Mastering politics is essential for advancement in the workplace, particularly at the management or executive level. In The Politics of Promotion, executive coach Bonnie Marcus explains that talent and hard work are not enough; to get promoted the way men do, women must learn the unwritten rules of the game, gather insider information, manage their images, and build influence with key stakeholders and decision makers. By acknowledging and understanding the need for politics and using Marcus’ Political Toolkit, women can effectively navigate their organizations’ political landscapes to rapidly move ahead.
The author believes that:
- Many women mistakenly believe that hard work and talent will eventually lead to promotion, and they ignore the importance of workplace politics. Their failure to establish and manage strategic professional relationships often leads to them being passed over for promotions or even asked to step down.
- High-achieving women face obstacles their male counterparts do not, including subtle gender bias and self-limiting attitudes and behaviors. Factors that keep women from getting ahead include lack of confidence, fear of being seen as unlikable or aggressive, failure to delegate, having a negative view of office politics, and being excluded from informal networks.
- Career advancement requires political savvy. By demonstrating their value proposition, understanding workplace culture and dynamics, forming strategic alliances, seeking mentorship and sponsorship, and committing to executive coaching, women can remove roadblocks and achieve their career goals.
- To get ahead and stay ahead, women must master Marcus’ Political Toolkit. This toolkit contains five metaphorical tools–the Mirror, Magnifying Glass, Pass Go and Collect $200 Card, Get Out of Jail Free Card, and GPS–that can help women put abstract political concepts into practice.
- Continued career advancement demands dedication, ongoing self-evaluation, and being aware of ever-changing workplace dynamics. Highly developed political skills become even more critical at the senior level. Women must continue to use the tools that got them to the top to stay on top, but with a slightly different focus.
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As Kim Zoller and Kerry Preston explain in You Said What?!, effective communication is vital in the workplace. Building relationships with others means making them feel valued, respected, and, above all, heard. But even the most well-intentioned professionals make common communication blunders. Because professional communication skills are not intuitive, they must be learned and perfected over time.
In People Risk Management, Keith Blacker and Patrick McConnell provide insight and practical suggestions about how to manage people-related risks at large commercial firms. Due to their size and complexity, large companies are more prone to disastrous outcomes, such as those experienced by BP, Enron, and Lehman Brothers. The authors offer practical tools, real-world examples, and best-practice guidance about how to implement effective people risk management across an organization and thereby improve decision-making processes.
The Serving Leader by Kenneth R. Jennings and John Stahl-Wert showcases the powerful yet paradoxical method of achieving greatness by serving others. They intertwine tales of an estranged son and his dying father within the lessons to provide insight into the five actions anyone can take to transform his or her organization or community. Serving Leadership has power and value in many different types of environments, including industries, nonprofits, schools, homes, and churches. The best Serving Leaders turn everything the world knows about traditional leadership upside down and achieve amazing results by doing so.
Purpose is important to customers and employees alike. In today’s market, three reasons account for the rise of purpose as a defining aspect of marketing and sales: changing consumer values, technological innovations, and a shift in the value base of many developed economies. In On Purpose, Shaun Smith and Andy Milligan offer a guide for creating a brand experience that increases customer satisfaction and loyalty. Their step-by-step analysis illustrates how a business should define, design, and deliver brand identity and purpose across diverse platforms.
Successfully persuading others to take particular actions is an essential skill in both business and in daily life. In The Small BIG, Steve J. Martin, Noah J. Goldstein, and Robert B. Cialdini identify over 50 small ways to influence people in effective, yet ethical, ways.
Countless workers express a desire to lose weight, reduce stress, and increase their productivity, but their jobs hinder their efforts. In fact, most work environments foster unhealthy habits. They take only reactive, not proactive, roles when it comes to the health of their employees. In The Healthy Workplace, researcher and workplace wellness expert Leigh Stringer presents strategies to help organizations create healthy environments that actually improve employees’ well-being. Drawing on history, current research, and real-world examples, Stringer challenges business leaders to make creating a culture of wellness not just a perk but an imperative.
The Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation title 20 Minute Manager: Leading Virtual Teams aims to help managers of remote groups succeed from afar. Virtual teams can present a unique set of challenges, including maintaining accountability from a distance and depending on technological means of communication, but these challenges can be overcome. Leaders of virtual teams can achieve success by ensuring that their teams have the right mix of skills and abilities for remote work, the right technological tools are in place, goals and processes are clearly defined and understood, and their employees remain engaged and accountable.
In recent years, the financial industry has undergone a transformation. Changes, such as tighter regulations, have resulted in smaller financial payouts for young financiers, but many of the most talented and ambitious students continue to be drawn to careers in finance. In Young Money, Kevin Roose seeks to understand what attracts people to Wall Street, which people find the most success, and what the future of Wall Street holds in light of these changes. To achieve this, Roose shadowed eight college graduates as they embarked on careers as analysts at some of Wall Street’s top firms. He documented their journeys as they faced challenges, doubts, and questions about the value, morality, and fit of their work to their strengths. Ultimately, Roose discovered what it takes to succeed on Wall Street and the sacrifices that must be made to gain the long-term power and prestige that these types of firms offer.
In High-Profit Prospecting, Mark Hunter provides strategies for generating high-profit prospects and turning them into valuable customers. The book discusses the role of prospecting in today’s ever-changing world and provides advice for three different prospecting methods: Internet, email, and cold calls. Hunter dismantles common myths that keep salespeople from prospecting, offers an overall strategic prospecting plan, gives practical guidance for day-to-day prospecting, and outlines steps for landing leads who will ultimately turn into customers.
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