we talk about the “Sweet Spot”.  It's a balance between two conversation skills: candour and curiosity. Can you achieve the sweet spot and harness the talent in any room?

3 Strategies for Leading Yourself Through Challenging Times

Are you feeling stuck? Is a feeling of helplessness curtailing your positive energy? COVID has changed so many aspects of our home and work lives. In this blog we share three principles that can help you get unstuck and moving forward again.

Don’t Forget Self Care: Four Ways to Take Better Care of Yourself

Is your energy tank running low?  Will you tough it out? Or, do you follow the old adage all travellers know: always put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others. We make choices every day that can either promote or hinder our well being. Follow these four simple suggestions, fill up your energy tank and feel refreshed.

Returning to the Office Provides an Opportunity to Demonstrate Trust

Sending people home at the start of the pandemic was a great trust experiment. The good news is the ‘experiment’ was a great success! As time moves on do we continue to build in this direction or do we go back to what was? How are you planning on progressing into the future? Read blog now.

Amid Constant Change, 3 Fundamentals of Leadership Remain the Same

Monumental change is happening in workplaces all over the world, but leaders must be as consistent as ever in the basics of supporting and caring for their people. In this article we visit 3 leadership fundamentals for helping your people and your organisation to thrive.

Legendary Customer Service: As Important as Ever

In this day and age, sales is a tough business—but customer service doesn’t have to be. Research shows that customers return because of the way the people or organisation providing the product or service make customers feel—before, during, and after the transaction. Sounds simple enough, right? In this blog we introduce you to a fresh way of thinking about the way you serve your customers. Read blog.

Don’t Call It Return-to-Work—Call It a Needed Conversation

Is it time for your organisation to return-to-office—and to what degree should you accommodate employee preference. How do you develop a strategy that both addresses safety and shapes policy? How do you flex and have conversations with your employees when preference and policy aren’t aligned? This blog should assist.

Succeeding with Your Post-COVID Re-entry Plan

The success of your return-to-work plan will be decided by your employee and manager cultures. If they want it to happen, it will happen. If they don’t, nothing will happen. You need your culture to roll with you, protect both return-to-work and future-of-work strategies. How are you standing up to the changed realities of these times? Learn more.

6 Strategies to Build Trust in Your Post-Pandemic, Return to The Office Plan

With COVID restrictions beginning to ease organisations have already announced plans to return employees back to the office full-time. Some are looking at a hybrid arrangement while most are still trying to gain clarity on their post-pandemic plans. Regardless of where your organisation falls on that spectrum, one thing is certain – This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for organisational leaders to build trust in significant and profound ways. Here are six strategies to help you develop, communicate, and implement a plan that results in building higher levels of trust with your employees. Read Blog now.

Servant Leadership: 11 Questions to See If People Would Consider You a Servant Leader

If you’re here to be served, you think leadership is all about you. You expect people to follow and obey, you don’t see any need for feedback or discussion, and you believe it’s your job to keep people accountable then THIS BLOG IS NOT FOR YOU.

Rediscovering Servant Leadership: 3 Key Practices

Maria Pressentin, Head of Learning and Organisational Development at The Ken Blanchard Companies hopes the three principles discussed in this blog will help you not only in your own leadership studies but also as you consider servant leadership for your organisation. What are these principles?

Becoming a Best Boss

People typically describe their best boss as someone who always had their best interests at heart, set them up to win, and was caring, motivating, and empowering. Are you a boss who is prepared to help your people at the level they need. Not sure, then read this blog. 

Are You a Servant Leader and Don’t Know It?

Robert Greenleaf first coined the term servant leadership in 1970 and published widely on the concept for the next twenty years. Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela are examples of great leaders who practiced this philosophy. If you think you couldn’t be in that kind of company, read on!

Overcoming Assumed Constraints: Activating Your Points of Power

Do you have stuff that gets in your way to achieve your professional dreams? Do they get you down and limit your ability to achieve your gaols? There are ways forward. In this blog we identify skills you can master to help you get out of your head and get out of your own way.

Use 5 Coaching Skills for Navigating Organisational Change

Taking a coaching approach to navigate organisational change could increase success with your next change effort. In this blog we focus on some tools a leader can use when managing a team through change. Read blog now.

Leading from a Distance: One Year Post COVID

Remote working will not go away after COVID, and organisations will need to transform how they manage their workforce in several important areas. This blog discusses these areas. With the number of employees permanently working from home to double from pre-COVID times are you ready to lead from a distance?

Don’t Forget to Address These Five Concerns When Leading Change

People who are going to be impacted by a change should be involved in planning and implementing the change. High involvement strategies will increase the odds that you will be successful. Would you like to learn more? Read this blog.

Leading Change? Keep These 3 Personality Traits in Balance

Leaders who succeed at leading change cultivate courage, patience, and determination in the right amounts, at the right time. In this blog we ask you to consider these three traits in your own change efforts.

Engaging in Your Employees’ Development

Are you a stakeholder who could increase your involvement in your employees’ development? Or perhaps you are an employee who could benefit from more attention from your manager regarding your development? In this blog we provide some ideas for getting started.

Use the CARE Model to Serve Customers at a Higher Level

When an organisation delivers with such excellence and consistency that its service reputation becomes a competitive edge, that’s Legendary Service. It starts with leaders serving their people at the highest level, so that people on the front line can in turn serve their customers at the highest level. We call these types of leaders service champions. Are you a service champion?

3 Prerequisites for Earning the Right to Coach Others

In today’s workplace, business leaders are encouraged to coach their direct reports. To do this, leaders must develop a coaching mindset—a mindset that looks for the potential in others.  In this blog we provide four ways to get started.

The Leader as Coach — 4 Ways to Develop a Coaching Mindset

In today’s workplace, business leaders are encouraged to coach their direct reports. To do this, leaders must develop a coaching mindset—a mindset that looks for the potential in others.  In this blog we provide four ways to get started.

5 Ways Coaching Can Support Leadership & Development

Like most leaders, you may be struggling to find the best way to lead your people right now. Shouldering the responsibility of making tough decisions and taking on new challenges singlehandedly can be especially difficult. Having the encouraging support of others now is needed more than ever before. In this blog we consider ways how coaching could help you and those in your organisation. Read blog now.

Rules, Yes—but use Compassion and Common Sense

Is your business customer focused? Is your business innovative, adaptive and creative when it comes to customer service? Or is it like what Patricia Overland experienced at her supermarket. Read this blog and you decide.

Don’t Make Assumptions About Team Behaviour

Have you had team leadership experience? Was it a positive experience? Leading a successful team requires clarity, communication, and a process. Unfortunately, most people have never been trained in any of these. In this blog we identify the skills you need for your team to succeed. Read blog now.

Creating A Compelling Vision for Your Team

Good leadership starts with a vision. If you don’t know where you’re going, your leadership doesn’t matter. If your team is working without a vision, take the time to create one. This blog explains why investing in the creation of one is a good idea. Read now.

Presenting Your Training Initiative to the CFO

As gatekeeper of the financials, it’s the CFO’s job to ask the questions. It’s your job as the learning and development professional to come prepared when presenting to the CFO for budget allocation for training initiatives. How do we increase the odds of CFO approval? Read on.

7 Ways to Promote Healthy Team Debate

Do you confuse collaboration with simply getting along or being polite? Do you shy away from conflict or debate? Are you afraid to speak your truth? In this short blog we provide 7 ways to encourage healthy debate within your team. 

Stepping Boldly into 2021

“Business success doesn't happen by accident,” says Scott Blanchard, president of The Ken Blanchard Companies. “It happens when there's a clear strategic direction combined with strong operational leadership that brings that strategy to life." What are the strategies that leadership, learning, and talent development professionals can use to guide their organisations to greater success in 2021? Read this blog to find out.

5 Reasons You Need an Accountability Partner

An accountability partner can make the difference between someone who succeeds in their professional growth and development and someone who loses focus. What is an accountability partner, and what could you achieve with an accountability partner in your corner? Read this blog to find out.

An Open Letter to L&D Leaders: Reflections on the 2021 Trends Report

Did you watch our recent 2021 Blanchard HR/L&D Trends Report webinar? It was a surprisingly moving experience for our presenter Jay Campbell. More than 1,000 L&D professionals participated in this years survey. Your responses and comments painted such a vivid picture of the past year. It’s clear that so many of you took the hero’s journey, overcoming challenge after challenge in 2020. Read blog.

Learning and Development Trends for 2021

One thousand leadership, learning, and talent development professionals took part in The Ken Blanchard Companies’ 2021 HR/L&D Trends Survey. The analysis of the data is complete. This blog reveals some of the results.

Diversity Beyond Lip Service by La’Wana Harris

True change will take place only when people make a fundamental shift in how they approach diversity. Harris explains that to build a sustainable culture of inclusion, we all must become aware of our own biases and then do the self-work to move forward with actions that have a positive impact. Want to be part of the solution? Read blog now.

5 Strategies for Surfacing and Resolving Concerns about Change

Constant change is a way of life in organisations today. How do managers and leaders cope with the barrage of changes that confront them daily as they attempt to keep their organisations adaptive and viable? In this blog we provide 5 change leadership strategies and their outcomes describe an effective process for leading change. Read blog now.

Manager as Coach: Honouring Personal Intuition

As if the job of managing people in the workplace isn’t difficult enough, and adding in the recurring need to coach them through challenges and issues may seem daunting. The skill of coaching is not one that comes naturally to most of us, but it’s a competence most leaders can learn and master. There are tools to help. Interested to know what they are? Read this blog.

4 Ways To Gain Power and Use It For Good

𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿. The word itself evokes a reaction. The way we use power is what determines its value. But what is power? How do we get it? And once we have it, how do we keep it? Are you interested to develop and sustain power in a way that allows you to influence others to make a positive difference? Read this blog.

COVID Has Set the Stage for L&D Reinvention

COVID-19 has caused a lot of less-than-optimal virtual training to be developed. However, to create truly memorable learning experiences, we need to be thinking about more complex architectures that look at ways to maximise existing resources and technologies. What can we do? Can we rethink this?

4 Ways to Provide Individual Attention Like a Coach

For most, if not all organisations, their employees are their number one asset. This makes the wellbeing, the engagement of employees very important. Is engagement an issue in your organisation? Consider some of these ways a coach provides individualised attention to those they serve. Read blog.

4 Keys to Great Customer Service

Do you consider taking care of customers is the responsibility of every person, not just people who work on the front line of your business? Most businesses recognise the need for great customer service–but few really get it right. Organisations that have a true service culture look at customer service from three equally important perspectives. Want to know what they are?

It’s Time for a Trust Tune-Up with Your Remote Team

Whether your team has performed with flying colours during this pandemic, or if they are clearly in need of help, there is no better time than now to do a trust tune-up. The only way to know if your team has high trust is if you measure it. If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it. To help you in this effort, we’ve included in this post a survey you can use to gauge the level of trust in your team. Read blog.

Leadership Development: Finding Your Place in the Digital Future

COVID-19 saw a rapid change from face to face to virtual production in the learning community, and not all learners responded favourably to what was created for them. It’s important to step back and consider all of your design options. Where is your place in the digital future?

Creating Authentic Executive Presence

Our true authentic self already exists within each of us. Are you on your career path following your true internal compass? Not sure? This article may provide some clarity.

Your Managers May Not Be As Trusted As You Think They Are

How can an organisation have a problem with low trust yet none of its leaders consider themselves untrustworthy? Are you as trustworthy as you think you are? Like any leadership skill, the ability to build trust can be learned and developed. Are you ready to learn?

The Power of Clear Expectations–Identify What and Who

When leaders set clear expectations, outcomes are much more likely to hit the mark. And it’s just as important for leaders to set milestones en route to the outcome. Do you keep your people on track, provide support and redirect when needed so they do their best work and hit their deadlines? Read blog

Developer of Others: The Leadership Competency That Makes the Difference

It is an accepted truth that training is more effective when the manager is involved. How can managers support direct reports who are going through a learning and development or coaching journey? Here are some ideas.

6–Week Online Class Provides Better Experience than 1–day Classroom Design, says Industry Expert

Recent technology advances have made it a lot easier to create the type of collaborative learning experiences today’s organisations are looking for.  By creating a richer experience technology enables the mindset and provides the skillset to put the new learning into action. Like to learn more. 

5 Keys to Leading in the Great Acceleration

“Compared with the Industrial Revolution, we estimate that this change is happening ten times faster and at 300 times the scale, or roughly 3,000 times the impact.” What change are they talking about and how does this effect leadership? Read Blog Now

Learn How to Master Your Motivation with Susan Fowler

Do you ever wonder why you reach some goals easily and struggle with others? In her latest book Susan Fowler fashioned a condensed description of three basic needs we must create in our lives in order to master our motivation. What are these needs?

4 Key Elements of Emotional Intelligence–A Coach’s Perspective

Have you ever interacted with a person with low EQ? If you have, it’s safe to say the interaction may not have been very pleasant or productive. How good are you at adapting your behaviours and leadership styles to create productive interactions? Like to learn more?

15 Attributes of Great Managers

What are some of the attributes a great manager should either have of be working on? Here is a list of 15 attributes that serves as a good starting point—these suggestions are taken from notes that Blanchard coaches have made from what they focus on during coaching calls.

The Coronavirus: An Unexpected Opportunity to Change the Way We Change

The coronavirus pandemic upended our world in a matter of weeks but it has acted like a microscope by magnifying how courageous, curious, agile, and resilient we (individuals and organisations!) can be. It gives us new ways of thinking about how and where work gets done. What are some of the lessons we’re learning? Click here to find out.

Building Your Conversational Capacity

“In our rapidly changing world, everyone's scrambling to figure out how to work together in this new context. How do we work together in a virtual environment? How do we provide valuable service to our customers? What does the future hold, and how do we prepare for it?” Click here to find out. 

3 Ways to Meet People Where They Are on New Tasks and Processes

Your goal as a leader if to keep the conversation flowing. That’s the secret to productivity–clear goals, people aligned on performance, and being able to diagnose and then give what is needed to ensure they get the job done. Here are 3 ways to help you get this done.

The Best Way to Show You Care during Difficult Times

The best bosses care about each direct report as a person. They see something the person doesn’t see in themselves. That’s especially important today with everything we are facing in our lives. As a leader, how can you demonstrate this caring behaviour? Click this link to find out.

The Top 5 Characteristics of Servant Leaders

In their academic paper identifying primary characteristics of Servant Leadership, researchers Adam Focht and Michael Ponton share the results of a Delphi study they conducted with scholars in the field of servant leadership. The five most prominent servant leadership characteristics are raised in this blog.

Leading Others in a Disrupted World: 5 Coaching Mindsets

With all of the change and disruption in today’s world, leaders are being asked to lead their teams through new situations never navigated in modern history. It can be overwhelming when everyone is looking to you for the answers. Leaders can take a cue from the coaching world on serving people and meeting them exactly where they are. Here are five things that can help you coach in a challenging time.

Remember to Fly The Airplane – 5 Principles for Leading in a Crisis

Much of what we face as organistaional leaders during the coronavirus pandemic is out of our control. Yet we can prioritise the key issues we need to tackle, decide which options are the best course of action, collaborate with each other effectively, communicate with clarity and purpose to our teams, and the see the job through to completion.

Here are five key principles from Captain Sullenberger’s experience of successfully executing an emergency water landing, that we can all apply when leading in a crisis.