Ken Blanchard Quotes

Even as an 18-year-old, I had to grow comfortable with my leadership style, which is that I was really impatient with under-motivated people - extremely impatient, to the point where I was counterproductive as a manager of underproductive people. And that hasn't really changed. If people need to be motivated, I'm no good.

I try to hire people I don't have to motivate. But I do motivate the people working with and for me.

I'd never managed anyone before, so I don't have a lot of experience. But I'm lucky - I have a lot of team members who have a really honest relationship with me.

The key to good management is keeping the guys on your team who hate your guts away from the guys who haven't made up their minds.

Whether you're a founder, a leader, or an individual contributor, building a strong team is critical to your success.

The true genius of a great manager is his or her ability to individualize. A great manager is one who understands how to trip each person's trigger.

The secret of successful managing is to keep the five guys who hate you away from the four guys who haven't made up their minds.

You have to be able to psychologically help your players, support-wise, be in touch with them, so I think managing people is very important.

The way you manage your company and the way you manage your people has to be totally different.

More than half of people who leave their jobs do so because of their relationship with their boss. Smart companies make certain their managers know how to balance being professional with being human. These are the bosses who celebrate an employee's success, empathize with those going through hard times, and challenge people, even when it hurts.

I believe one of the best things about managing people is that we can influence lives in a positive way. That's basically what a manager is about. When I can do that, I am very happy.

I think it is rewarding to manage, but it is not what I am passionate about. Managing more than 200 people, maybe 150 people, isn't fun to me and is not my skill set.

If you're a coach, you're a teacher.

You have to let the team develop. You can't say, 'Oh, I got empty seats, I'm going to change the team.' It just doesn't work that way.

One of my strengths is connecting with the players.

Management is not about shouting and bawling, because some guys will not like that. They take it personally.

Man-management is my biggest asset, to help the players enjoy themselves and be better than they already are.

As you develop relationships in your team you have to learn how your teammates react to being yelled at or how to put your arm around them and show them how to do things. You have to build those relationships up and understand who that person is and how they respond and choose your way to lead them to hopefully help everyone out.

It's important for me to exalt my players in their strengths and to try and cover their weakness, no?

I don't think you can control people. I don't think you manage people. I think you give people a direction, you give them the resources, you lead by example. They get it right, you say, 'Atta girl.' And they get it wrong, you say, 'Not good.'

I think every manager has that, the so-called hairdryer treatment when things need a little turnaround.

I've always been a point guard, so being a coach on the floor, I've had to connect with every one of my teammates and find ways to motivate them, find ways to build them up.

Constant, gentle pressure is my preferred technique for leadership, guidance, and coaching.

Most management systems have to do with establishing trust and getting people to cooperate. They're not really about expertise or science.

The morale when I came in was not the best. It was because the agency had not been valued.