Power Genes: Understanding Your Power Persona--and How to Wield It at Work - Hardcover

Craddock, Maggie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1422166945 ISBN 13: 9781422166949

Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press, 2011

Synopsis

A New Way of Looking at Power at Work

Who hasn’t left the office after a particularly frustrating day wondering what they could have done to turn a negative experience into a positive one? Perhaps it was a difficult conversation with a domineering boss, or an encounter with a know-it-all peer who made you feel insecure. Would you believe the way you react to these interactions likely stems from the dynamics you experienced as a child? Could it be that your childhood persona has grown into your power persona at work?

In Power Genes, executive coach Maggie Craddock reveals how to kick those old habits trying too hard to please, acting out, using manipulative methods of persuasion and tells how to use power more effectively to advance your career. Craddock identifies four power types and explains how to diagnose yours:

The Pleaser you make others feel good about themselves but need constant validation and approval from them
The Charmer you draw others in with your charm, yet trust is your Achilles heel
The Commander you take charge of the situation and gain admiration from others, but fear any loss of control
The Inspirer you are star power in action, yet your vision for the future can derail the needs of workers right now

The book outlines a process for avoiding your type’s signature destructive reflexes and replacing them with new behaviors helping you to interact productively with other people in the office. By showing you how to recognize your type’s blind spots and then recondition your actions, Power Genes will give you the insights and action plan you need to become a more consistently powerful professional. It’s time to throw out unproductive habits and take charge of your workplace relationships.

About this title

About the Author

Maggie Craddock is an executive coach and author of The Authentic Career: Following the Path of Self-Discovery to Professional Fulfillment. Prior to coaching, she received two Lipper Awards for managing the top mutual fund in its class nationwide. She is an Ackerman-certified family therapist.

Review

Readers will gain an awareness of the way they operate in situations requiring the use of power and how to do so more successfully. Be prepared for the inevitable ah-ha” moments of self-discovery.” Portland Book Review

Career success is determined in large measure by the quality of our working relationships. By teaching us how to improve our interactions with others, Maggie Craddock illuminates new pathways to a more rewarding and fulfilling career.”
--Keith Green, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Freddie Mac

Maggie Craddock once again shines a bright light onto the nature of power and leadership and the role of nurture in their use. Leaders of today and tomorrow will find her insights a challenge to the normal leadership rhetoric while being both practical and inspirational.”
--Lara Warner, CFO, Credit Suisse Investment Bank

Regardless of where you fit on the Power Grid, understanding Maggie Craddock’s insight that who you are and where you come from impact how you are perceived by others is critical to becoming a more effective leader.”
--Brian P. Hull, Group Managing Director, UBS Wealth Management Americas

We don’t have to be prisoners of our instincts! In this insightful book, Maggie Craddock shows how to become more deliberately effective in workplace relationships with colleagues and clients a key to career success.”
--Roelfien Kuijpers, Global Head, DB Advisors

Power Genes is a recipe book for improving the effectiveness of your personal interactions it provides great insights into the DNA that drives how you act or lead based on your family structure. What’s different about this book is the recognition that we don’t all operate exclusively in one persona; we can alter our natural reactions to get the most out of our relationships.”
--Eric Elliott, President and CEO, Prime Therapeutics

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1422166945
• ISBN 13: 9781422166949
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 224