Workability

How to speed up your career without losing yourself

It’s the human challenges that will define your career. In this book, a top workplace communicator gives a real-life account of the personal skills and behaviours that really count in global organizations.

Crises and upheavals, anxieties and fears, are an inevitable part of today’s workplace. Through a series of highly readable stories from his own 60,000 hours of corporate experience, James Weekley highlights the human qualities that can resolve situations for the better or worse, sometimes the much worse. Your workability depends on how you communicate and behave, he says: what you do matters less than how you do it.

‘ Drawing on his knowledge of psychology, language, behaviour and communication, his book equips you with unexpected ways to think about how to manage the human challenges you will encounter and how you can speed up your career without losing yourself.

In reality, he says, most of us will find ourselves following more than we lead. We will face a crisis every two to three years. We will suffer from anxieties. We will lose ourselves in gobbledygook. We will have to influence without authority. We will be subject to bad behaviours and toxic cultures.

Written for anyone building a career, Workability gives you the power to engage yourself, inspire others, master anxieties, bring in talent, overcome resistance, think unconventionally, manage expectations and connect with your audience, as well as deal more constructively and creatively with the catastrophes and upsets that might otherwise hinder your performance and stall your career.

COMMENTS

‘A hugely engaging, grounded and practical read for anyone looking to navigate and thrive in the modern workplace’, David Broome, managing partner, Broome Yasar Partnership.

‘Useful to anyone looking to get a deeper understanding of what sometimes seems like impenetrable office politics’, Alexandra Smyth, general counsel, Reed Exhibitions.

‘Next time you are feeling confused, frustrated, or even dreading work, read this book’, Nic Pearce, a sometime leader, a sometime follower, always a Learner.

‘I can’t think of a better way to learn how to navigate the modern world of work and the trade of crafting engaging communications’, Marc Wright, founder, simplycommunicate.

‘Clear nuggets of great advice to navigate today’s complex and uncertain world’, Chantal Tregear, leadership consultant and business coach.

CONTENTS

(1) People: Managing others is a messy business
(2) Followership: Knowing how to follow is more important than knowing how to lead
(3) Gobbledygook: Corporate jargon is killing meaning and productivity at work
(4) Engagement: Engage yourself, don’t wait for it to be done to you
(5) Culture: How language, symbols, traditions and norms shape your performance
(6) Influencing: There is a recipe for influencing without authority
(7) Crises: Your next crisis is never far away
(8) Presentations: Your best presentation is probably the one you never give
(9) Behaviour: Don’t judge people’s bad behaviour too harshly
(10) Writing: The written word matters more than you think
(11) Mentors: If you want to get on in your career, get a mentor
(12) Communication: Nothing is real until it’s communicated
(13) Hiring: The best hires come from unexpected places
(14) Anxiety: Your work anxieties could be your strongest asset