Blanchard LeaderChat

A finite game has known players, fixed rules, and a clear end point, like baseball. But with infinite games such as business or politics, the players come and go, the rules are changeable, and there is no defined end point. There are no winners or losers in an infinite game—there is only ahead or behind.

In this episode, hear virtual training pioneer Cindy Huggett share information from her book Virtual Training Tools and Templates: An Action Guide to Live Online Learning . She offers tips to ensure your virtual training is successful by meeting the specific needs of your organization. The first step is to define what virtual training means for your company. For example, if you are trying to repli...

In this exciting episode, Alexa Shoen shares secrets for finding your first job—or your dream job—from her new book, #EntryLevelBoss . She calls her approach a "fitness plan" for looking for work, with the goal of helping people go through the job search process as efficiently as possible. Shoen believes there are 14 incorrect beliefs that stymie our job search efforts and she challenges us to rec...

In this week's podcast, you'll hear Brendon Burchard explain why and how some people perform at a higher level than others. He identifies six habits successful people practice to sustain long-term achievement in their personal and professional lives. Seek clarity . Successful people continually seek clarity. They are curious and ask questions. They are intentional about understanding how they are...

In this episode, hear Keith Ferrazzi explain the new rules for work presented in his latest book , Leading Without Authority . The days of authoritative command and control are gone. "Work doesn't happen in organization charts anymore. Leaders need to learn the power of co-elevation to bring collaboration to a higher level of effectiveness," says Ferrazzi. When a leader thinks of themselves as a s...

In this episode, hear leadership expert Dave McKeown challenge leaders to break the cycle of mediocrity and take responsibility for their own development. In his latest book, The Self-Evolved Leader, McKeown acknowledges that it is easy for leaders to get stuck in the busyness of the day-to-day and allow themselves to be disrupted at any time. Leaders need to spend less time taking care of every l...

In this compelling episode, you'll hear La'Wana Harris share timely thoughts about her new book, Diversity Beyond Lip Service . She explains how she works with leaders to help them become aware of their own biases and how to make conscious choices that mitigate bias in order to embrace diversity. Harris defines diversity as the full spectrum of human indifference including race, gender, and sexual...

In this episode, Mark Johnson describes a method for putting visionary thinking and processes into place so that any organization can take advantage of disruptive innovation. As business models change at an ever-increasing rate and the world becomes noisier, the tendency for most organizations is to hunker down and deal with the here and now. But it is important to get past the pull of the present...

In this episode you'll hear Joel Peterson, chairman of JetBlue Airways, discuss the difference between an entrepreneur and an entrepreneurial leader . In his latest book , Entrepreneurial Leadership: The Art of Launching New Ventures, Inspiring Others, and Running Stuff , Peterson explains that leaders who want to make a lasting impact must learn to launch new initiatives, inspire others, and cham...

Judd Hoekstra, coauthor of Who Killed Change, explains why up to 70 percent of change efforts fail. Research indicates there are several predictive reasons why change fails, and Hoekstra explains how to navigate through the process successfully. He also describes three of the five stages of concern that people experience during a change initiative.

"If leaders know that showing gratitude and appreciating the work of their employees is important, why aren't they doing it consistently?" asks Adrian Gostick, organizational culture expert and cofounder of The Culture Works. In this episode, hear Gostick talk about research his company conducted with more than one million employees that confirms the strong relationship between employee recognitio...

Hear motivation expert Susan Fowler describe the three basic needs that are essential to optimal motivation: choice , connection , and competence . She explains we all need to create these three needs in our lives in order to thrive. Creating the basic need of choice can be as simple as recognizing that we have a choice. Have you ever wished you didn't have to go to work in the morning? That is a...

A finite game has known players, fixed rules, and a clear end point, like baseball. But with infinite games such as business or politics, the players come and go, the rules are changeable, and there is no defined end point. There are no winners or losers in an infinite game—there is only ahead or behind.

In this episode, Craig Weber explains how strong communication skills can build healthy work environments and increase leadership effectiveness. "The first step is awareness. People need to be aware of how they react to others during conversations," explains Weber. Once people have this awareness, they can be more thoughtful about their responses and help conversations move along in a positive way...

Jennifer Brown says most of us are not aware of the variety of forms bias can take. The most important thing is to start having discussions about diversity and unconscious bias so every leader can begin their journey toward becoming an inclusive leader.

Marcus Buckingham believes there are some basic assumptions about work that are just no longer true in the business environment today. In this episode, he shares his insights on eight of the nine lies featured in his latest book, Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader's Guide to the Real World, including ideas such as: People care which company they work for; The best plan wins; The best comp...

"I've been in the business of leadership development for 30 years, and it became increasingly evident to me that love is the foundation of great leadership," says Steve Farber. He isn't talking a touchy-feely notion of love, but the competitive advantage you can have when you love what you do in the service of people who love what you do. This book is about dispelling the myth that love and busine...

In this exciting episode, you'll hear how aviation pioneer Carey D. Lohrenz learned what Fearless Leadership means in two of the most demanding and extreme environments imaginable: the cockpit of an F-14 and the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. Through her experiences, Lohrenz identified a fundamental truth: high performing teams require fearless leaders. "Fearless leadership isn't about not fe...

In this episode, you'll hear Jim Clifton describe the findings from Gallup's largest study on the future of work from his new book, It's the Manager . "We found that engagement—not satisfaction, but engagement, where people are developing and contributing to something bigger than themselves—is extremely low. In the United States, about 30 percent of employees are engaged at work. And if you look w...

For everyday situations that can drain our daily energy and make us lose focus, Micro-Resilience offers quick and easy ways to help us cope: Learn how to Refocus Your Brain, Reset Your Primitive Alarms, Reframe Your Attitude, Refresh Your Body, and Renew Your Spirit! Bonnie St. John explains how in her book Micro-Resilience , coauthored with Allen P. Haines. "We have so much disruption in our live...

In this episode, S. Chris Edmonds discusses the key points of his book The Culture Engine: A Framework for Driving Results, Inspiring Your Employees, and Transforming Your Workplace. S. Chris Edmonds has a delightfully simple explanation of culture: "Culture is all about how people treat each other—how leaders treat their teams and peers, how employees treat each other, and how people treat custom...

In this episode, Whitney Johnson discusses the secrets to creating an engaged and productive team as outlined in her book, Build an A-Team: Play to Their Strengths and Lead Them Up the Learning Curve . Johnson shares seven ways managers can support their team members' journey up the curve. Take the right kind of risks —Help team members understand the difference between doing something just to com...

In this episode, Tasha Eurich describes concepts from her book Insight: The Surprising Truth About How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More Thank We Think . Eurich explains how developing self-awareness—knowing who we are and how others see us—can help you be fulfilled, confident, and successful in life and work. "As an organizational psychologist—and intuitively—I'...

In this exciting episode, Peter Bregman shares his thoughts about leadership and the importance of showing up with confidence, being connected to others, and being committed to a purpose in a way that inspires others to follow. He explains that the most successful leaders not only know what to say and do, but are willing to experience the discomfort, risk, or uncertainty of saying and doing it. Th...

As we wrap up season one of the LeaderChat Podcast, Ken Blanchard and Chad Gordon revisit some of their favorite episodes. They share new thoughts about the important messages from our guests and invite you to send questions you would like Ken to answer in future episodes. Just send your questions to podcast@kenblanchard.com . Enjoy this episode of Chad Gordon interviewing Dr. Travis Bradberry, re...