Sunday, December 6, 2009

Type Talk at Work or Quiet Leadership

Type Talk at Work: How the 16 Personality Types Determine Your Success on the Job

Author: Otto Kroeger

Determine your personality using a scientifically validated method based on the work of C.G. Jung and gain insight into why others behave the way they do, and why you are the person you are.

Library Journal

Written by noted consultant Kroeger and his colleagues, this entertaining and informative volume is aimed at anyone trying to navigate the challenging social setting of the workplace. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) on which it is based was originally developed by Katherine Briggs and Isabel Myers Briggs, who drew on the work of Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. This method has been widely used as a tool in both education and business. Originally published in 1988 and now fully revised and updated, the book is designed to help readers identify their own type and gain insight into the learning and operating styles of their colleagues. Its three sections are an introduction to typewatching (determining types), putting typewatching to work (leadership, team building, and conflict resolution), and understanding the 16 type profiles. A self-help book sure to be popular with readers, it will appeal to those who want to go a step beyond horoscopes to succeed in their careers. Recommended for self-help and popular business collections in public libraries and for academic libraries that collect in management consulting. Rona Ostrow, Lehman Coll. Lib., CUNY, Bronx Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

The authors have followed up their Type Talk (Delacorte, 1988), an introduction to the study of personality types, with this handy explanation of how we can better understand personalities in the workplace. Based on C.G. Jung's classic 1923 Psychological Types and the famous Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), this useful work makes common sense out of a complex idea, and the pragmatic workplace meaning of ``typewatching'' should strongly appeal to managers and human resource professionals. The 16 types are explained and are then related to real workplace issues such as problem solving, managing time, setting goals, managing stress, and other understandable applications in business. Millions of people have completed Myers-Briggs, and now we have a very accessible application in business of this fascinating field of study. Recommended for all libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/91.-- Dale Farris, Groves, Tex.



Go to: Debugging Windows Programs or Universal Meta Data Models

Quiet Leadership: Six Steps to Transforming Performance at Work

Author: David Rock

Improving the performance of your employees involves one of the hardest challenges in the known universe: changing the way they think. In constant demand as a coach, speaker, and consultant to companies around the world, David Rock has proven that the secret to leading people (and living and working with them) is found in the space between their ears. "If people are being paid to think," he writes, "isn't it time the business world found out what the thing doing the work, the brain, is all about?" Supported by the latest groundbreaking research, Quiet Leadership provides a brain-based approach that will help busy leaders, executives, and managers improve their own and their colleagues' performance. Rock offers a practical, six-step guide to making permanent workplace performance change by unleashing higher productivity, new levels of morale, and greater job satisfaction.

Publishers Weekly

A leader's job "should be to help people make their own connections," Rock asserts-a commonsense message he overcomplicates in this guide for executives and managers who want to improve employee performance. Rock, CEO of Results Coaching System, strives to legitimize his methodology with neuroscience, acronyms and catchphrases and gratuitous, Powerpointesque illustrations. But his writing style conflicts with his advice-keep it succinct and focused. Promising that his approach "saves time and creates energy," he details his six steps: "Think About Thinking" (let people think things through without telling them what to do, while remaining "solutions-focused"); "Listen for Potential" (be a sounding board for employees); "Speak with Intent" (clarify and streamline conversation); "Dance Toward Insight" (communicate in ways that promote other people's insights); "CREATE New Thinking" (which stands for Current Reality, Explore Alternatives and Tap Their Energy, an acronym about "helping people turn their insights into habits"); and, finally, "Follow Up" to ensure ongoing improved performance. Rock also explains how to apply the steps to problem solving, decision making and giving feedback. Perhaps Rock conveys his strategies more effectively in a seminar setting, but for busy executives, this guide (after Personal Best) is more likely to generate frustration than an " `aha' moment." (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

From the title, this work sounds subdued. But Rock (CEO, Results Coaching Systems; Personal Best) actually grounds his ideas in dynamic discoveries about how the human brain works. Typical management approaches to changing behavior fail to account for the surprising differences in how each person processes information and solves problems. Rock suggests that it's far more effective to build new neural pathways to learn new habits than to deconstruct old ones. Transforming performance involves listening and communicating in more positive and effective ways. The ultimate goal of quiet leadership is to empower employees to think and solve problems for themselves. This highly practical guide includes exercises for each major concept introduced, giving readers a chance to practice what they've learned. A brief bibliography highlights research for further reading. Recommended for public library business collections. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.



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