Kenneth Blanchard, John P. Carlos and Alan Randolph, Empowerment Takes More Than a Minute. Second Edition. Berrett-Koehler, 2001.
Referenced in: Empowering Leadership
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
Another excellent book in typical Blanchard story format, this time on a popular principle in management circles – empowerment. The authors present three keys of empowerment:
- Share accurate information with everyone
- Create autonomy through boundaries
- Replace hierarchical thinking with self-managed teams
They describe the principles, and the story shows how the principles play out in real situations.
For a closer look at Blanchard’s theories of leadership as they pertain to empowerment, see Leading at a Higher Level. Also, Heart of a Leader is an excellent distillation of Blanchard’s philosophy into thirty-six principles. Three Keys to Empowerment presents a helpful plan for putting the empowerment philosophy into practice.
Please consult the following Ministry Resource Guides for help in navigating Blanchard’s many resources:
- Empowering Leadership – Includes several works by Blanchard, along with titles by Stephen Covey, Warren Bennis, James Kouzes and Barry Posner.
- Servant Leadership – Lists volumes by Blanchard and related works by Robert Greenleaf, James Hunter, Bill Hybels, and others.
- Situational Leadership – Describes the Situational Leadership model and lists relevant texts by Ken Blanchard and his associates.
**For a summary, click here for the Kindle Version, go to right column, and download the free sample. If you don’t have a free Kindle Reader on your computer, there’s a link for that too.
From the Publisher
Empowerment Takes More Than a Minute tells the story of a young manager whose attempts to turn his troubled company around through traditional top-down, command-and-control management are failing. Reluctantly, he contacts an expert in empowerment, even though he feels like he’s already tried that too. Step by step, the expert helps him understand why his past and present efforts have fallen short and exactly what he needs to do to create an empowered workforce. The process as it unfolds is complex, paradoxical and counterintuitive – but well worth the effort. The new introduction dispels the notion that empowerment is a bygone fad. No matter what its name, the essential concept – that organizations can achieve extraordinary results by recognizing and taking advantage of the skills, experience, and knowledge already existing in the organization – will always be relevant. The new epilogue describes obstacles companies have encountered and overcome and outlines empowerment strategies that have proved successful during the fifteen years the authors have been consulting, researching, and refining these concepts. Although sometimes arduous, the journey to empowerment is well worth making. In fact, unleashing the power of people in an organization may be the only way to continue to do business in a competitive, complicated marketplace.
About the Authors
Ken Blanchard, an internationally recognized consultant and bestselling author, is chairman of the Ken Blanchard Companies. He is the author or coauthor of twelve previous books, including The One Minute Manager. His books have collectively sold more than twelve million copies and have been translated into twenty-six languages.
John P. Carlos is a Senior Consulting Partner with The Ken Blanchard Company, as well as a management consultant and trainer. He speaks internationally on topics such as legendary service, leadership, and team spirit, as well as empowerment.
Alan Randolph is an internationally known management consultant, educator, author, and speaker. His client roster includes Caterpillar, Household International, and E.I. DuPont, among others. A senior Consulting Partner with the Ken Blanchard Companies, he is also a professor of management and director of global business practicums at the University of Baltimore’s Merrick School of Business.
***For additional information on this resource, including reviews, click the bookstore links. Check the reference at page top or the links below for resource guides on related topics.***
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