Focus Magazine - Spring 2015 - 46

5 QUESTIONS
Tim Sosbe

5 Questions With...

Ken Blanchard

hat's the secret for being a great
leader? It's a question everyone in a
position of authority - whether
running a multinational corporation or a local
volunteer group - wonders sooner or later. I
recently spoke with Ken Blanchard, one of the
world's most prominent speakers and
consultants and author of more than 60 books,
including e Secret-What Great Leaders
Know and Do.
Ken Blanchard,
author of The Secret-
What Great Leaders
Know and Do

Tim Sosbe (TS): Why should leaders be
passionate about the future?
Ken Blanchard (KB): As a leader, if you aren't
passionate about something, you can bet
your team isn't going to be passionate
either. Leaders who set a compelling
vision for the future of the department or
organization stir up enthusiasm in their
people. A compelling vision tells everyone
your purpose-who you are as a team;
your picture of the future-where you are
going; and your values-what will guide
your behavior. Envisioning and
communicating a future-oriented vision is
a key part of being a leader; it drives the
performance of those around you.
TS: Why is it important for leaders to reinvent
continuously?
KB: Leaders must never stop learning,
creating, and innovating if they want their
organization to thrive. On a personal level,
learning is crucial to growth. Read, take a
class, meet with a mentor, whatever works
for you. People want to follow leaders who
model positive behavior. On a systems
level, leaders constantly need to seek
answers for how to work more eﬃciently
while they instill in team members a

desire for improvement. Finally, great
leaders notice when an unbalanced
organizational structure no longer serves
the company. ey understand that
occasionally the structure may need to be
tweaked or reworked to meet changing
demands.
TS: How can an organization focus on both
results and people at the same time?
KB: is is simple, and something I've been
talking about for years. When leaders care
about their people, those people will care
about the customers. Happy customers
will come back again and again, which will
improve the bottom line. Caring about
people and results - not people or results
- is a winning formula. I like to say that
profit is the applause you get for creating a
motivating environment for your people
and caring for your customers.
TS: What's the connection between living your
values and being an eﬀective leader?
KB: Eﬀective leadership is built on trust. To be
successful, a leader must personify the
core values of their organization by doing
what they say they are going to do. A
leader can build and maintain trust with
people by walking their talk - conducting
themselves so that people can see how
their actions support their words.
TS: What is the hallmark of a great leader?
KB: Putting it simply, great leaders serve. ey
serve everyone around them. ey
empower and teach others along the way
so that aer their own season of leadership
ends, qualified successors can step up and
continue to serve while leading others in
carrying out the vision. I

Tim Sosbe is editor of Focus magazine and editorial director for LTEN. Email Tim at tsosbe@L-TEN.org.

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Focus Magazine - Spring 2015

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