Leading at a Higher Level, Revised and Expanded Edition: Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations

by Susan Fowler, Ken Blanchard

From The One Minute Manager to Raving Fans , Ken Blanchard's books have helped millions of people unleash their power and the potential of everyone around them. The Ken Blanchard Companies has helped thousands of organizations become more people-oriented, customer-centered, and performance-driven. Now, in Leading at a Higher Level , Updated Edition, Blanchard and his colleagues bring together everything they've learned about world-class leadership. You'll discover how to create targets and visions based on the "triple bottom line"...and make sure people know who you are, where you're going, and the values that will guide your journey. From start to finish, this book extends Blanchard's breakthrough work on delivering legendary customer service, creating "raving fans," and building "Partnerships for Performance" that empower everyone who works for and with you. Updated throughout, this new edition contains two powerful, important new one on coaching to create higher-level leaders, and another on creating a higher-level culture throughout your organization. It also offers the definitive, most up-to-date techniques for leading yourself, individuals, teams, and entire organizations. Most importantly, it will help you dig deep within, discover the personal "leadership point of view" all great leaders possess-and apply it throughout your entire life.

Genres: Leadership, Business, Nonfiction, Management, Self Help, Personal Development, Buisness

362 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Susan Rigetti is an author, screenwriter, and the former technology op-ed editor at The New York Times. She has been named a "Person of the Year" by Time, the Financial Times, and the Webby Awards, and has appeared on Fortune's "40 Under 40" list, Vanity Fair's New Establishment list, Marie Claire's New Guard list, the Bloomberg 50, the Upstart 50, the Recode 100, and more. She is the author of a book on computer programming that has been implemented by companies across Silicon Valley, and the critically acclaimed memoir Whistleblower.

Reviews

[GoldenjoyBazyll · Rating 4 out of 5]

of course I am a fan of the Blanchards!!!!! So naturally, this book made great sense. The essence: to lead at a higher level you must-
1. share information and engage in open communication w/ your team
2. have a compelling organizational vision/ purpose/ values
3. value on-going learning
4. have a relentless focus on customer results
5. have energizing systems and structures that make it isasy for your staff to get things done
6 share power and allow staff a high level of involvement- opportunities to influence decisions that affect them/ team work to accomplish work
7. provide leadership that is focused on serving others as opposed to self serving. Also good leaders remove barriers to help staff to focus on their work and their customers.

[Tanja Berg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very clear, concise book about leadership. Having a vision, setting goals, being customer-centric, developing people, leading change. At the end are a few questions to help you to discover your own leadership style. There wasn't really anything here that I disagreed with, or that I hadn't heard before. Still, I will keep this in my office and revert to it on a regular basis. Even when ideas presented are revolutionary, it's useful to be reminded of what good leadership looks like.

[Rick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a lot new here. If you’ve never read any of Blanchard’s other books or been exposed to his ideas on leadership it is worth a look. Otherwise there’s better and newer things available.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

These days, my leisure reading consists of reading for school. No time for fiction, which is disappointing, but I did self-select this one for a school paper and it was quite good.

Leading at a Higher Level looks at a variety of leadership models: one-to-one, team and organizational leadership.

I especially like the last chapter which talks about developing your own leadership point of view. As leaders, we all need to be clear on our core values and life purpose. It is only once we develop this that we can influence and inspire to make a positive difference.

Now to write the paper for my assignment...!

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read with tons of information. However, some of the information is restated from previous books. The rehash of other books was a bit of bore but this would be a great read for someone new to leadership position and/or Ken Blanchard.

[Danny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great ideas for leadership and great research. Too much religion used in the ideas.

[Todd Cheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a gift from a knowledgeable colleague. She thought I would appreciate the collection of leadership and management theory and research. She was right.

The book is a modest collection of methods needed in management. Each chapter highlights a key leadership struggle and provides current credible research on the topic. It is densely knitted together of both the authors thoughts and that of nearly 20 others in the tradecraft.

These topics cover; vision, people, customers, change, coaching, mentoring, situational leadership, and service.

This book made my reread, gift, and work shelves. I have it both the physical form and as a digital book. The pages have many notes and highlights. I will revisit this book.

[George Velez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Understanding that being the employer of choice and using all of the principles of leading an organization from the heart, accepting the foundation of everything as existing for the sole purpose of serving others, will definitely result in an organization being the investment and vendor of choice. The true results of this kind of leadership translate into personal growth for everyone that's a part of the organization and making money is just a byproduct but not the purpose we lead businesses.

I'm wiser for reading this book and solidifying my understanding and belief on leading from the heart.

[Chris Eaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes some good points, but ultimately mostly forgettable.

This was required reading for a promotional exam. All of your favorite leadership concepts are here. The book gets repeative quite often. The author is referred to in the third person quite a bit, which I found to be quite the ego billboard. I would rather delve deep into the decision making mindset of great leaders than hear about famous people that did something or other here or there. These concepts are great, but I feel the book will leave you wanting when you try to apply the concepts in your own situations.

[Y T · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute delightful read that details some of the perspectives you need to take to lead at a higher level.

I've always thought I knew a good bit on leadership but this book has opener my eyes to see more. I've learnt about individual, team and organisation leadership all requires different thoughts and perspectives to consider.

Highly recommended for all leaders!

[Patrick Behar-Courtois · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible read that exceeded my expectations. This edition added even more insightful content that was both practical and inspirational. Blanchard’s approach to leadership not only enlightened me about the essentials of managing teams but also pushed me to elevate my own leadership style. Truly a transformative book for anyone serious about making meaningful impacts in their organization.

[Sasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this book via audible. I believe more would have sunk in if I was reading it as there were a lot of references to matrix and visual frameworks that were hard to comprehend whilst driving.

[André Henriques · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good overview of the main topics one can find in an organization. Each topic (ie. Appraisals, change management, leadership) is approached with relatively simplicity, however it offers a reasonable good framework which the leader can then use it to deepen his interests.

[Nathan Deck · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like Blanchard’s other stuff- especially Gung Ho and Raving Fans- but this is really just a condensed version of his other material. In fact, each chapter cites the other books he and his co authors have written together on that subject. The result is what feels like over condensed material that is not well executed or explained.

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my MBA program. It was informative and there are a lot of great ideas, but some parts of the book get very repetitive. It is a nice recap of all the different books that Ken Blanchard has written over the years. Overall, not too bad for this type of book.

[Mariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

It teaches you to act in a humanly way and still be able to manage and direct employees.

[Wes F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid leadership principles all-around.

[Denis Vasilev · Rating 1 out of 5]

Треш, дикий треш

[Kirsten Forrest · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting, I had to read it for school. However, I'm not in upper management so I'm not sure how much I can recommend this books for others in that position.

[Corne Lombard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book.

[Henry Gomez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I've ever read about leadership: Excellent!

[Luis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una de los mejores libros sobre liderazgo, del reconocido autor Ken Blanchard, imprescindible para los interesados en los fundamentos del tema

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must Have, jeżeli zarządzasz zespolem

[Rachelle Mudrack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for leaders

[José Alfredo Camarena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Not an easy one to read but too many ideas an concepts.

[Valery · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think there is a lot of "duh" type of stuff in here, but I still recommend reading this book. If you've read any of Blanchard's other books, this is a nice summary of a lot of it, so I'd say start here. You can then pick up a book on a specific topic to get more in depth on that subject. I think the parts on situational leadership are definitely worthwhile for new managers (and was a good refresher for me). I've previously read that book and done a training on the topic. One Minute Manager is also good (and a super fast read). I found the chapters on managing change interesting as well, and now understood why various changes in my own organization succeeded or failed. Also, as I was reading about managing under-performance, I had an "aha" moment about one of my own employees that really changed my perspective. Finally, the Leadership Point of View at the end is a really important exercise that I plan to complete. I realize that over the years, I've been verbalizing my leadership POV to countless employees in different settings, so it will be good to formally write it down and share with my team. Overall, I think it's worth reading for both new and seasoned leaders.

[Robert Więckowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me, the book is a 2-star read.

[Jorge Reyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A diferencia de la literatura de negocios y liderazgo reinante, esta obra me parece, se aproxima a la ciencia del complejo sistema del ser humano, del liderazgo, la toma de decisiones, las motivaciones y sobre todo los procesos que apoyan al cambio del clima organizacional. Un libro fluido, con muchos casos y ejemplos que suenan "naturales" y reales, sin demasiadas ideologías, tal vez demasiado optimista pero así debería de ser este tipo de lecturas, dejando el cinismo del modernismo a un lado, sin descalificarlo.
Un área de oportunidad tal vez sea el dar vueltas sobre el mismo sistema de liderazgo una y otra ves desde diferentes dimensiones, se que varios especialistas no estarán de acuerdo, pero muchas veces lo digerido y repasado aburre.
Lo he de recomendar ampliamente para público en general, pero sobre todo a los directivos con la bandera de innovadores o de gurús que se olvidan de su capital mas importante: las personas, sobe todo las cercanas. Si tienes un amigo así, regálale este libro junto al Libro de "Vivir en la realidad para ser feliz" de Francisco Ugarte.

[Dustin Blanton · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Leading at a Higher Level' is an excellent book on leadership. Much of the content is in alignment or repeated from other books on management and leadership, but where this book shines is its discussion of Blanchard's 'Situational Leadership II' model. Briefly, the model allows for the diagnosis of the development stages of those we are charged with leading, and further suggests the appropriate leadership style to use for each development stage. Thus, it forms a toolkit for communicating with yourself and others about your own needs and the needs of those you are accountable to and responsible for.

There was also excellent content on managing change and leading teams. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in leadership and developing better tools for communicating about leadership.

[Leader Summaries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Desde Leader Summaries recomendamos la lectura del libro Liderazgo de nivel superior, de Ken Blanchard.
Las personas interesadas en las siguientes temáticas lo encontrarán práctico y útil: liderazgo, características de un buen líder.
En el siguiente enlace tienes el resumen del libro Liderazgo de nivel superior, Qué debe hacer un líder para crear una cultura corporativa que sea imposible de copiar por la competencia: Liderazgo de nivel superior