The world is in desperate need for a new model of leadership, say Ken Blanchard and Randy Conley. We have seen the results of self-centered leadership, the kind that loves power and status. They make the case that it’s just not working for us.

 

The two are the authors of the new book, “Simple Truths of Leadership: 52 Ways to Be a Servant Leader and Build Trust”, which features one simple truth for each week in a year. It’s an elegantly powerful approach to sharing some big ideas, many of which Ken and Randy highlight in this podcast.

 

In this podcast, Blanchard and Conley persuasively argue that money isn’t the root of all evil, but rather overly strong love of money creates the problems. They say that just as the best use of power is in service to others, the best use of wealth is in service to others. When you see leaders and organizations use wealth to foster the growth and wellbeing of all their stakeholders, that’s where the magic happens. 

 

Ken and Randy believe that we would all be far better off—in today’s incredibly fast-paced, results-driven society—if more leaders, regardless of their field, dropped that win/lose attitude in their work. Top-down leadership has largely gone out of style, and side-by-side leadership has taken its place. In today’s world, servant leadership is the name of the game.

 

Every company’s number one customer is their own people. By doing what’s best for employees, employees will in turn go out of their way to do what’s best for actual customers. That leads to raving fans, which directly contributes to the bottom line. As Ken puts it, “Profit is the applause you get for taking care of your people, who take care of your customers.”

Ken and Randy then touch on the crisis of anxiety among the younger generation, saying that this crisis is largely driven by assaults on self-worth and other distractions propagated by social media. It is a tool that can do a lot of harm; but it can do a lot of good in the right hands. They make the case that social media and digital tools in general can even augment the process of building relationships, personally and professionally.

 

Ultimately, though, we must always remember to go back to simple truths; chiefly, that the art of leadership, cultivating great relationships, and helping each other grow is about those others-focused belly-to-belly interactions.

 

“Leadership is much more about who you are than what you do. If you get the beliefs, the attitudes, and the values right on the inside, the actions will follow.”

 

The legendary Ken Blanchard is the co-author of more than 65 books; including “The One Minute Manager,” and is one of the top 25 bestselling authors of all time. Randy Conley is Vice President of Global Professional Services and Trust Practice Leader at the Ken Blanchard Companies.

 

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