There are many people in our lives who make a difference for us. They help to mold us and also help us to succeed in all we do. There are eight roles that people play for us and we play for them. More than one person plays some of the roles and some people can play more than one role in our lives.
The eight roles are:
builder
champion
collaborator
companion
connector
energizer
mind opener
navigator.
Tom Rath explains the need for each of these roles in our lives and gives examples of people who play these roles for others and how they accomplish this. Many of the quotes from people about how others fulfill their needs will resonate with you.
Tom Rath shows each of these roles in action, and shows us how to develop others to do this for us and how we can do it better for those around us. He teaches us how to strengthen or cultivate the people we need to provide these roles for us.
The builder helps us to become all that we can by helping us to focus on the things we do well. The champion is always on our side and often toots our horn when we don’t acknowledge accomplishments in our lives. The collaborator works with us on projects to accomplish similar goals. The companion allows us someone who helps us relax and refresh. The energizer helps bring positive emotions and enthusiasm to all we do. The mind opener allows us to see other viewpoints and possibly change our minds on issues. The navigator helps give us direction, paths or crossroads to follow. They also help us to focus by helping us to debate the pros and cons of an issue.
No one is an island and Vital Friends helps us to develop the support that we need to have around us to achieve the most in our lives that we can. Learn how to develop yourself and others in becoming better at all of these roles or in finding someone else who provide that role for us.
Also available as an audiobook.
Summer is a time of renewal for many things. It is also the time of new starts of different stages of our lives. The titles that follow will help you determine what you really want to do in your career and will help you to acquire the job that will allow you to achieve what you aspire to. Using the information gained through these titles will position you to go out and find the career and jobs that are fulfilling to you and will allow you to make the right impact on the community you live in.
This business parable follows Tom Cook as he travels to Italy to try and re-charge his life. He is trying to figure out what he really wants from work and he unexpectly meets an old man who introduces him to Michelangelo’s art and work philosophy.
We get reenergized about finding the work that we can be passionate about so that we too can leave a lasting mark on the world around us. Chris Widener helps us to find the angel inside, identify our passion(s), and identify our strengths. He tells us how to define a plan and achieve the details so we can accomplish what we want in life and still get what we need from our work.
Are you trying to decide what you want to be when you grow up? Are you looking for a career change? Reading Extraordinary jobs for Creative People introduces you to thirty jobs that appeal to creative people, many you may be unaware of.
Each description gives an overview of the job, salary range, education and/or experience required, personal attributes, requirements and outlook. They also each include a personal interview of someone who is currently in the field, pitfalls and perks of the job and things you can do to get a jump on this career.
Appendixes included are:
1. Associations, Organizations, and Web Sites
2. Online Career Resources
3. Art Schools
4. Read More About It – Books on each specific career covered.
The additional resources provided to expand your knowledge about specific career options is extensive and will get you to many of the authority sources in each field.
Resumes are the first thing most employers see when you apply for a job. This book covers the elements of an effective resume and gives guidance on writing your resume, assembly and layout, cover letters and sample resumes. Worksheets are included to guide you when writing resumes for your specific needs. Many titles similar to this can be found at the library if your need is not management.
The reason we write cover letters is to grab the attention of the reader and let them know why we are the best candidate for their job opening. No Nonsense Cover Letters covers this and much more. Examples are given for both weak letters and strong ones. We can easily determine how to write the best cover letter for our needs. Each letter uses highlighting to show how to make your letter more effective with specific phrases and tools.
We spend about forty percent of our time listening at work. Unfortunately many of us do not listen well resulting in miscommunications, lost time and money and damaged relationships with others. There are three levels of listening. We should be listening at level one, but most of us listen at level three most of the time.
The levels are:
1. listening to the nonverbals as well as the verbals
2. listening to the word but not to the meaning of the words, taking the words out of context
3. internal distractions. Internal distractions is paying attention to other stimuli around us including running down items in our mind of things we need to be doing next.
Madelyn Burley-Allen shares many assessments and exercises with us to help us determine where we are in our listening skills and how we can improve them. Much about listening is attitude and there are basically four attitudes we listen from.
They are:
I’m okay, you’re okay
I’m okay, you’re not okay
I’m not okay, you’re okay
I’m not okay, you’re not okay
We set ourselves up to the level of listening we are capable of by determining which attitude we are going to take in every interaction we have.
If we predetermine that we’re okay and others aren’t we are subconsciously looking for ways to not listen to the content we know will not be helpful to us. Listening must be done with the eyes as well as the ears as much of what is said is done with body language from both the speaker and the receiver.
Taking the assessments at the start of reading the book and then really listening to what is said and doing the exercises along the way we can see how we sabotage ourselves and others in the way we listen to others. Awareness is attained by taking the assessments in the most honest way possible and then learning what they say about how we communicate (or try to) with others. Many methods of improving how we listen are shared.
Executive coach Marshall Goldsmith shares the twenty behavioral flaws that can sabotage our careers as we climb the corporate ladder. The root cause of these flaws is Goal Obsession. We are so focused on our goal(s) that we may not see the flaws that might keep us from obtaining it.
Marshall Goldsmith uses examples from his coaching sessions to help us see how these flaws can interfere with our advancement. He is often called in to help rising stars see what they need to change and to help them do it. Many of these flaws are exhibited by us at one time or another, it is when it becomes the way we deal with issues that it can sabotage us. Marshall teaches his clients (and us) how to identify the roadblocks and how to fix it. He uses interviews with co-workers, bosses, clients and others to get at the roadblocks and then sits down with the client to determine how they want to deal with the issues that came up.
The twenty flaws are:
1. Winning too much
2. Adding too much value
3. Passing judgment
4. Making destructive comments
5. Starting with “no, but or however” - overuse of negative qualifiers
6. Telling people how smart we are
7. Speaking when angry
8. Negativity
9. Withholding information
10. Failing to give proper recognition
11. Claiming credit when it is not due
12. Making excuses
13. Clinging to the past
14. Playing favorites
15. Refusing to express regret
16. Not listening
17. Failing to express gratitude
18. Blaming (punishing) the messenger
19. Passing the buck
20. Excessive need to be me.
Although doing these things occasionally won’t usually hurt us, having them as habits or defining aspects of who we are can and will as we go higher up in business and life.
The eight rules that must be in place in order for us to succeed in changing our behaviors are:
1. You might not have a disease that behavioral modification can cure.
2. Pick the right thing to change.
3. Don’t delude yourself about what you really must change.
4. Don’t hide from the truth you need to hear.
5. There is no ideal behavior.
6. If you can measure it you can achieve it.
7. Monetize the results (get monetary reward for accomplishments or pay for bad behavior).
8. The time for change is now.
Reading this book will help you determine if you have stumbling blocks for your career or life and gain the skills and knowledge to overcome them. Change does not happen overnight but the rewards can be enormous.
This item is also available as an audiobook.
