Leadership and the One Minute Manager

About the Author

Ken Blanchard is the co-author of The One Minute Manager® and over fifty other books. He is the chief spiritual officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies, a global management training and development company founded in 1979. Patricia Zigarmi is VP for business development at The Ken Blanchard Companies, leading initiatives for SLII® training with major corporations. Drea Zigarmi is the president of Zigarmi Associates, Inc., and the director of research and development for The Ken Blanchard Companies, co-developing several training and development products.

Main Idea

In Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Leadership® II, Ken Blanchard, Patricia Zigarmi, and Drea Zigarmi introduce the Situational Leadership® II model through a business parable. The book emphasizes adapting leadership styles to the needs of individual team members to improve effectiveness and foster a supportive and productive work environment.

Table of Contents

1. The Case for Situational Leadership®
2. Different Strokes for Different Folks
3. Leadership Styles
4. The Skills of a Situational Leader
5. Performance Management
6. Diagnosis
7. Matching
8. Communication and Transparency
9. One Best Way

The Case for Situational Leadership®

Blanchard and his co-authors begin by challenging the traditional top-down organizational structure, advocating for a bottom-up approach that views leadership as a service to employees. The key to effective leadership is providing team members with the skills and resources they need to achieve their goals, which are agreed upon collaboratively. This approach is revolutionary because it shifts the focus from the leader's goals to the goals of the team members.

"Effective leaders should focus on providing employees with the skills and resources needed to achieve the goals that are agreed between them." - Ken Blanchard, Patricia Zigarmi, and Drea Zigarmi

This concept of Situational Leadership® turns the traditional leadership model on its head. Instead of employees being responsible for helping leaders achieve their goals, leaders are responsible for equipping employees to achieve their own goals. This service-oriented approach to leadership fosters a more engaged and motivated workforce.

Different Strokes for Different Folks

Leadership is about how you behave over time when trying to influence others, as perceived by them. The authors emphasize the importance of understanding how your team perceives your leadership style, as a disconnect between your intent and their perception can lead to communication and performance issues. This requires leaders to be adaptable and responsive to the unique needs of each team member.

"How your team perceives your leadership style can be very different from your intent." - Ken Blanchard, Patricia Zigarmi, and Drea Zigarmi

The book uses the example of an entrepreneur who struggles with delegation because she does not trust her team to meet her high standards. Through her interactions with the One Minute Manager and his team, she learns that effective leadership is not about enforcing policies and procedures but about adapting her style to meet the needs of her team members. This flexibility is crucial for building trust and fostering a collaborative work environment.