Few people have impacted the day-to-day management of people and companies more than Ken Blanchard. A prominent, gregarious, sought-after author, speaker, and business consultant, Dr. Blanchard is universally characterized by his friends, colleagues, and clients as one of the most insightful, powerful, and compassionate individuals in business today.
When Ken speaks, he speaks from the heart with warmth and humor. His unique gift is to speak to an audience and communicate with each person as if they were alone and talking one on one. He is a polished storyteller with a knack for making the seemingly complex easy to understand.
From his phenomenal best-selling book, The One Minute Manager®, coauthored with Spencer Johnson, which has sold more than 12 million copies and remains on best-seller lists, to the library of books coauthored with Sheldon Bowles, Raving Fans®, Gung Ho!®, Big Bucks!, and High Five!, Ken’s impact as a writer is far reaching.
He wrote his latest book, Leading at a Higher Level: Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations, with the founding associates and consulting partners of The Ken Blanchard Companies. This definitive "Blanchard on Leadership" combines more than 25 years of breakthrough leadership insights in one extraordinary book.
Ken is Chief Spiritual Officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies®, an international management training and consulting firm that he and his wife, Dr. Marjorie Blanchard, founded in 1979 in San Diego, California. He is also a visiting lecturer at his alma mater, Cornell University, where he is a trustee emeritus of the Board of Trustees. Ken is cofounder of The Center for FaithWalk Leadership, which is dedicated to helping leaders walk their talk in the marketplace.
Ken has received many awards and honors for his contributions in the fields of management, leadership and speaking. The National Speakers Association awarded him its highest honor, the "Council of Peers Award of Excellence." He was inducted into the HRD Hall of Fame by Training magazine and Lakewood Conferences, and he received the Golden Gavel Award from Toastmasters International. And in 2004 Ken was awarded with The Thought Leadership Award for continued support of work-related learning and performance by ISA—The Association of Learning Providers.
http://www.kenblanchard.com
An effective leader is able to move fluidly between each leadership style, recognising that a follower will have different development levels for different tasks.
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Ken Blanchard is internationally renowned for his situational leadership model developed with Paul Hersey and his “One Minute Manager” series co-authored with Spencer Johnson.
Blanchard's “One Minute Manager” series and situational leadership model are popular as they are simple to use and widely applicable.
The Situational Leadership Model
Ken Blanchard's situational leadership model outlines 4 different leadership styles that can be adopted depending on the situation or task.
Competence versus Commitment (Skill vs Will)
The leader assesses the development level of the “follower” with regard to completing a specific task. The leader assesses the follower’s level of competence and commitment in that situation and correctly matches their leadership style with the development level of the follower.
An effective leader is able to move fluidly between each leadership style, recognising that a follower will have different development levels for different tasks.
Development (D) Level
(D1) Low Competence, Low Commitment – low skill level i.e. no training, understanding of how to complete the task, previous experience and lacks motivation or confidence to complete the task.
(D2) Low Competence, High Commitment – has desire or incentive to complete task but low skill level.
(D3) High Competence, Low/Variable Commitment – can competently complete task but lacks confidence or perceives task as high risk
(D4) High Competence, High Commitment – experienced and motivated to complete task independently.
Leadership (S) Style
(S1) Directing – one-way communication where leader tells and shows follower what to do, and closely supervises them doing it.
(S2) Coaching – two-way communication where leader directs what needs to be done, seeking ideas and suggestions from the follower.
(S3) Supporting – leader focuses on motivation and confidence issues and leaves task decisions to follower.
(S4) Delegating – leader provides high-level direction only and further involvement and decision making is controlled by follower.
Ken Blanchard's Situational Leadership Model has been adopted by many large companies as it is easily learned and applied.