Ken Blanchard has been a prolific writer on topics of management and leadership.\u00a0 He has written over 60 books, though usually co-authored with someone else.\u00a0 If you\u2019re old enough, you may remember his classic work, \u201cThe One Minute Manager.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 I recently stumbled across one of his books, \u201cThe Secret: What Great Leaders Know \u2013 and Do,\u201d which he co-authored with Mark Miller (VP of Training and Development for Chick-fil-A).\u00a0 In it, he talks about the five hallmarks of great leaders, and he has an interesting, graphic way of describing those leadership qualities.\u00a0 Of course, every author who writes about leadership has his or her own list of essential leadership attributes, but if you\u2019re interested in Blanchard\u2019s take on what makes a great leader, please continue reading below.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best of all leaders is the one who helps people so that eventually they don\u2019t need him.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>~Ancient Chinese Proverb<\/em><\/p>\n First, Blanchard is a proponent of \u201cservant leadership.\u201d\u00a0 If you\u2019re not familiar with that leadership style, it\u2019s the idea that a leader \u201cserves\u201d his followers . . . that the job of the leader is to help her followers to be successful.\u00a0 In Blanchard\u2019s words, a servant leader is serving, not self-serving.\u00a0 So, a servant leader can be a disciplinarian when it is necessary, but for the most part, a servant leader is more mentor than boss, more coach than supervisor.<\/p>\n Anyway, against the backdrop of servant leadership, Blanchard uses the acronym SERVE to demonstrate the five characteristics he believes all great leaders share.<\/p>\n S<\/strong>ee the future.<\/p>\n E<\/strong>ngage and develop others.<\/p>\n R<\/strong>einvent continuously.<\/p>\n V<\/strong>alue results and relationships<\/p>\n E<\/strong>mbody the values.<\/p>\n See the future.<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0 Great leaders have a vision of where they want to take their followers.\u00a0 It must be a bright, compelling vision that followers can get excited about.\u00a0 So every day is not just another day at the office, it\u2019s another step toward achieving the goal.<\/p>\n Engage and develop others.<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cEngage\u201d in this context means to put the right people into the right jobs, and then to actively get both their hearts and their heads in the game.\u00a0 Ultimately, these are the people you\u2019ll need to depend upon to get you where you want to go, so ask for their thoughts, opinions, and ideas.\u00a0 As to the \u201cdevelop others\u201d part, that\u2019s just about like it sounds.\u00a0 A great leader uses training, both formal and informal, and mentoring to help people to reach their potential.<\/p>\n Reinvent continuously.<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0 Business moves very fast and will continue to move even faster.\u00a0 Everywhere we look, conditions are fluid, changing.\u00a0 To keep up, leaders need to continuously improve their skills and knowledge, and insist their followers do the same.\u00a0 And the processes we use to do our work must be constantly scrutinized to find ways to do it better\/faster\/cheaper.<\/p>\n Value results and relationships.<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0 Blanchard makes a point of saying it isn\u2019t an \u201ceither\/or\u201d case of delivering results or<\/u><\/em> building relationships.\u00a0 Good leaders know we must do both.\u00a0 Good leaders know that if they build strong relationships with their people, those people will move heaven and earth to deliver the desired results.\u00a0 Entrepreneur and author Jack DeBoer put it even stronger when he said, \u201cIn your business decisions, risk only money . . . never people or relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n Embody the values.<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0 This is about building trust . . . about not only talking the talk, but also walking the walk.\u00a0 For instance, if a leader purports to \u201cput customers first,\u201d but then subverts good customer service practices, how can his followers trust him?\u00a0 And if she loses the trust of her followers, it\u2019s unlikely they will follow her anywhere.<\/p>\n Of course, all of this is easier said than done.\u00a0 As you\u2019ve probably noticed, we have only talked here about what great leaders do, but we haven\u2019t said anything at all about how they do it.\u00a0 How, for instance, do they develop an exciting, compelling vision that will inspire their followers?\u00a0 Or how do leaders \u201cengage\u201d their people in a meaningful way?\u00a0 How do they build strong, lasting relationships?\u00a0 For the answers to these and other \u201chow\u201d questions, you\u2019ll need to get Blanchard\u2019s book.\u00a0 It\u2019s only 115 pages long and is written as a business fable, so it\u2019s a very easy read, but full of good stuff.\u00a0 So if you\u2019re interested in continuous self-improvement, as Blanchard suggests, reading his book would not be a bad place to start.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ken Blanchard has been a prolific writer on topics of management and leadership.\u00a0 He has written over 60 books, though usually co-authored with someone else.\u00a0 If you\u2019re old enough, you may remember his classic work, \u201cThe One Minute Manager.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 I recently stumbled across one of his books, \u201cThe Secret: What Great Leaders Know \u2013 and<\/p>\n