PEOPLE•CENTERED
LEADERSHIP™

people · centered leadership
noun
1 a holistic approach to unleashing the power and potential of people in organizations.
2 a leadership point of view that developing competence and confidence in people increases
engagement, commitment, performance, results, and alignment at all levels of an organization.
3 a philosophy that reflects the belief that people want to be magnificent and that a leader’s role is to
mentor, direct, support, and serve.
4 the social movement that Ken Blanchard began almost forty years ago, which is being carried forward
by so many advocates of his view of good leadership.
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People·Centered Leadership defined

Human
nature
People want to be magnificent.
They want their work to be
meaningful, fulfilling, and to be
part of a greater purpose.
People-centered leaders
understand this aspect of human
nature and work with it to bring
out people’s magnificence.

FOR instead
Do you focus on what you want from
people, or what you want for people?
Ironically, when your focus is on what
you want for people, the result will be
what you want from people.
of from

Purpose
OVER EGO
Focus on serving others instead of making
yourself look good. The ego is the biggest
obstacle to becoming people-centered. Anytime
you want to be recognized for the best ideas, or
being the problem-solver, your ego is competing
against your people-centered purpose. Let go of
the ego, and let the purpose prevail.

Make your
intentions
explicit
We judge ourselves by our intentions, and
others judge us by our actions. Only our
actions are visible to others. Our intentions
may be completely invisible. Communicate
your intentions explicitly. Don’t assume
others will know your intentions unless you
make them clear.

People have too many goals and
tend to give them all equal priority.
A good leader helps people cut
through what’s nonessential and
concentrate on goals that will have
the most impact.
Less is

Grow your
people to
grow your
organization
People—their imagination, passion, knowledge,
skills, relationships—are the source of value
creation. When people’s passion and
giftedness meet, value is created.

Partner for performance
Today’s leadership is more of
a side-by-side partnership
than the top-down
leadership of the past. It’s
like a dance—both parties
need to participate.
Through this partnering
approach, people collaborate
more effectively and hone
their abilities to listen, build
trust, and foster effective
relationships.

Succeed sooner
People and organizations
move faster and better when
leaders invest in developing
their people. Research
shows that by helping people
grow both competence and
confidence, organizations are
able to perform better,
sooner.
By focusing on people first,
organizations cultivate places
where people want to do
their best.

The objective is
People and Results
Money is not a reason to be in
business. It’s a byproduct. Profit is
the applause you get for creating a
motivating environment for your
people, so they will be excited about
taking care of your customers.
A leader’s objective is to develop
people’s confidence and
competence, so that they gain self-
reliance—which leads to results.

People-centered
leadership creates
commitment
People feel it at a gut level when their leader is
people-centered. Having the support of such
a leader builds people’s competence and
strengthens their commitment to the work.

The Ken Blanchard Companies unleashes the power and
potential in people and organizations for the greater good.
Using a collaborative diagnostic process, we’ve
helped some of the world’s leading organizations
solve complex business issues, achieve
measurable results, and develop leadership
capacity to improve productivity and performance.
Please visit us at KenBlanchard.com
or speak with our experts at 760.233.6725
© 2015 The Ken Blanchard Companies. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate. • MK0806 • V091815