Work Leadership

"Middle manager." The term evokes a bygone industrial era in which managers functioned like cogs in a vast machine and bureaucracy ruled. In recent decades, midlevel managers became a favorite target for the chopping block—underappreciated, often considered a superfluous layer of the organization. Not only does this outdated perspective need to change, the future demands it. In Power to the Middle, McKinsey thought leaders Bill Schaninger, Bryan Hancock, and Emily Field call for a profound reimagining of what middle managers can and must be able to do.

Having difficult conversations at work is a necessary discomfort. Instead of avoiding these conversations with your boss, colleagues, or direct reports, you need a strategy that won't leave you feeling like you were being talked at or ignored. The key to solving this problem starts and ends with changing the conversation. Recognizing that it takes two people to engage in meaningful conversation, Can We Talk? outlines what each contributor needs to do to achieve the best possible result.

While many churches talk about discerning calling and engaging in mission, very few are structured to make this their ministry focus. Underground Church is a new vision for the church rooted in its biblical mission to share the love of God and serve the poor. Sanders explores how to make structural changes, how to think about leadership, how to fund ministries, and how to truly engage people in God's mission. Filled with creative insights, he explains what it means to center the mission of the church around the callings of individuals to outward ministry.

In this fascinating and empowering book, King outlines the invisible barriers that hold women back at all stages of their careers, and provides readers with a clear set of takeaways to thrive despite the sexist workplace, as they fight for change from within. Gender equality is not about women, and it is not about men - it is about making workplaces work for everyone. Together, we can fix work, not women.

The future of work swept in sooner than expected, accelerated by COVID-19, creating an urgent need for new maps, new mindsets, new strategies - and most importantly, a trusted guide to take us on this journey. That guide is Jeff Schwartz. A founding partner of Deloitte Consulting's Future of Work practice, Schwartz brings clarity, humor, wisdom, and practical advice to the future of work, a topic surrounded by misinformation, fear, and confusion.

Teamwork, one of the most celebrated concepts in corporate life, is falling short on its promise. Why Teams Don't Work identifies the obstacles (most of them people-made) that prevent teams from achieving their potential, suggests methods to remove those obstacles, and explains how to take care of the team members.

Apocrypha is a Greek word that means "something hidden". The term is often used for writings of the church that are not generally accepted as authentic or inspired. It is unclear what the motivation was for writing many of these works. But often they fill in gaps of information where the Bible is silent.

For years, companies have been implementing programs that promote social responsibility and improve employee health, both of which benefit the financial bottom line. Now it's time to focus on positive social interactions and relationships in the workplace. Why? Research shows that authentic, trust-based relationships increase job satisfaction, engagement, productivity, and retention - and even decreased healthcare costs.

If Apple is Silicon Valley's answer to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, then author Adam Lashinsky provides listeners with a golden ticket to step inside. This primer on leadership and innovation, offers exclusive new information about how Apple innovates. It should appeal to anyone hoping to bring some of that Apple magic to their own company, career, or creative endeavor.

A 'textbook with passion', Hardwiring Excellence offers a road map and practical how-to guide for creating and sustaining a culture of service and operational excellence. In this book, author Quint Studer, founder of Studer Group, draws on his personal experience as a former hospital executive who led two organizations to the top 1% in patient satisfaction and his experience coaching hundreds of healthcare organizations since.

Consider Jason your spirit guide, offering strategies for honing in on what makes you weird, recognizing when feedback is just another form of procrastination, and how to stop with social media already. There's a specific set of strategies and exercises that can help you prioritize your life over your business, by identifying your MMM (Minimum Monthly Magic) number. He also offers examples from his own life (how he got out of $124K worth of debt, escaped the pressure to have a big wedding, and has thrived on social media by primarily ignoring it).

In this unabridged recording of Miracles at Work - read by the author herself - Emily Bennington invites listeners to begin an adventure and fold their spiritual selves more fully into their professional lives. She merges principles of A Course in Miracles with mindfulness practices, emotional intelligence, and her own proven strategies for success. Miracles at Work is an exceptional guide to applying timeless wisdom to your career.

We've all been taught that we must suppress or avoid emotions at work, but this inevitably leads to a loss in productivity, diminished creativity, and crushing job dissatisfaction. Research shows 85 percent of us avoid communicating crucial workplace problems upward, and many of us who are employed are actively looking for a different job. What's going on?

Like all relationships, the ones we have at work are subject to stresses—maybe even fractures that can really take a toll on the workplace. Productivity is lost. Time is wasted. Tension mounts. Cooperation is reduced. And the workplace becomes toxic. What’s the solution? In Making Things Right at Work, Dr. Gary Chapman is joined by business consultants Dr. Jennifer Thomas and Dr. Paul White to offer the strategies you need to restore harmony at work. Don’t let broken relationships taint your work environment. Take the needed steps to make things right today.

As an executive with decades of management experience at top Silicon Valley companies including YouTube, Google, and Twitter, Bruce Daisley has given a lot of thought to what makes a workforce productive and what factors can improve the workplace to benefit a company’s employees, customers, and bottom line. In his debut book, he shares what he’s discovered, offering practical, often counterintuitive, insights and solutions for reinvigorating work to give us more meaning, productivity, and joy at the office.

As a woman in Silicon Valley who worked her way to the top of the corporate ladder—she's a former VP at Facebook and the current president and CEO of Ancestry—Deborah Liu knows firsthand the challenges and obstacles in the workplace that keep the deck stacked against women in the workplace...and the ways to overcome them. For every woman who grew up competing on the uneven playing field, who is told she is too aggressive, assertive, dramatic, or emotional, this book is the battle cry you need to learn to thrive within the system that exists today.

In this follow-up to the best-selling It's Okay to Be the Boss, Bruce Tulgan argues that as managers demand more and more from their employees, they are also providing them with less guidance than ever before. Since the number-one factor in employee success is the relationship between employees and their immediate managers, employees need to take greater responsibility for getting the most out of that relationship.

Need a role model for effective leadership? Try Santa Claus! Imagine the endless challenges that running his operation poses. There's juggling employees, equipment, facilities, resources, production, letter reading, scheduling, the big delivery, keeping everyone jolly - and the list goes on. It's mind boggling! How does he do it all? What are his secrets to success?

The Loudest Duck is a book for managers and executives faced with the productivity and leadership challenges of a heterogeneous, multicultural workplace. It's a book for anyone working his or her way up the ladder in this new corporate world order. It's a book for anyone who belongs to a non-dominant group, be it women, people of color, short people, or employees who don't play golf but whose bosses do.

Coaching & Mentoring For Dummies is the playbook to help supervisors change their role from doer/manager to coach/mentor. Leadership and coaching expert Leo MacLeod shares the secrets of motivating employees to find purpose in their work and grow as independent problem solvers—without micromanaging them. Written for today's changing workplace, the book provides guidance on leading diverse teams, working with younger generations, and working remotely.