COACHING FORLEADERSHIPDEVELOPMENT 127

indication of the likelihood of success. If both sides have no troubles listening

or respecting each other ’s perspective, that’s the final stamp of approval.

My whole career has been spent in the field of learning. Learning is basi-

cally what my life is about. In most of my current work, I emphasize the ways

in which leaders can learn by doing. My goal is to help people learn how to

become what they want to be or help them do what they want to accomplish.

A very effective way of managing that, I have found, is to coach executives

while they are grappling with an assignment or a business challenge. That is

key, I’ve found, to development that helps individuals achieve their goals in

alignment with what the organization needs. The most successful engage-

ment is when the individual shows actual progress, the team becomes more

ef fective, and the organization becomes more successful.

Ken Blanchard

The Servant Leader as Coach

L

eadership is an inf luence process. Any time you’re trying to inf luence

the behavior of someone toward some goal, you’re engaging in leader-

ship. This is true whether you’re a politician, a parent, a CEO, a teacher, or a

reverend. Leaders coach because it is an effective style for moving people

Ken Blanchard is Chairman and Chief Spiritual Officer

of The Ken Blanchard Companies and cofounder of the

Center for FaithWalk Leadership. Ken is a visiting lec-

turer at his alma mater, Cornell University, where he is a

Tr ustee Emeritus of the Board of Trustees. His phenom-

enal best-selling book, The One Minute Manager®,

coauthored with Spencer Johnson, has sold more than

10 million copies worldwide and has been translated into

more than 25 languages. He is reachable by phone through The Ken Blanchard

Companies at (800) 728-6000. You can also visit The Ken Blanchard Com-

panies at http://www.kenblanchard.com or the Center for Fa ithWalkLeadership at

http://www.leadlikejesus.com.