This is my review of:
Ken Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations
Ken Blanchard has an exhaustive amount of Published books. Based on good reviews from Amazon, I decided to pick this one up. From the back cover, it appeared to encapsulate a joining point of his other books.
The book focuses on types of leadership, and how high performing oganizations work with these types of leadership.
The types of leadership discussed include:
The main point was how people are the engine behind business. Empowering people in the right way to 'use their brains', helping them setting clear goals, and leading them in a way that fosters growth, are the keys to 'Leading at a higher level'
I think it is summed up in this quote from the book:
Leadership is not something you do to people, but something you do with people
No. There were some good points in the book, however the author continually referenced himself.
It felt as though I was reading an infomertial for Ken Blanchard.
Below are some of the points I thought were worth jotting down:
The below types of leadership should be used based on the experience and situation of the people being led:
He uses the analagoy of teaching your child how to ride a bike. Each stage needs different support.
Constraints that we empose on ourselves. The author uses an analogy of a baby elephant, who belongs to the circus being tied to a chain. When the elephant grows up it won't break the chains, eventhough it could easily, because of assumed constraints.
Author asks the following question we coming up with goals: "Can you imagine training for the Olympics with no one telling you how fast you ran or how high you jumped?"
Sequential list of concerns people go through when dealing with change:
Here is a selection of referenced books. I have put these on my future reading list: * Long walk to freedom - Nelson Mandela * The Pedagogy of the Oppresse * Thinking fast and slow - Daniel Kahneman
The best way to predict your future is to create it - Peter Drucker
If you don't take care of your customers, somebody else will
Leadership is not something you do to people, but something you do with people
If you keep your people well informed and let them use their brains, you'll be amazed at how they can help manage costs
The sheer number of references the author makes to his previous work is hilarious. It gets to a point that you stop reading the book and all you can think about is the name: Ken Blanchard...Ken Blanchard...Ken Blanchard