Welcome to the annual update on the 50 Best/Top leadership blogs on the web as of April 2016. This is our fifth year of putting this list together. As readers will see, once again, this list has changed quite markedly in just a 10 month period (because we have brought it forward 2 months this year). These significant changes result from a number of factors including:
Alexa global rankings of individual blogs have changed considerably (and Alexa has made many changes recently to improve its reach and accuracy). 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 125 million active, as opposed to dormant, blog sites in the world).
Readers a year ago (and since) alerted us to more qualifying leadership blog sites we were unaware of last year (8 are new with the highest at number 3 in the list).
Some leadership bloggers have done little to enhance or add to their blogging efforts and have slid backwards on the list (and/or in Alexa site visit numbers) or are out altogether in terms of site traffic. It’s a 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 lowest active site on the web as at 11th April 2016). 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 (shaded in red) or unshaded (no movement).
So what are the main highlights of the Best 50 Leadership Blogs?
Michael Hyatt stays at number 1 again.
A total of 5 blog authors in the 2015 list exited or slipped below the top 50.
13 blog authors have held their place or gone up in the list and 29 blog authors have gone down in the list.
8 blog authors are new to the 2016 list
There are 42 male bloggers in the top 50 list and 8 females (females down 3 from last year). Lolly Daskal at number 8 is the highest female on this year’s list. However, women are still underrepresented, given the population, and males dominate the top 10.
Top 50 Blog authors come from 6 countries around the world (including Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and the UK (with the most outside the US coming from Canada (3) but the list is dominated by US based authors (of which there are 42 in the top 50). The top 5 are all US based and so are 17 of the top 20.
US leadership bloggers come from 24 States with authors writing most from the sunshine states of Florida (7) and California (6) blogs.
Apart from the new entrants the biggest movers up the list in the last 12 months are George Ambler (up by 14 places or over 500,000 visits in the Alexa rankings (or from 33rd to 18th in the list) followed by David Zinger (up 8 places from 36th to 28th), and Jon Warner (up 5 places from 14th to 9th 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!
2016 Rank
(2015)
Blog Owner
Alexa Rank (4/11/16)
Blog Summary / Focus
1
(1)
Michael Hyatt
@MichaelHyatt
Author, consultant and speaker
TENNESSEE, US
27,454
(19,188)
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
(3)
John Maxwell
@JohnCMaxwell
Author, Consultant, coach and speaker
FLORIDA, US
121,330
(136,861)
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.
3
(-)
Skip Prichard
@SkipPrichard
Author and Consultant
OHIO, US
143,396
(3,939,045)
Interesting blog offering wide range of general leadership Insights as well as interviews with business book authors.
4
(2)
Wayne Dyer
@DrWayneWDyer
Author and speaker
HAWAII, US
160,167
(117,027)
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.
5
(4)
Dan Rockwell
Leadership freak
@Leadershipfreak
Coach, trainer, mentor
PENNSYLVANIA, US
163,179
(149,336)
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.
6
(5)
Michael McKinney
Leadership now
@LeadershipNow
Author, consultant, coach
CALIFORNIA, US
189,929
(168,645)
Long standing leadership development blog (leadership now) with a focus on leadership across all communities and not just business (although organizational life figures heavily).
7
(6)
John Hunter
Curious cat
@curiouscat_com
Consultant
MALAYSIA
314,322
(345,875)
This blog is about managing through process thinking and improvement. Posts focus on systems thinking (lean, total quality, six-sigma etc.).
8
(-)
Lolly Daskal
Lead from Within
@LollyDaskal
Consultant, coach, speaker
NEW YORK, US
347,124
(-)
This blog from a prolific writer focuses mainly on leadership and management issues but with an emphasis on behavioral and psychological principles.
9
(16)
Jon Warner
ReadyToManage
@joncwarner
Author, consultant and coach
CALIFORNIA, US
387,775
(594,856)
This blog covers many leadership/ management subjects as well as over 600 articles on soft skill development with a range of checklists and models.
10
(9)
Jon Gordon
@JonGordon11
Author, speaker and consultant
FLORIDA, US
389,247
(472,953)
Main focus is on providing leaders with ideas for inspiring people and organizations to work with more vision, passion, positivity and purpose.
11
(15)
Mark Sanborn
@Mark_Sanborn
Author, consultant, speaker
COLORADO, US
457,705
(618,947)
This blog focuses mainly on leadership development, personal development, better customer service, and teambuilding.
12
(8)
Mike Figliuolo
@thoughtLEADERS
Consultant, coach, trainer
OHIO, US
545,080
(464,270)
Main focus is providing practical skill-building articles mainly in the areas of leadership, strategy, career development, communications and customer service.
13
(12)
Kevin Eikenberry
@KevinEikenberry
Consultant and speaker
INDIANA, US
563,535
(568,381)
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
(7)
Michael Rogers
@secondgleader
Consultant, coach and Author
UTAH, US
599,710
(454,160)
Main focus is on leadership, but also covers many other topics including meetings, time management, teamwork and coaching.
15
(22)
Dan McCarthy
Great leadership
@greatleadership
Author and Consultant
MASSACHUSETTS
603,079
(482,160)
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.
16
(-)
Ted Bauer
@tedbauer2003
Author, consultant, speaker
TEXAS, US
633,650
(-)
Rich blog with articles about leadership, management and the future of work, hiring, on-boarding, productivity, and psychology.
17
(11)
Tanveer Nasseer
@TanveerNaseer
Coach, Author and speaker
QUEBEC, CANADA
636,293
(498,762)
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.
18
(32)
George Ambler
@GeorgeAmbler
Consultant
SOUTH AFRICA
664,273
(1,212,089)
This site focuses on those interested in learning to lead more successfully in times of change, which requires a new set of leadership practices.
19
(23)
Kevin Kruse
@Kruse
Author, Consultant, coach and speaker
PHILADELPHIA, US
686,353
(873,684)
Popular speaker and author focusing mainly on employee engagement, leadership, keynote speaking, entrepreneurship
20
(17)
Jesse Lyn Stoner
SeaPoint Center
@JesseLynStoner
Consultant, Author and Coach
CONNECTICUT, US
707,028
(653,431)
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.
21
(-)
John Walston
@ResourcefulMgr
Consultant, Author and Coach
PENNSYLVANIA, US
795,356
(-)
This blog delivers practical information, training and tools any manager or supervisor can use to solve management and business problems – and tackle difficult situations with employees.
22
(16)
John Spence
@AwesomelySimple
Consultant, Author and speaker
FLORIDA, US
839,618
(632,519)
This blog has an international experience focus and concentrates on strategic thinking, teamwork, and leadership development topic areas.
23
(21)
Scott Herrick
Cube Rules
@CubeRules
Consultant
WISCONSIN, US
853,543
(728,267)
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.
24
(26)
Tom Schulte
Linked2Leadership
@tomschulte
Author and consultant
GEORGIA, US
951,045
(956,497)
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.
25
(19)
Art Petty
@artpetty
Coach, Trainer, Author
ILLINOIS, US
959,098
(702,131)
Main focus is on developing leadership skills, through building professional presence. Also focuses on critical thinking and decision-making.
26
(30)
Chris Locurto
@ChrisLoCurto
Consultant, Coach and Speaker
CALIFORNIA, US
968,707
(1,190,876)
This blog offers a range of personal insights on leadership, managing people, and financial stewardship, posting articles 5 times a week.
27
(13)
Karin Hurt
Let’s Grow leaders
@LetsGrowLeaders
Author and Consultant
MARYLAND, US
1,065,827
(593,888)
This blog is focused on leadership growth development and skill building from an experienced author and speaker and consultant.
28
(36)
David Zinger
@davidzinger
Consultant
OTTAWA, CANADA
1,121,022
(1,601,699)
This blog has a mix of research-based and practical approaches aimed at building more authentic relationships and achieve better results.
29
(-)
Linda Fisher Thornton
@leadingincontext
Academic, Author and Consultant
VIRGINIA, US
1,132,542
(3,948,215)
Broad based blog focused on many leadership issues with a bias towards ethics and responsibility
30
(31)
Scott Eblin
@ScottEblin
Coach, author and speaker
CALIFORNIA, US
1,145,144
(1,208,794)
Main focus is on leadership development and coaching managers to have “the right” behaviors and mindsets to tackle future change.
31
(-)
Christine Comaford
SmartTribes Institute
@Comaford
Consultant and author
CALIFORNIA, US
1,147,350
(3,391,454)
New York Times bestselling author Christine Comaford helps leaders navigate growth and change with a blog focused on better leadership (and the neuro-science that underpins our decisions).
32
(20)
Mike Myatt
N2Growth
@N2Growth
Consultant and coach
PENNSYLVANIA, US
1,174,086
(708,972)
This blog is aimed at senior leaders and focuses mainly on strategy, innovation, career dynamics as well as organizational development.
33
(27)
Ed Batista
@edbatista
Executive Coach and change consultant
CALIFORNIA, US
1,219,715
(1,025,280)
This site focuses mainly on leadership, coaching and change issues but covers other issues related to leadership from time to time.
34
(24)
Ben Lichtenwalner
Modern servant leader
@BLichtenwalner
Consultant and Coach
MICHIGAN, US
1,258,778
(921,335)
This blog aims to promote the concept of servant leadership, helping leaders to increase awareness, adopt the practice and take action.
35
(28)
Steve Roesler
All things workplace
@steveroesler
Consultant / coach
NEW JERSEY, US
1,307,575
(1,086,499)
Main focus is on providing articles which help leaders develop by offering coaching advice to try out and additional skills and methods.
36
(18)
Gordon Tredgold
Leadership Principles
@GordonTredgold
Line Mgr and Coach
UK/Germany
1,535,152
(662,264)
Areas of focus are Transformational Leadership, Operational Performance Improvement, Organizational Development, Program and Change Management and Creating Business Value via IT.
37
(38)
Michael Ray Hopkin
Lead on purpose
@michaelrhopkin
Consultant and Speaker
UTAH, US
1,617,445
(1,874,923)
This blog mainly focuses on product/service management as a key leader task but also includes ideas on persuasion and working better.
38
(33)
Terry St. Marie
@Starbucker
Consultant and Coach
OREGON, US
1,684,723
(1,468,105)
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.
39
(25)
Bob Burg
@BobBurg
Author and speaker
FLORIDA, US
1,861,292
(950,805)
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.
40
(35)
Todd Nielsen
Slice of Leadership
@toddbnielsen
Author, consultant, speaker
CALIFORNIA, US
2,122,227
(1,470,922)
Main focus is on how leaders can attain greater productivity and to reject the status-quo though concentrating on better processes/methodologies.
41
(46)
Tom Foster
Management blog
@FosterLearning
Consultant
FLORIDA, US
2,216,409
(3,069,287)
This blog focuses on the leadership of teams and whole organizations by looking at establishing better relationships at all levels.
42
(29)
Wally Bock
Three Star Leadership
@wallybock
Author and consultant
N. CAROLINA, US
2,416,678
(1,131,946)
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.
43
(34)
Susan Mazza
Random acts of leadership
@SusanMazza
Consultant and Coach
FLORIDA, US
2,441,393
(1,452,711)
Main focus of the blog is translating leadership and OD theory into pragmatic strategies and practical applications to improve performance.
44
(-)
Dan Forbes
Lead with Giants
@DanVForbes
Coach, Speaker, Consultant
TEXAS, US
2,448,457
(-)
A hub site for a multi-author community helping people to become better leaders.
45
(-)
Jim Clemmer
Author, Consultant, Speaker
ONTARIO, CANADA
2,521,019
(3,949,112)
Very diverse long-standing blog focused on many broad ranging leadership, management and organization development issues
46
(41)
Andrew Bryant
Self Leadership
@SelfLeadership
Author, coach and speaker
SINGAPORE
2,737,925
(2,244,146)
Main focus is on leadership development, business communication, executive coaching and a range of ideas on self development.
47
(45)
Frank Kanu
Genius One
@FrankKanu
Consultant, Speaker
FLORIDA, US
3,073,311
(2,644,793)
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.
48
(37)
Gary Cohen
CO2 Exhale
@garybcohen
Consultant, Coach and Speaker
MINNESOTA, US
3,256,326
(1,798,745)
Main focus is on leadership development, business communication, executive coaching and a range of ideas on improvement as a leader of any kind.
49
(40)
Sonia McDonald
Leadership HQ
@LeadershipHQ1
Speaker and HR and OD Consultant
AUSTRALIA
3,498,797
(2,201,378)
This blog showcases a range of leadership and related articles as well as having a focus on employee empowerment and engagement.
50
(50)
Mary Jo Asmus
@mjasmus
Coach and Consultant
MICHIGAN, US
3,632,568
(3,775,229)
This blog focuses on leadership development with a main emphasis on improving, and sustaining relationships with the people.
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). 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 fifth year running) because he has the 27,454th most visited site on the web right now according to Alexa rankings (in the top 0.5%-even though he has gone backwards a little since last year). In fact even our 50th blog site (MaryJo Asmus) has the 3,632,568th most visited site. This puts our 50th top leadership blog in the top 4% of most visited 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, how much they speak publicly 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 3 blogs are Colleen Sharen (from Canada-3,707,785), John Agno (from the US-3,709,326), and Steve Farber (also from the US- 4,297,850). Please note that the above list was compiled by Dr. Jon Warner, himself a long-term blogger in the leadership realm, (and up 5 places to number 9 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 jonWCOD@gmail.com
Related Resources
Managing in Context Workshop Kit
Managing in Context Workshop Kit Advanced
Leadership styles booklet
Leadership PowerPoint