Four Secrets to Liking Your Work: You May Not Need to Quit to Get the Job You Want Book

Acknowledgments     xvii
About the Authors     xviii
Prologue: Monday Morning Dread     xix
The Trouble with Work     1
Do We All Hate Our Jobs?     1
The People Problem     2
The Personal Cost     2
The Beginning     3
Venting     3
Should I Stay or Should I Go?     4
Seeing Differently Through Models     5
Change the Situation     5
Leave the Situation     5
First, Change Your Perspective     5
The Magic of Perspective     6
Glasses without Frames     6
Wearing New Glasses     7
Changing Perspective: An Exercise     8
About Perspective Shift     10
Tips for the Journey     12
Stay Employed     12
Stay Engaged     12
Be Supported     12
Be Selective     12
Drive the Change     13
Own the Wins     13
Stay Positive     13
Read the Stories     13
Do the Work     14
Get Organized     14
"Rinse and Repeat"     14
Homework: Before, During, andAfter     15
Before Work     15
At Work     15
After Work     16
How People Act     17
Dr. Fisher's Story     17
Observe Behavior     18
Not a New Idea     18
Behavior Defined     18
Two Key Differences     19
Differences in "Focus": Task Versus People     19
Differences in "Approach": Reflective Versus Assertive     21
From Two Questions to Four Styles     22
Behavioral Styles in Detail     24
Task Focused + Assertive = Direct     24
People Focused + Assertive = Inspire     25
People Focused + Reflective = Stabilize     27
Task Focused + Reflective = Regulate     29
From Theory to Practice     31
Watching the Action     33
Jamal's Story     33
Behavior in Action     34
Conflict Between Styles     34
Myself, My Colleagues, My Job     36
Using Your New Perspective     37
Observe without Judgment     37
Categorize Behavior, not People     37
Use Your Experience; Don't Let It Use You     38
Answer Only If You Can      38
Your New Perspective, Revisited     39
The Easy-View Summary     39
Homework: Before, During, and After     41
Before Work     42
At Work     42
After Work     43
Want More?     44
Why People Act     45
Edward Muzio's Story     45
Master Motivation     46
How Versus Why     46
Motivation Defined     46
Motivation Versus Survival     47
Building the Six Factors     48
Three Kinds of "Why"     48
Invisible Versus Visible     48
Six Motivating Factors     48
Connecting Questions to Motivation     49
Answering the Two Questions     50
Six Factors in Detail     50
Task + Visible = Results     51
Task + Invisible = Truth     53
People + Visible = Assistance     55
People + Invisible = Power     57
Process + Visible = Structure     59
Process + Invisible = Form     61
From Theory to Practice     64
Figuring Out Why     65
Ariel's Story     65
Motivation in Action      66
Motivational Conflict     66
Myself, My Colleagues, My Job     67
Using Your New Perspective     68
Learn, Don't Judge     68
One Observation is not a Conclusion     69
Describe Motivators, not People     69
Stay Honest     69
The Easy-View Summary     70
Homework: Before, During, and After     71
Before Work     71
At Work     74
After Work     75
What People Do     77
Erv Thomas' Story     77
Harmonize Tasks     78
The What     78
Task Perks Defined     79
Finding Positive Job Experiences     80
The Importance of Task Feedback     81
Types of Task     81
Task Type Defined     81
Predictability     81
Urgency     82
Determining Task Type     82
The Task Type Matrix     83
Task Types in Detail     83
Anticipated + Deliberate = Long Range     83
Anticipated + Immediate = Methodical     85
Unforseen + Immediate = Quick-Fix     87
Unforseen + Deliberate = Adjustable      89
From Theory to Practice     89
Do What You Like     91
Conrad's Story     91
Task Balance in Action     92
Task Type Conflict     92
Myself, My Colleagues, My Job     92
Using Your New Perspective     94
Think in Blends, not in Absolutes     94
Change Type When you Change Task     95
Convert Task Types with Care     95
Set Up for Success     97
The Easy-View Summary     98
Homework: Before, During, and After     100
Before Work     100
At Work     101
After Work     102
Want More?     103
Got Skills?     105
Millie's Story     105
Get the Right Skills     106
Skills Defined     106
One Simple Question     107
Two Kinds of Skills     107
Hard Skills     107
Soft Skills     108
Seeing "Skills"     110
The Eyes of Others     110
Change Your Own View: An Exercise     111
Developing "Skills"     112
Developing Hard Skills     112
Developing Soft Skills      112
What If I Can't Get It?     115
Using Your New Perspective     116
Beware of Bias     116
"Mind Your Own...Skills"     117
Silently Notice the Skills of Others     117
Avoid Judgment and Certainty     117
The Easy-View Summary     118
Homework: Before, During, and After     120
Before Work     120
During Work     120
After Work     121
Want More?     122
A Bird's Eye View     123
Jim's Story     123
The Bird's Eye View     123
A Still Broader View     124
The Third Person, Revisited     124
Sources of Pain     126
Your Pain: An Exercise     128
Your Critical Few: An Exercise     129
Finding Solutions     130
Interpretation     130
From Interpretation to Action     130
Staying Open     131
Should I Stay or Should I Go?     131
Me Versus My Job     132
Our "Relationship"     132
No Decision: The Best Decision     133
For the Moment     134
Taking the Broadest Perspective      135
Use Emotional Cues     135
Use the Third Person     135
Solve the Right Problem     136
Be Supported     136
In Closing: Steer Your Own Ship     137
Appendix     139
Notes     141
Index     147