Leadership and Management
50 Top Leadership Blogs of 2014
Welcome to the annual update on the 50 Best/Top leaderships blogs on the web as of July 2014. This is our third year of putting this list together. As readers will see once again, this list has changed quite markedly in just a 12 months period. These significant changes result from a number of factors including:
- Alexa rankings of individual blogs have changed considerably. As in previous years, this mainly arises not only because of the time invested by individual blog authors in the last year but because many more web sites and blogs have been launched (and Alexa estimates that there are now around 80 million active (as opposed to dormant) web sites in the world).
- Readers a year ago (and since) alerted us to qualifying leadership blog sites we were unaware of last year and those are now included. Some of these (indicated in orange) have appeared quite high up in the list (the highest of the 6 in total at number 8).
- Some leadership bloggers have done little to enhance or add to their blogging efforts and have slid backwards on the list or are out altogether in terms of site traffic. It’s a real reminder in the online world that if you stand still you can go very quickly in the wrong direction!
This year we have produced the list in a similar way, with the Alexa ranking as the main determinant of order. As we said last year, the Alexa rank (to be found at www.alexa.com) is an imperfect ranking raw score for web site popularity (as measured by traffic to each site) but it is a useful relative comparison metric. In essence it measures how popular a site is (from 1 being Google, 2, Facebook and 3, YouTube, all the way down to the 80 millionth or so active site on the web as at 1st July 2014). Whether or not a blog has gone up in the list and how far (shaded in green) or gone down in the list and how far (in red).
So what are the main highlights of the Top 50 Leadership Blogs?
- A total of 6 blog authors in the 2013 list slipped below the top 50.
- 21 blog authors have held their place or gone up in the list.
- 23 blog authors have gone down in the list.
- 6 blog authors are new to the 2014 list (although 4 of these are re-entries from the 2012 list.
- There are 43 male bloggers in the top 50 list and 7 females (males up 1 from last year). New entrant Karin Hurt at number 8 is the highest on this year’s list. However, women are clearly underrepresented, given the population, and males dominate the top 20.
- Top 50 Blog authors come from 6 countries around the world (including Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and the UK but the list is dominated by US based authors (of which there are 43 in the top 50). The top 5 are all US based and so are 18 of the top 20.
- US leadership bloggers come from 24 States with authors writing most from the sunshine states of California and Florida leading with 7 blogs each.
- Apart from the new entrants the biggest movers up the list in the last 12 months are Chris Locurto (up by 11 places or 300,000 places in the Alexa rankings or from 17th to 6th in the list) followed by Jon Gordon (up 11 places from 20th to 9th), and Ben Lichtenwalner (up 11 places to 28th in the list).
So, let’s now look at the list. It includes the names of the individual blogger or blog owner on the left, and their primary role(s) in his or her working life. It also includes a brief summary about the focus of the blog, so that individuals can visit the ones that appear most interesting (by clicking on their name below). Happy exploring!
2014 Rank (2013) |
Blog Owner | Alexa Rank (7/1/14) | Blog Summary / Focus |
1
|
Michael Hyatt @MichaelHyatt Author, consultant and speaker TENNESSEE, US |
9,776 | Frequent and interesting blogger (3-4 times a week) on leadership development (intentional leadership) and related issues from this popular author and trade publishing expert. |
2
|
Dan Rockwell Leadership freak @Leadershipfreak Coach, trainer, mentor PENNSYLVANIA, US |
105,309 | This blog seeks to offer broad leadership, coaching and mentoring to individuals in regular 300 words or less articles. Dan also well understands the realm of social media. |
3
|
Wayne Dyer @DrWayneWDyer Author and speaker HAWAII, US |
177.387 | Main focus of this blog, from the popular multi-book author is personal leadership or self-development and finding ways to better motivate yourself and others. |
4
|
Michael McKinney Leadership now @LeadershipNow Author, consultant, coach CALIFORNIA, US |
194,418 | Long standing leadership development blog (leadership now) with a focus on leadership across all communities and not just business (although organizational life figures heavily). |
5
|
Michael Rogers @secondgleader Consultant, coach and Author UTAH, US |
282,310 | Main focus is on leadership, but also covers many other topics including meetings, time management, teamwork and coaching. |
6
|
Chris Locurto @ChrisLoCurto Consultant, Coach and Speaker CALIFORNIA, US |
322,706 | This blog offers a range of personal insights on leadership, managing people, and financial stewardship, posting articles 5 times a week. |
7
|
John Hunter Curious cat @curiouscat_com Consultant MALAYSIA |
364,498 | This blog is about managing through process thinking and improvement. Posts focus on systems thinking (lean, total quality, six-sigma etc.). |
8
|
Karin Hurt Let’s Grow leaders @LetsGrowLeaders Author and Consultant MARYLAND, US |
373,769 | This blog is focused on leadership growth development and skill building from an experienced author and speaker and consultant. |
9
|
Jon Gordon @JonGordon11 Author, speaker and consultant FLORIDA, US |
378,615 | Main focus is on providing leaders with ideas for inspiring people and organizations to work with more vision, passion, positivity and purpose. |
10
|
Dan McCarthy Great leadership @greatleadership Author and Consultant MASSACHUSETTS |
408,465 | This blog is focused on executive leadership development and skill building from an experienced author and academic. Better OD and HR practice thinking is also covered. |
11
|
Bob Burg @BobBurg Author and speaker FLORIDA, US |
431,243 | Blog’s focus is on many of the ideas contained in Bob’s books which essentially relate to building relationships, networking and giving more in order to achieve more. |
12
|
Mike Myatt N2Growth @N2Growth Consultant and coach PENNSYLVANIA, US |
475,701 | This blog is aimed at senior leaders and focuses mainly on strategy, innovation, career dynamics as well as organizational development. |
13
|
Kevin Eikenberry @KevinEikenberry Consultant and speaker INDIANA, US |
465,513 | Main focus is ideas, thoughts and suggested action steps to help leaders-the path towards Remarkable Leadership (and a Remarkable Life) by travelling from learning to action. |
14
|
Kevin Kruse @Kruse Author, Consultant, coach and speaker PHILADELPHIA, US |
523,550 | Popular speaker and author focusing mainly on employee engagement, leadership, keynote speaking, entrepreneurship |
15
|
Tanveer Nasseer @TanveerNaseer Coach, Author and speaker QUEBEC, CANADA |
545,450 | Main focus is on helping managers to help to develop leadership and team-building competencies to guide organizational growth and development, and create a fulfilling sense of purpose in what they do. |
16
|
Jon Warner ReadyToManage @joncwarner Author, consultant and coach CALIFORNIA, US |
607,454 | This blog covers many leadership/ management subjects as well as over 600 articles on soft skill development with a range of checklists and models. |
17
|
Tom Schulte Linked2Leadership @tomschulte Author and consultant GEORGIA, US |
625,250 | This blog is run by one editing author and many other contributors globally with a main focus on leadership development, organizational health, and personal & professional career growth. |
18
|
Mike Figliuolo @thoughtLEADERS Consultant, coach, trainer OHIO, US |
648,679 | Main focus is providing practical skill-building articles mainly in the areas of leadership, strategy, career development, communications and customer service. |
19
|
Jesse Lyn Stoner SeaPoint Center @JesseLynStoner Consultant, Author and Coach CONNECTICUT, US |
685,288 | Main focus is on leadership development and creating engaged workplaces. Aims to assist those who want to make a contribution, as a leader at work. |
20
|
Steve Roesler All things workplace @steveroesler Consultant / coach NEW JERSEY, US |
774,339 | Main focus is on providing articles which help leaders develop by offering coaching advice to try out and additional skills and methods. |
21
|
Art Petty @artpetty Coach, Trainer, Author ILLINOIS, US |
795,214 | Main focus is on developing leadership skills, through building professional presence. Also focuses on critical thinking and decision-making. |
22
|
Mark Sandborn @Mark_Sanborn Author, consultant, speaker COLORADO, US |
813,055 | This blog focuses mainly on leadership development, personal development, better customer service, and teambuilding. |
23
|
David Zinger @davidzinger Consultant OTTAWA, CANADA |
846,261 | This blog has a mix of research-based and practical approaches aimed at building more authentic relationships and achieve better results. |
24
|
Todd Nielsen Slice of Leadership @toddbnielsen Author, consultant, speaker CALIFORNIA, US |
863,555 | Main focus is on how leaders can attain greater productivity and to reject the status-quo though concentrating on better processes/methodologies. |
25
|
Terry St. Marie @Starbucker Consultant and Coach OREGON, US |
865,261 | Optimistic blog focused mainly on the power of being positive as a person and a leader, and how to have more purpose, empathy and compassion, humility and love for others. |
26
|
Gerard O Donavan @gerardodonovan Consultant, Trainer and Coach DORSET, UK |
872,711 | This blog offers a range of insights mainly on coaching but also on leadership and the development of management skills and competencies |
27
|
George Ambler @GeorgeAmbler Consultant SOUTH AFRICA |
878,142 | This site focuses on those interested in learning to lead more successfully in times of change, which requires a new set of leadership practices. |
28
|
Ben Lichtenwalner Modern servant leader @BLichtenwalner Consultant and Coach MICHIGAN, US |
968,845 | This blog aims to promote the concept of servant leadership, helping leaders to increase awareness, adopt the practice and take action. |
29
|
John Spence @AwesomelySimple Consultant, Author and speaker FLORIDA, US |
1,114,068 | This blog has an international experience focus and concentrates on strategic thinking, teamwork, and leadership development topic areas. |
30
|
Wally Bock Three Star Leadership @wallybock Author and consultant N. CAROLINA, US |
1,146,884 | Aimed at leaders at all level, this blog offers particular insights, information, tips, lists and pointers to help managers to perform at a better or higher level. |
31
|
Steve Farber @stevefarber Author, speaker and Consultant CALIFORNIA, US |
1,199,037 | This blog promotes the “Extreme Leadership” approach offering ideas and coaching/ communication to leaders at all levels. |
32
|
Gordon Tredgold Leadership Principles @GordonTredgold Line Mgr and Coach UK/Germany |
1,270,263 | Areas of focus are Transformational Leadership, Operational Performance Improvement, Organizational Development, Program and Change Management and Creating Business Value via IT. |
33
|
Ed Batista @edbatista Executive Coach and change consultant CALIFORNIA, US |
1,293,968 | This site focuses mainly on leadership, coaching and change issues but covers other issues related to leadership from time to time. |
34
|
Scott Herrick Cube Rules @CubeRules Consultant WISCONSIN, US |
1,307,860 | This blog offers a range of leadership and soft skill development articles but from a different perspective-it’s aimed at individuals who work in cubicles who have to manage staff as well as manage their boss. |
35
|
Susan Mazza Random acts of leadership @SusanMazza Consultant and Coach FLORIDA, US |
1,383,655 | Main focus of the blog is translating leadership and OD theory into pragmatic strategies and practical applications to improve performance. |
36
|
Michael Ray Hopkin Lead on purpose @michaelrhopkin Consultant and Speaker UTAH, US |
1,387,973 | This blog mainly focuses on product/service management as a key leader task but also includes ideas on persuasion and working better. |
37
|
Andrew Bryant Self Leadership @SelfLeadership Author, coach and speaker SINGAPORE |
1,447,757 | Main focus is on leadership development, business communication, executive coaching and a range of ideas on self development. |
38
|
Scott Eblin @ScottEblin Coach, author and speaker CALIFORNIA, US |
1,580,178 | Main focus is on leadership development and coaching managers to have “the right” behaviors and mindsets to tackle future change. |
39
|
Gary Cohen CO2 Exhale @garybcohen Consultant, Coach and Speaker MINNESOTA, US |
1,538,386 | Main focus is on leadership development, business communication, executive coaching and a range of ideas on improvement as a leader of any kind. |
40
|
Dan Oestreich @DanOestreich Consultant, Coach and Speaker WASHINGTON, USA |
1,685,661 | This blog focus on support and insight for leaders of all kinds, formal and informal and offers a wide array of articles and other resources to help increase self-knowledge. |
41
|
Sonia McDonald Leadership HQ @LeadershipHQ1 Speaker and HR and OD Consultant AUSTRALIA |
1,720,429 | This blog showcases a range of leadership and related articles as well as having a focus on employee empowerment and engagement |
42
|
John Agno @johnagno Coach and Author MICHIGAN, US |
1,340,912 | Main focus is on coaching but also seeks to help leaders to gain greater clarity and focus while expanding self-awareness as they design the personal and professional life wanted. |
43
|
Tom Foster Management blog @FosterLearning Consultant FLORIDA, US |
1,850,755 | This blog focuses on the leadership of teams and whole organizations by looking at establishing better relationships at all levels. |
44
|
Michael Lee Stallard @michaelstallard Consultant, coach and speaker NEW YORK, US |
1,998,756 | Main focus is on leadership and management productivity and innovation plus team building, communications and executive coaching. |
45
|
Suzanne Updegraff Employee Devt Systems @edsiusa Consultant COLORADO, US |
2,027,256 | This blog offers articles on better leadership, enhancing interpersonal skills, and on creating a workforce that adapts to change, and is creative and innovative |
46
|
Mary Jo Asmus @mjasmus Coach and Consultant MICHIGAN, US |
2,116,460 | This blog focuses on leadership development with a main emphasis on improving, and sustaining relationships with the people. |
47
|
John Maxwell @JohnCMaxwell Author, Consultant, coach and speaker FLORIDA, US |
2,254,671 | Very popular and best-selling author in the leadership realm whose blog focuses on the qualities and competencies needed to be a leader in many organizational settings. |
48
|
Ellen Weber Brain leaders & learners @ellenfweber Author and consultant NEW YORK, US |
2,642,782 | Main focus is showcasing an academic model for a left/right side of the brain approach called MITA™ which aims to foster more innovative leading and learning. |
49
|
Ed Brenegar Leading Questions @edbrenegar Consultant and Coach N. CAROLINA, US |
2,829,689 | This blog aims to assist leaders in developing transitional and visioning skills to meet organizational demands and meet new opportunities and challenges they face. |
50
|
Frank Kanu Genius One @FrankKanu Consultant, Speaker FLORIDA, US |
2,958,673 | To the point blog on management and leadership strategy and matters but with lots of broader areas of focus to stretch the creative thinking process. |
Many lists like the one above encompass bloggers who may talk about a lot of other subject areas well beyond leadership and related matters, and indeed may have greater experience or expertise elsewhere. This is not to say that such broadly based bloggers are not popular or interesting to know about and subscribe to – just not in a list that should be about organizational leadership and leadership development primarily. In the 50 sites above therefore you will find no mention of people such as Anthony Robbins (personal development), Guy Kawasaki (entrepreneurship) or Malcolm Gladwell (thinking/creativity) but only writers whose main focus is improved leadership or management skills in some way, shape or form. Another excluded group is the many excellent bloggers that write about leadership issues from a faith-based standpoint (such as Ron Edmonson’s blog which would have come in at number 3 on the list if included). We take the view that these belong in a separate list and it would therefore be useful to publish this at some point.
The 50 blogs listed above are all “very good” and in that sense there is no sense in which one is relatively “better” than another (as this is so often about the focus of the writer and the relative interests of the reader). Michael Hyatt is top of the list (for the second year running) because he has the 9,776st most visited site on the web right now according to Alexa rankings (in the top 0.02%). In fact even our 50th blog site (Frank Kanu) has the 2,958,673th most visited site. (Last year’s number 50 by the way had an Alexa rank of 3,473,098 which would not have made the top 50 of course this year). This put our 50th top leadership blog in the top 7% of sites in the entire world. And by the way, this does not mean that blogger popularity or status or even overall money earned follows this order at all. This is a function of who the person is (in career status terms), what they do, how long they have been blogging and even how social media “savvy” they may be, to name but a few factors.
For those people wondering who was close to making the top 50 but not quite, the next 5 blogs are Bea Fields (from the US-3,024,809), Erika Anderson (also from the US-3,092,767), Gwyn Teatro (from Canada- 3,367,778), John Baldoni (from the US- 3,372,487) and Lisa Hanneberg (also from the US- 3,766,235).
Please note that the above list was compiled by Dr. Jon Warner, himself a long-term blogger in the leadership realm, (and holding his number 16 on the above list). Any mistakes, errors or omissions are entirely his and should anyone have any suggested changes or input for inclusion in future blog postings such as this please contact him at Jon@OD-center.org
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16 thoughts on “50 Top Leadership Blogs of 2014”
Comments are closed.
Very honored to make the list (#29) — great motivation for me to significant up my game. Congrats to all of the other leadership bloggers on the list – I follow nearly every one of you and will now add the few I was not. Thanks so much – I will work hard to constantly improve my blog and the value I deliver.
Great list. Love to see many of the other leadership bloggers out here rocking it and included on the list. Hopefully I’ll make it onto this list one of these days.
I felt so honoured to be part of your list. Top 26 is already an achievement. I really appreciate it. I think, I will work more and will continue to share my experiences and some helpful insights to my online readers. Thank you!
Jon,
This is a really great list – thank you for sharing it! I see a lot of my own favorite leadership bloggers on there, including several who have guest posted on Switch and Shift.
I’m also delighted to give a shout-out to three members of our League of Extraordinary Thinkers who made your list: Jesse Lyn Stoner, Susan Mazza, and Dr. Ellen Weber.
Best,
Ted
Maybe for next year you can check out my leadership blog
http://www.lollydaskal.com/blog
Its for the leader who is interested in leading with heart.
What a solid list! Some familiar names and some new ones I’ll have to check out! Thanks for compiling the list! Would love for you to also check out my blog on leadership as well for future consideration: http://www.timparsons.me
I’d be grateful if the Leadership Thoughts Blog was considered for next year.
These top blogs serve as an inspiration for me to work hard for my own blog – Panini Days – so that it will receive similar recognition.
Great list! It’s so nice to see so many great blogs in one place. I really appreciate the time and effort this must of took. Check out
http://www.theoughtofbusiness.com
Uncommon integrity sparks extraordinary leadership!
Great list thanks for sharing it with everybody. I have done a research on the leaders that are not so famous but have done a lot for the society http://bit.ly/1K3DjkI
Impressive list! Consider reading this thoughtful piece written by my colleague https://www.insight-experience.com/blog/leader-as-teacher/
Excellent list , leadership is a bout believing in yourself and doing what is right, hopefully this year many great bloggers will find themselves in this list.
Great insight, leadership requires integrity, Integrity requires that you always tell the truth, to all people, in every situation. Truthfulness is the foundation quality of the trust that is necessary for the success of any business.
Thanks for sharing this stuff with us!
It Helps me a lot!
The information you have shared is really interesting. I appreciate the fact that you took the effort and the time to post here.
nice blog for learning leadership …