Ken, who is regarded as one of the most influential leadership experts in the world, has penned 60 other books on leadership and management. His groundbreaking works have been translated into more than 27 languages, and in 2005, he was also inducted into Amazon’s Hall of Fame as one of the top 25 bestselling authors of all time.

When not writing books, Ken spends considerable time putting his leadership and management training theories into action through his internationally renowned company, The Ken Blanchard Companies, which he co-founded with his wife, Marjorie Blanchard, Ph.D.

Since its inception in 1979, The Ken Blanchard Companies—the brainchild of Ken and Marjorie— has been mentoring the best managers in the world, training over 150,000 people every year. Today, the Ken Blanchard Companies is considered to be a global leader in management consulting and training all levels of an organization and is the provider of choice by Fortune 500 companies as well as small to medium businesses, governments, and educational and non-profit organizations.

But, how did it all begin?

According to Ken, his involvement in leadership began in the 1960s, when he was an assistant dean at Ohio University. “The chairman of the Management department, Dr. Paul Hersey, asked me if I would be interested in writing a textbook with him. That book became Management of Organizational Behavior. Now in its 10th edition, the book has been a bestseller in the field for over 40 years. When I was on sabbatical in the late 1970s, I gave a speech—“Different Strokes for Different Folks”— at a Young Presidents Organization event. People were so excited about it that they insisted my wife, Marjorie, and I start our own management consulting company.” That’s how the ball started rolling, and the rest, as they say, is history! “We went from not knowing how to balance our own checkbook in 1979 to running a global company today that has more than 300 employees and offices around the world,” chuckles and mentions Ken.

“What keeps us motivated to continue is the belief that the world is in desperate need of different leadership role models,” Ken further shares. “When you look at leaders around the world— whether they’re running departments or countries, businesses, or religious institutions—you see too many people focusing on self-serving goals.” What they need is a new leadership model that focuses not only on goal accomplishment but also on the greater good. Helping the leaders reach that goal is The Ken Blanchard Companies. From offering live virtual training to facilitating digital learning journeys and custom management training solutions, The Ken Blanchard Companies has got you all covered.

A Situational Approach to Leadership

In many of his public speaking and books, Ken highlights that the pace of change today is so disruptive that visionary leadership (situation-based leadership) is a must-have for all businesses worldwide. Even researches show that employees need different levels of direction and support depending on their level of competence and commitment to wade through the present tumultuous changes. But since most managers use only one leadership style, the results are non-satisfactory, leading to turnover, disengagement, diminished productivity, missed opportunities, and more. Managers need a leadership training program that helps them remain agile, lead situationally, and empower their people to succeed.
Making this possible is The Ken Blanchard Companies’ unique SLII framework, a widely used leadership training program in the world, which teaches leaders how to build meaningful connections with co-workers and create exponential impact. The award-winning SLII framework enables managers to diagnose the different development levels of an employee for a task. For instance, D1 stands for Enthusiastic Beginner; D2 – Disillusioned Learner; D3 – Capable, but Cautious, Contributor; and D4 – Self- Reliant Achiever. Managers then use the appropriate directive and supporter behaviors, namely S1 – Directing; S2 – Coaching; S3 – Supporting; and S4 – Delegating, to succeed in their leadership endeavors. And when this happens, even employees feel more productive and engaged. And their organizations excel and soar to new heights.

Leadership Is a Process, Not a Position!

Under the hood of the company’s excellence in leadership and management training approaches is a unique four-tiered path that they follow when onboarding clients. It starts with the understanding of the client’s “as-is” situation and their business needs. Once the process is set into motion, the second stage is about determining how to reach the leadership goal by defining the most appropriate learning journey. Here, the company helps its clients identify gaps and create engaging learning journeys, and then implement them through live, virtual, and digital contents— in the third stage—to make the learning curve meaningful and inspiring. Notably, Blanchard Digital Learning Journeys can be rolled out simultaneously to large groups or smaller teams of an organization, and the journey can move as per the learner’s convenience. Each learning journey is a blended experience, supplemented with digital self-directed activities and moderated events. Together with that, Blanchard’s certified coaches also work one-on-one with the client organization’s executives, managers, and team members to reinforce training programs or to offer support. During the last stage, the company’s task revolves around measuring the effectiveness of the management training endeavors, making it easier for the clients to implement new training models and adapt to its changing business needs down the road.

Creating Inspired Leaders in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries

For the last 25 years, The Ken Blanchard Companies, has been offering world-class leadership and management training to businesses in a variety of industries in the Middle East, via its global partner, Biz Group. Both the companies have the same methodology and delivery methods, and coupled with that, the combined experience and resources of both the companies give them a leading edge in the Middle East region to fulfill all their clients’ leadership training needs. “Through Biz Group, we are proud to represent The Ken Blanchard Companies across the GCC region, which includes the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman,” states Ken. In the GCC region, particularly, Blanchard training is recognized as the top solution for mid-level and top-level leaders who want to advance their careers and improve the output of their organizations.

Building a Global Leadership Network

Today, Ken Blanchard Companies has anchored itself in almost every continent via its global partners, including a strong foothold in the GCC region. Moving along its path of growth and innovation, The Ken Blanchard Companies is now prepping itself for greater expansion of its partners in the Middle East, poised to create significant milestones along its journey. At the same time, the company is also steadfast at improving its leadership training models even further to attend to every nuanced business and management needs. With such ambitious plans at its disposal, the future shines bright for the company.