Read

This was the most important and transformational book I read in 2019. If you reach a point in your career where you feel stalled or uninspired, I highly recommend cracking this one open.

Be aware, this is one that forces you to really evaluate not just your career choices, but your emotional center. It took me about 4 months to read start to finish – reading, absorbing, reflecting then moving into the next chapter. It helped me better understand why I was struggling in my current role since I loved the work.

My takeaways from this book ultimately, let me to take the leap of faith in leaving my job in 2020, taking a sabbatical to refocus, and coming back into the workforce with a firmer vision on where I wanted to go and who I am as a leader. I highly recommend.

While this book is based on IT practices (stemming from the Lean manufacturing methodology), the premise of DevOps is adaptable to most functions in an organization. At its heart, DevOps is bringing all the relevant people to the table to define an end-to-end process that is standardized, controlled and collaborative.

I read this book at a time when I was establishing a service delivery team for HR systems. There were multiple times I felt like the authors were literally sitting with me day to day, commenting on how my new team was operating (not always successfully), listening to customer complaints and seeing the time and process waste because we weren’t all working together well.

At the end of the day it reassured me the processes, methodology and partnerships my team was putting into place would help us long term, despite the frustration of change and standardization.

There is a follow up book that is more of a how-to guide on putting these methodologies in place. Being that I had leaders who had operations experience, I didn’t move onto that one. I highly recommend for anyone in a service delivery role (IT or HR). There are lots of big and little takeaways that could help enhance your operations, even if things are running smoothly.

Executive Presence
Sylvia Hewlett

This is a book I just finished (May 2020) and wish I’d read earlier in my professional career. For emerging and new leaders there is always a lot of talk about honing your executive presence. I’ve found that everyone has their own view of executive presence. I liked that this book provides the 6 facets which are applicable in almost every industry.

The Lost Art of Listening
Michael Nichols

This book came out at a time before there was a lot of focus around active listening. I remember it being transformational in helping to define that listening is more than just hearing what someone is telling you. (We get more wrapped up in our heads preparing a response than actually paying attention to the speaker.) From technical writing to global leadership, thoughtful listening continues to be an essential skill in my leadership toolbox.

Crucial Conversations
Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, Laura Roppe

Where listening is important, having the courage to have tough discussions is even more essential – especially as a leader. It’s these conversations that often sideline us, either causing us to shy away from the conversation or generating so much anxiety it derails the discussion. Reading the book straight through provides the full context. Using it later to help through specific situations is invaluable.

The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People
Gary Chapman, Paul White

This is a great book especially for new leaders of individual contributors. We generally think of appreciation in terms of doing what we respond to. This book helps you identify the languages of appreciation and provides examples on how you can demonstrate those within your team or organization.