Employees in today's workforce are expecting more from their work. Increasingly, employees want their workplace to provide them with a sense of meaning and identity. They want to be recognized as individuals. They want a chance to express themselves. They expect work to engage their abilities and develop their potential.

At the same time, organizations are looking for ways to unlock the discretionary energy of employees. These organizations recognize that this energy is one of their greatest sources of competitive advantage. The trick is to find a way to turn it loose. It's like having a high-powered engine in your car, but having the parking brake on while you're trying to get around. What happens when you finally discover a way to release the brake? The car zooms forward. That's exactly the situation that companies are facing today. They have a lot of horsepower stored in the combined abilities of their employees, but they're not able to take advantage of those abilities because they haven't found a way to release the parking brake.

A new type of leader is needed to foster this potential powerhouse. This new leader will transform plans into action, working with individual employees to refine their jobs so that they are personally meaningful, progressive, and skill-building. They will also model and coach expected behavior and be in charge of catching people doing things right until they can do it for themselves.

This new frontline leader will be different from the command and control leader of the past. People aren't interested in working for someone who just gives orders and conducts evaluations. Instead, today's employees are looking for a leader who will coach and support them in attaining their goals.

These new leaders will focus on the future. They will create a motivating environment by setting a compelling vision and finding ways to help people discover the meaningful nature of their work. They will engage employees in the process by helping them discover their own goals, their own successes, and their own discoveries.

They will look ahead to what could be. "What do you want to accomplish in the next few months?" "How will we measure it?" "What is your most efficient route toward these goals?" "How can I help?" These are the kinds of energetic, productive, and mutually satisfying conversations the new frontline leaders will have with their direct reports.

These new leaders will meet more frequently--and less formally--with the people they support. Instead of saving performance discussions for a formal annual review, new leaders will meet with their direct reports on a bimonthly, weekly, or even daily basis to discuss an employee's performance, style, and goals. The secret to helping an employee excel lies in the details: the only way to capture the details is to meet frequently and informally while the specifics of a success or a disappointment are fresh in the memory. This makes the conversation vivid and the advice practical.

An employee may join a company because of its prestige and reputation, but it's the employee's relationship with his or her immediate supervisor that determines how long the employee stays and how productive he or she will be. Today, eight out of ten employees report that they are not managed in a way that brings out the best they have to offer. They know that the parking brake is on.

It doesn't have to be this way. In the future, we can build organizations that are highly motivating and engaging. We can begin by catching ourselves, our teammates, and even our bosses doing things right. We can build organizations that bring out the best in all of us.

You can be a catalyst. In your day-to-day interactions you have the ability to influence the people around you. People want to be treated as an individual worthy of basic respect. They want someone to take interest in them and to help them succeed. What people really want is someone to inspire them. It could be you!

If you'd like to learn more about improving leadership in your organization, please join The Ken Blanchard Companies for a FREE online Webinar.

What Great Leaders Know and Do
Wednesday, September 8, 2004
9:00 -10:00 a.m. Pacific Time (12:00 -1:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

Have you ever had a leader that you would follow to the ends of the earth? What was it about that person that made him or her different? Join Blanchard Consulting Partner Ann Phillips as she explores the differences between great leaders and ordinary leaders. You'll learn the key traits common to all great leaders and discover for yourself the behaviors that inspire people to want to follow them. Learn how to help others believe in their ability to get things done--resulting in both individual and organizational success.

Whale Done! The Power of Positive Relationships
Public Workshop & Training for Trainers
October 6-8, 2004
San Diego, CA

Catching people doing things right and redirecting negative behavior are some of your best tools for building effective relationships.

In this 2-day workshop--or 3-day training for trainers--Blanchard Consulting Partner and author Cathy Huett equips you with the tools you need for building trust, increasing productivity, and creating high commitment in your organization. You'll learn how to motivate and retain your best workers, promote positive customer relationships, and sustain your competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Get your hardcover copy of Full Steam Ahead! today for only $10.47--a 47% savings off the regular retail price.

Beginning in October, this best-selling book by Ken Blanchard and Jesse Stoner will be available in softcover only. Until then, we have a limited amount of hardcover books available at this special price.

Please contact one of our sales representatives to learn more about the book or the Creating Your Organization's Future: Full Steam Ahead! facilitator-led training materials we recently developed at 800 728-6052.