What’s your HR books
The Leader You
Want To Be
Author: Amy Jen Su
Publisher: Harvard
Business Review
Press
Best
of
Price: £18.99
If we find ourselves in conflict at work
it can be hard to connect with other
people and feel as though we are
making a difference, says Su. The
executive coach explains that on those
days it can feel as though you are
‘Leader B’, but on the days when
everything is going well you’re ‘Leader
A’. Through exploring the five Ps –
purpose, process, people, presence,
and peace – you can become Leader A
more often, she says.
Riding For
Deliveroo
Author: Callum Cant
Publisher: Polity
Press
Price: £14.99
What is life like for workers in the gig
economy? Is it a paradise of flexibility
or a world of exploitation and
conflict? Callum Cant takes a job with
one of the most prominent gig
employers – Deliveroo – to find out.
He reveals what is often a bleak reality
for drivers. But rather than them
being atomised individuals helpless in
the face of technology giants, Cant
demonstrates how people are taking
back control of ‘platform capitalism’
through collective action.
The Barcelona
Way
Author: Damian
Hughes
Publisher:
Macmillan
Price: £12.99
In The Barcelona Way sports
psychologist Damian Hughes draws
on insight from FC Barcelona, as well
as firsthand research on organisational
psychology, to set out a method for
creating a high-performance culture.
He uses five principles (big picture,
the arc of change, repetition, cultural
architects, and authentic leadership) to
analyse what’s behind Barcelona’s
success and show how these are key to
team-based organisations.
The Conscious
Effect
Author: Natasha
Wallace
Publisher: LID
Publishing
Price: £12.99
Drawing on her experience in
neuroscience, behavioural science
and evidence-based practices,
Wallace explains the behaviours
and mindset she believes are
needed to work well. The former HR
director, and now founder and chief
coach of Conscious Works, outlines
how day-to-day thinking and
behaviours can lead to the creation
of high-performing individuals
and organisations.
The Anarchy:
The Relentless
Rise of the East
India Company
Author: William
Dalrymple
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Price: £30.00
Historian William Dalrymple
recounts the rise of the first global
private company. He tells the story of
how operations crumbled under an
unregulated private company that was
based thousands of miles away, leaving
it unanswerable to shareholders.
Dalrymple hopes the story will act as a
cautionary tale about the dangers of
unbridled corporate power.
Personal development Resources
In this series of wellbeing columns,
KAREN BEAVEN offers advice to others in HR
What’s your story? That’s the first question I ask when
people tell me they’re feeling a bit lost or disillusioned
with their career.
It’s a great place to start if you’re feeling stuck. Or
if you keep making the same mistakes and are losing
confidence. The key to getting through it and to your
ability to change your situation will be in the story you
have created.
Everyone has a story and it comes out in the things
you say when you introduce yourself to people. It
comes out (signposted with career achievements)
when you go for a job interview. Your family and
friends see different parts of your story – the bits you
choose to share with them.
You might even have a few different versions. I’m
sure you’re aware of the ‘perfect’ stories that social
media allows people to create, with aspirational
images that are unattainable for most people and
often don’t reflect the true lifestyle of the person who
has created them.
It’s in the variance between the different versions
of a story, and the distance between the narrative
of your story and the reality of your true self, where
problems can begin.
We start to lose clarity on our true path and we
disconnect with our purpose. Each story requires us
to live it, and if we’re not being true to ourselves that
can become exhausting and confusing. We start to
second guess ourselves, imposter syndrome starts
to creep in, and we can lose track of the things that
really matter in our lives.
So how do you fix it? Start by thinking about the
different ways that you currently share your story. This
could be at work, at home, with friends, on social
media... List them all.
56 HR October 2019 hrmagazine.co.uk
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