Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

I would be hard pressed to find a leader, someone who studies leadership, or an aspiring leader who during the past 43 years hasn’t read the iconic and business classic The One Minute Manager (1982) or the updated new addition, The New One Minute Manager (2015).   For decades, these two books, both co-authored by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson , have helped millions achieve more successful professional and personal lives.   Now, in Chapter 9 of the new biography of Ken Blanchard, you’ll discover the story behind the idea and ultimate launch of the original The One Minute Manager .   Chapter 9 is in the insightful and intimate biography, Catch People Doing Things Right , authored by Martha C. Lawrence . In it and through extensive access to personal papers, letters, and interviews spanning six decades, she reveals how Blanchard became a leadership guru and bestselling author of more than 70 books.   Lawrence shares insights and intimate details about Blanchar...

Having a mentor is one of the best things you can do to advance your career as a leader. So, decide soon to secure a mentor who will work with you during 2025. Make that one of your New Year’s resolutions. A mentor can benefit leaders new to their leadership role and they can benefit experienced and seasoned leaders, as well. A strong mentoring relationship allows the mentor and the mentee to develop new skills and talents, to build confidence, and to build self-awareness. Proper mentoring takes a commitment from both parties and it takes time to develop and to reap the rewards of the relationship. Plan to work with your mentor for no less than three months, and ideally for six months or longer. When seeking out a mentor, think about these questions : 1.  Will the relationship have good personal chemistry? 2.  Can this person guide me, particularly in the areas where I am weakest? 3.  Will this person take a genuine interest in me? 4.  Does this person have the trait...

Having a mentor is one of the best things you can do to advance your career as a leader. So, decide today to secure a mentor who will work with you during 2024. Make that one of your New Year’s resolutions. A mentor can benefit leaders new to their leadership role and they can benefit experienced and seasoned leaders, as well. A strong mentoring relationship allows the mentor and the mentee to develop new skills and talents, to build confidence, and to build self-awareness. Proper mentoring takes a commitment from both parties and it takes time to develop and to reap the rewards of the relationship. Plan to work with your mentor for no less than three months, and ideally for six months or longer. When seeking out a mentor, think about these questions : 1.  Will the relationship have good personal chemistry? 2.  Can this person guide me, particularly in the areas where I am weakest? 3.  Will this person take a genuine interest in me? 4.  Does this person have the trai...

Fortunately, I've benefited from having great mentors throughout my career. And, I've have the honor and good fortune to be a mentor, both formally and informally, for various individuals the past few decades. Mentoring is powerful. Both being a mentor. And, being mentored. That's why I became an instant fan of the book,  One Minute Mentoring: How to Find and Work With a Mentor -- and Why You'll Benefit from Being One . The book presents a fictional parable about the power of finding, or being, a mentor. In what is about a one- to two-hour read, you'll gain knowledge and easy-to-use tools for  how to find and leverage mentoring relationships . Ken Blanchard You'll also learn why developing effective communication and relationships  across generations  through mentoring can be a tremendous opportunity for companies and individuals alike. Bestselling author,  Ken Blanchard, Ph.D . teamed up with  Claire Diaz-Ortiz  to write  One Minute Mentoring . B...

Having a mentor is one of the best things you can do to advance your career as a leader. So, decide today to secure a mentor who will work with you during 2022. Make that one of your New Year’s resolutions. A mentor can benefit leaders new to their leadership role and they can benefit experienced and seasoned leaders, as well. A strong mentoring relationship allows the mentor and the mentee to develop new skills and talents, to build confidence, and to build self-awareness. Proper mentoring takes a commitment from both parties and it takes time to develop and to reap the rewards of the relationship. Plan to work with your mentor for no less than three months, and ideally for six months or longer. When seeking out a mentor, think about these questions : 1.  Will the relationship have good personal chemistry? 2.  Can this person guide me, particularly in the areas where I am weakest? 3.  Will this person take a genuine interest in me? 4.  Does this person have the trai...

  Sports  heroes  mention their mentors at award ceremonies. Successful business people thank their mentors at career milestone celebrations. Young adults who become accomplished acknowledge their mentors when asked who was influential in their success.  Mentoring is indeed powerful. Most managers have been both a mentor and a  mentee  at some point in their careers . Sometimes, though, not everyone understands the important difference between informal mentoring and formal mentoring.  Formal mentoring is structured, intentional, and short-termed. It also requires the support of top management. In addition to the informal mentoring that is surely taking place at your company/organization, consider establishing a formal mentoring program. 

Unleashing Your Inner Leader , by Vickie Condolff Bevenour , provides these six easy steps to help you find and work with a mentor:  Step 1  –  Find  the person in your company or industry that you most respect. Step 2  –  Ask  her or him to be your mentor. Step 3  –  Agree  with this person on the time commitment for mentoring you (e.g., 30- to 60-minute meeting or phone/Zoom-style call every month). Step 4  –  Explain  to this person the goal of the mentoring relationship (e.g. “My strength is _____and I want to find more opportunities to use it in my daily work.”). Step 5  –  Describe  the top three reasons why you chose this person. Step 6  –  Explore together  what success would look like and mean to you in the next six months.  Bevenour shares that, “Imagine that if you follow this plan, in five years you will have 10 people who know you and will help support you in your career. Th...

  Unleashing Your Inner Leader , by Vickie Condolff Bevenour, provides these six easy steps to help you find and work with a mentor:  Step 1 – Find the person in your company or industry that you most respect. Step 2 – Ask her or him to be your mentor. Step 3 – Agree with this person on the time commitment for mentoring you (e.g., 30- to 60-minute meeting or phone/Zoom-style call every month). Step 4 – Explain to this person the goal of the mentoring relationship (e.g. “My strength is _____and I want to find more opportunities to use it in my daily work.”). Step 5 – Describe the top three reasons why you chose this person. Step 6 – Explore together what success would look like and mean to you in the next six months.  Bevenour shares that, “Imagine that if you follow this plan, in five years you will have 10 people who know you and will help support you in your career. This is truly career gold.”  Thank you to the book’s publisher for sendi...

Fortunately, I've benefited from having great mentors throughout my career. And, I've have the honor and good fortune to be a mentor, both formally and informally, for various individuals the past few decades. Mentoring is powerful. Both being a mentor. And, being mentored. That's why I became an instant fan of the book,  One Minute Mentoring: How to Find and Work With a Mentor -- and Why You'll Benefit from Being One . The book presents a fictional parable about the power of finding, or being, a mentor. In what is about a one- to two-hour read, you'll gain knowledge and easy-to-use tools for  how to find and leverage mentoring relationships . Ken Blanchard You'll also learn why developing effective communication and relationships  across generations  through mentoring can be a tremendous opportunity for companies and individuals alike. Bestselling author,  Ken Blanchard, Ph.D . teamed up with  Claire Diaz-Ortiz  to write  One Minute Mentoring . B...

Author  Kristi Hedges , in her book,  The Power of Presence , provides these explanations of the  roles of a coach and of a mentor  and how they differ from each other: The Coach  shows empathy through a mixture of tough love and strong support.  The coach is not afraid to push you because she sees the best in you.  This leader has a good sense of what's going on in the rest of your life and isn't afraid to mention it as it relates to your performance and potential. The Mentor  makes you feel that your success is always top of mind.  Mentors have your back to guide you along in your career.  They will act as a confidante as you hash through ideas and won't hold it against you as your iterate.  Because they have done well, they operate from a point of helping others do the same.

Sports heroes mention their mentors at award ceremonies. Successful business people thank their mentors at career milestone celebrations. Young adults who later become accomplished acknowledge their mentors when asked who was influential in their success. Mentoring is indeed powerful . Most leaders have been both a mentor and a mentee at some point in their careers. Sometimes, though, not everyone understands the important difference between informal mentoring and formal mentoring. •   Formal mentoring is structured, intentional, and short-termed (typically about three to six months). It also requires the support of top management. As a leader in your workplace, consider establishing a formal mentoring program to supplement the informal mentoring that is surely taking place at your company/organization. And, to offer employees mentoring options for those who can’t participate outside the workplace.

Having a mentor is one of the best things you can do to advance your career as a leader. So, decide today to secure a mentor who will work with you during 2018. Make that one of your New Year’s resolutions. A mentor can benefit leaders new to their leadership role and they can benefit experienced and seasoned leaders, as well. A strong mentoring relationship allows the mentor and the mentee to develop new skills and talents, to build confidence, and to build self-awareness. Proper mentoring takes a commitment from both parties and it takes time to develop and to reap the rewards of the relationship. Plan to work with your mentor for no less than three months, and ideally for six months or longer. When seeking out a mentor, think about these questions : 1.  Will the relationship have good personal chemistry? 2.  Can this person guide me, particularly in the areas where I am weakest? 3.  Will this person take a genuine interest in me? 4.  Does this perso...

Fortunately, I've benefited from having great mentors throughout my career. And, I've have the honor and good fortune to be a mentor, both formally and informally, for various individuals the past few decades. Mentoring is powerful. Both being a mentor. And, being mentored. That's why I became an instant fan of the book,  One Minute Mentoring: How to Find and Work With a Mentor -- and Why You'll Benefit from Being One . Released this in May, the book presents a fictional parable about the power of finding, or being, a mentor. In what is about a one- to two-hour read, you'll gain knowledge and easy-to-use tools for  how to find and leverage mentoring relationships . Ken Blanchard You'll also learn why developing effective communication and relationships  across generations  through mentoring can be a tremendous opportunity for companies and individuals alike. Bestselling author,  Ken Blanchard, Ph.D . teamed up with  Claire Diaz-Ortiz ...

Author  Paul Falcone  offers the following great advice for how to become a  stronger career mentor and coach  by helping your subordinates grow and develop in their own careers. Encourage others to engage in random acts of kindness. Find creative ways of surprising your customers. Focus on making bad relationships good and good relationships better. Look for new ways of reinventing the workflow in light of your company's changing needs. Think relationship first, transaction second. Realize that people can tell more about you by the depth of your questions than by the quality of your statements. Separate the people from the problem. Always provide two solutions for each question you ask or suggestion you raise. Employ right-brain imagination, artistry, and intuition plus left-brain logic and planning. And, one of my favorite pieces of advice from Falcone: Convert "yes...but:" to "yes...and" statements to acknowledge the speaker's point of v...

Having a mentor is one of the best things you can do to advance your career as a leader. So, decide today to secure a mentor who will work with you during 2017. Make that one of your New Year’s resolutions. A mentor can benefit leaders new to their leadership role and they can benefit experienced and seasoned leaders, as well. A strong mentoring relationship allows the mentor and the mentee to develop new skills and talents, to build confidence, and to build self-awareness. Proper mentoring takes a commitment from both parties and it takes time to develop and to reap the rewards of the relationship. Plan to work with your mentor for no less than three months, and ideally for six months or longer. When seeking out a mentor, think about these questions : 1.  Will the relationship have good personal chemistry? 2.  Can this person guide me, particularly in the areas where I am weakest? 3.  Will this person take a genuine interest in me? 4.  Does this perso...

Author  Paul Falcone  offers the following great advice for how to become a  stronger career mentor and coach  by helping your subordinates grow and develop in their own careers. Encourage others to engage in random acts of kindness. Find creative ways of surprising your customers. Focus on making bad relationships good and good relationships better. Look for new ways of reinventing the workflow in light of your company's changing needs. Think relationship first, transaction second. Realize that people can tell more about you by the depth of your questions than by the quality of your statements. Separate the people from the problem. Always provide two solutions for each question you ask or suggestion you raise. Employ right-brain imagination, artistry, and intuition plus left-brain logic and planning. And, one of my favorite pieces of advice from Falcone: Convert "yes...but:" to "yes...and" statements to acknowledge the speaker's point of ...

Author  Paul Falcone  offers the following great advice for how to become a  stronger career mentor and coach  by helping your subordinates grow and develop in their own careers. Encourage others to engage in random acts of kindness. Find creative ways of surprising your customers. Focus on making bad relationships good and good relationships better. Look for new ways of reinventing the workflow in light of your company's changing needs. Think relationship first, transaction second. Realize that people can tell more about you by the depth of your questions than by the quality of your statements. Separate the people from the problem. Always provide two solutions for each question you ask or suggestion you raise. Employ right-brain imagination, artistry, and intuition plus left-brain logic and planning. And, one of my favorite pieces of advice from Falcone: Convert "yes...but:" to "yes...and" statements to acknowledge the speaker's point of v...

Here are some great tips for how to be an effective mentor, from the new book, 50 Plus! , by Robert L. Dilenschneider. Don't be authoritarian . Have something to say, and keep it short . It's best to think in terms of headlines when you're mentoring somebody. Let them come to you for the details. Be informal . Do not give orders . Don't take slights personally . Tell stories . Always use humor . Be lavish with praise . Give people full credit for every contribution they  make, however minor. It's the best way to keep the discussion alive. Despite repeated opportunities, never say, "I told you so." Set boundaries . No matter how generous your intentions or how great the need, there's only so much you can do.

In his new book, Discover Your True North , Bill George reminds us of the importance of making mentoring a two-way street . He explains that, "the best mentoring interactions spark mutual learning, exploration of similar values, and shared enjoyment. If people are looking only for the help from their mentors, instead of being interested in their mentor's lives as well, the relationship won't last for long. Mentoring is a two-way street in which both people learn a great deal from each other, and the bilateral connection sustains it." He adds that, "many people are afraid to approach potential mentors because they do not want to impose on others. They fail to realize how much they can offer to their mentors."