The Simple Truths of Leadership by Ken Blanchard and Randy Conley
“When things go well, ego-driven leaders look in the mirror and pat themselves on the back. When things go wrong, they look out of the window to see who they can blame.”
3 Main Messages
A leader’s role is to focus on vision, direction and results, while a servant leader also focuses on service - helping people to accomplish agreed-upon goals
Be clear about boundaries - “A river without banks is just a large puddle.”
Leaders must build trust in order for people to be vulnerable and work to their potential
I love that Blanchard and Conley originally wanted to call this book “Duh! Why isn’t Commonsense Leadership Common Practice?” and agree with them that the message is incredibly simple: to be a leader you need to have followers and people will follow you if you have a clear destination and you help them to keep up.
They emphasize the importance of how you treat your people, which rules are consistent and which will vary according to individual circumstances. We are reminded of the importance of taking a situational approach.
This book is split into two halves, the first focuses on explaining servant leadership and gives examples of how to create a motivational environment and the characteristics of servant leadership, amongst other related topics. We are then told that servant leadership is the vehicle to building trust - the main focus of the second half of the book - and that control is the opposite of trust, which is why servant leadership is about relinquishing control. But it is not quite that straightforward.
Blanchard tells us that it is a leader’s role to set a clear vision and involve others in joining the journey. This very much aligns with Daniel Pink’s work in his book Drive, which talks about setting your ‘why’ and then getting others to support with the ‘how’. Both agree that the key to building a successful workforce is training, feedback, listening and good communication.
The situational approach means adapting your leadership style in response to the individual you are working with and their different circumstances, as well as to current events. For example, we are told that leaders should be out in front during challenging times, supporting from behind during the good times and working alongside colleagues for the majority of the time.
Blanchard also writes about the different leadership styles that are required depending on how confident each individual is working on each individual task. These range from a directive style being used with an enthusiastic beginner to a delegating style being used for self-reliant achievers. At other times colleagues may need a more supportive or coaching style and their needs will vary depending on how competent and confident they are in each individual project. The key is to know your people, to invest time in them, catch people doing good things and praise them, and then to coach (not blame) them when they need to improve. As Conley writes: “Leadership isn’t a one-size-fits-all …. You need to treat people situationally.”
There are plenty of punchy acronyms to reinforce the basic messages:
Servant Leaders SERVE
See the future
Engage and develop
Reinvent continuously
Value results and relations
Embody the values
The ABCD for Trustworthy Leaders:
Able - demonstrate competence
Believable - act with integrity
Connected - Show care and concern
Dependable - honour your commitments
Servant Leaders are REAL
Reveal information about themselves
Engage with people
Acknowledge successes
Listen carefully
The book gives “52 Ways to Be a Servant Leader and Build Trust”, each set out across a double page with a ‘simple truth’, an explanation and suggested ways of ‘making common sense common practice.’ It is genius in its simplicity and yet the messages shared are powerful. It promises that, through following these principles and practises, leaders can “make a positive difference in every life they touch.” It certainly is common sense, and hopefully, in sharing this message, there will be a movement in making this common sense common practice.
