Blogs

“Today's leaders are facing a big challenge. They must deliver exceptional results, rapidly, while helping their people feel genuinely seen, supported, and inspired. It's clear that being either compassionate or results-driven isn't enough.”

First responders are real-life heroes. They rush into burning buildings. They keep us safe. They race to emergencies, often risking their own lives to protect ours. And while words will never fully capture the scope of what they do, one thing is certain: they carry a heavy load. Good leadership can lighten the burden.

Networking spaces—especially the in-person ones—are shaped by neurotypical norms. This means there is an unspoken expectation to show up polished, personable, high-energy, and socially fluent, no matter the conditions. But if your brain doesn’t work that way, it’s easy to feel like you’re doing it wrong. Or like maybe you just don’t belong in the room. Spoiler: You do.

Leadership today is challenging. Economic turbulence, evolving markets, competitive pressures—there’s plenty to be concerned about. As we navigate through the ups and downs of 2025, the challenges facing our leaders have never been more intense.

Mid-size companies are built to move fast. They’re agile, creative, and not bogged down by corporate red tape. But despite these advantages, many hit a ceiling—one that isn’t caused by market conditions or competition. It’s about what’s happening inside the company: a lack of skilled, prepared leaders.

Change is inevitable—and these days, it can feel relentless. As leaders, how we respond to change significantly influences our teams' ability to maintain high levels of performance.

How many people see the world through rose-colored glasses? Most of us, according to popular belief. But the truth is quite different. It’s more like we wear dark sunglasses that block out much of the sun—or, in this analogy, the good.

In today’s changeable work environment, one of the most significant factors influencing organisational success is the ability of leaders to adapt their style to meet the diverse and shifting needs of their people. Learning the skill of leadership flexibility—situationally adjusting one’s leadership style to meet the needs of followers—is a critical competency in a changing workspace.

Leadership in government agencies presents a unique set of challenges. From managing limited resources to navigating bureaucratic structures and maintaining public trust, government leaders often find themselves in a high-pressure environment.

In today’s uncertain business environment, employees need clear goals, direction, and support to stay motivated, productive, and aligned with organisational objectives. But according to Gallup’s most recent survey, just 46% of employees clearly know what is expected of them at work.

In a work environment defined by rapid change and unpredictability, leaders are being called upon to provide clarity, compassion, stability, and motivation in the workplace. How can managers effectively lead their teams through uncertainty? Halsey recommends that leaders at all levels begin by determining if their current leadership approach is effectively supporting their teams.

Burnout has become a pressing concern for organisations and individuals alike. It’s no longer a question of whether or not burnout is happening; it’s about how leaders can address the problem and create an environment where employees feel engaged, motivated, and valued.

Engagement has just tied an all-time low, trust in leadership has dropped seven additional points, and burnout is affecting four out of ten workers—especially middle managers. That’s a lot to deal with. In spite of this, there are pockets of greatness occurring in every organisation—places where individual managers are creating "environmental excellence"

The reality is that crafting meaningful, motivating goals takes more time and effort than we expect. Even for those that love setting goals, the goals we set still take a lot of time to fully take shape and feel dialed in.

It’s January, a time when individuals and organisations set goals for the coming year. As I’ve said for decades, all good performance begins with clear goals. That’s why Spencer Johnson and I decided that One Minute Goal Setting should be the first secret of The New One Minute Manager®. Setting clear goals is just the beginning, however. Most of us have had the experience of starting strong on our goals in January, only to find that we’ve lost momentum by February. In this blog, I’m going to share four tools that will help you stay on track and achieve your 2025 goals.

“Goal setting is fundamental to good performance,” says master certified coach Madeleine Homan Blanchard. “Yet, most people gloss over it because they think they are good at it.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is that most people go into each new year with only a general sense of what they want to accomplish—but no specific goals, targets, or plans.

Leadership focusing on the employee experience is in. The command-and-control style is out. This seismic shift has left leaders facing a daunting challenge: how to balance empathy and accountability.

Blanchard’s 2025 HR / L&D Trends Survey looks at some of the ways that leadership, learning, and business professionals are focusing to meet the challenges of ever-changing workplace dynamics. Our sixth annual survey closed on November 30 — more than 900 people participated in this year’s survey.

Of all the tasks managers have to perform, talking to an employee about less than acceptable performance is among the most dreaded. Yet setbacks along the path to high performance are inevitable.

Blanchard has just sent out invitations for its 2025 HR / L&D Trends Survey to identify the top challenges leadership, learning, and talent development professionals expect to face. How will 2025 results compare with this year’s?

Leadership these days is not for the faint of heart. It requires managers and leaders to up their game when it comes to their leadership skills. Leaders need to be much more flexible and agile in today's environment.

Middle managers (MMs) are once again on the chopping block. They account for 30% of laid off workers and are now viewed as organisational bloat. But is laying them off en masse a smart decision?

It’s frightfully fun to spook someone out with the occasional prank, but leading with fear will turn your workplace into a truly haunted house.

The world of leadership and organisational development has rapidly evolved over the past 45 years since Blanchard’s founding as Blanchard Training and Development. Serving as a showcase of best practices across that entire span of time, the Blanchard Leadership Summit has set the stage for evaluating technological advancements, identifying workforce expectations, and advancing next-generation strategic imperatives.