Book Review - Seeing Yourself As Others Do by Carol Keers and Thomas Mungavan
Category Book Review Carol Keers Thomas Mungavan Seeing Yourself As Others Do
Trying to figure out how others perceive me in the workplace is something that's very high on my list of concerns. The book Seeing Yourself As Others Do: Authentic Executive Presence At Any Stage of Your Career by Carol Keers and Thomas Mungavan goes a long way in helping to clear away those misconceptions and blind spots. It also gives you the tools you need to come across the way you need to in many different situations.
Contents:
Introduction - Perception is Reality; Communication Foundations; Command of the Room with Charisma; Leverage Influence and Power; Expectations, Strategic and Tactical; Audience Connections; Relationship Competence, Locally and Remotely; Listening Engagement; Inspiration, Motivation, and Praise
Based on the title, you may think this is focused more towards the executive branch of your organization. Not true... There's plenty of material here that pertains to the way you interact at any level and in any situation. Executive presence is the ability to be viewed as one with authority and presence, someone who is authentic in their personality and who can connect with and inspire those around them. The acronym CLEARLI is used by the authors to explain that quality - Command, Leverage, Expectations, Audience, Relationship, Listening, and Inspiration. Once you understand that your impression of yourself is not reality, that the reality is perception that others have of you, you can start to build up those skills and remove those blind spots that are holding you back.
For me, I took a lot away from the chapters on using your voice effectively as well as becoming a quality listener. Communicating effectively with others is far more than just the words you tell them. It's the pacing of your words, the emotion and variation and body language. I need to understand how to control that much better. In addition, my skill at listening to others can stand some significant improvement. So often, you can communicate at a much higher level by shutting up and listening to the other person. Instead of trying to figure out what you're going to say next, focus on what the person across from you is trying to say. I need to work harder to get past that superficial level of understanding that comes with not completely focusing on that other person.
This is an easy read, well-paced and completely applicable to where you live. Time spent thinking about these concepts can have a dramatic effect on your personal and professional relationships.
Trying to figure out how others perceive me in the workplace is something that's very high on my list of concerns. The book Seeing Yourself As Others Do: Authentic Executive Presence At Any Stage of Your Career by Carol Keers and Thomas Mungavan goes a long way in helping to clear away those misconceptions and blind spots. It also gives you the tools you need to come across the way you need to in many different situations.
Contents:
Introduction - Perception is Reality; Communication Foundations; Command of the Room with Charisma; Leverage Influence and Power; Expectations, Strategic and Tactical; Audience Connections; Relationship Competence, Locally and Remotely; Listening Engagement; Inspiration, Motivation, and Praise
Based on the title, you may think this is focused more towards the executive branch of your organization. Not true... There's plenty of material here that pertains to the way you interact at any level and in any situation. Executive presence is the ability to be viewed as one with authority and presence, someone who is authentic in their personality and who can connect with and inspire those around them. The acronym CLEARLI is used by the authors to explain that quality - Command, Leverage, Expectations, Audience, Relationship, Listening, and Inspiration. Once you understand that your impression of yourself is not reality, that the reality is perception that others have of you, you can start to build up those skills and remove those blind spots that are holding you back.
For me, I took a lot away from the chapters on using your voice effectively as well as becoming a quality listener. Communicating effectively with others is far more than just the words you tell them. It's the pacing of your words, the emotion and variation and body language. I need to understand how to control that much better. In addition, my skill at listening to others can stand some significant improvement. So often, you can communicate at a much higher level by shutting up and listening to the other person. Instead of trying to figure out what you're going to say next, focus on what the person across from you is trying to say. I need to work harder to get past that superficial level of understanding that comes with not completely focusing on that other person.
This is an easy read, well-paced and completely applicable to where you live. Time spent thinking about these concepts can have a dramatic effect on your personal and professional relationships.