HOW WORK WORKS

A respected expert on the way workplaces really operate provides a wealth of advice.

In her latest book, King, a successful consultant on organizational culture and the author of The Fix: Overcome the Invisible Barriers That Are Holding Women Back at Work, casts a wide net, examining the informal rules and practices of workplaces. These rules are often more important than workflow charts and duty statements, but they can be difficult to discern, especially for people whose training is primarily in a technical field. The author focuses on a few essential areas: navigating informal networks, developing awareness, learning adaptive skills, gaining promotions, and finding meaning. She sees “soft skills” as critically important in the age of diversity and remote work. “In the new world, we must learn how to bridge our differences with others so we can collaborate, innovate, and solve complex problems,” she writes. “This means working with people who don’t share your background or identity.” She tracks the process of observing colleagues and more senior executives for guidance on the implicit rules, and she suggests that offering assistance to others is a positive avenue for building connections. For leaders, creating a more inclusive workplace means sharing information and being willing to take chances when allocating projects to stretch employees’ abilities. For employees, readiness to move outside your comfort zone and then seeking feedback builds a presence in crucial networks and marks you as capable of bigger things. In terms of job satisfaction, the keys are good personal relationships and linking individual efforts to a greater objective. King provides practical advice although she has a tendency to repeat her points more than needed. But this is a small issue with a book that would be a useful read for anyone trying to navigate the modern workplace.

With the authority of experience, King shows how knowing the informal rules is the path to advancement and fulfillment.