The Power of Choice

Book description

Straightforward advice for navigating the challenges facing professionals who are underrepresented in the leadership of today’s organizations 

Michael Hyter is one of the nation’s highest regarded executives of color, and a widely respected thought leader in the area of talent development and leadership succession. To get there, he worked hard and made his work count through Efficacy. In The Power of Choice he reveals the lessons he learned along the way—putting you on the fast track to career success. 

This book provides answers to the questions you might face as you immerse yourself in an often confusing and challenging workplace culture. It is about how to take informed personal responsibility for your career. Inside, you’ll find an open and frank discussion of how you can—and must, if you want to succeed!—make deliberate choices about who you are and how to represent yourself in your career. You’ll learn how to open doors for yourself (rather than waiting for others to open them for you), choose what’s important to you, and decide how you will achieve your goals.  

  • Learn how to choose greatness by embracing efficacy to make the most of your time and energy 
  • Take your career into your own hands with inspiration from others who have made it 
  • Discover how embracing personal responsibility can create the opportunities you’ve dreamed of 
  • Gain deep insights into your own mind and make the right decisions to get where you’re going 

Yes, for those of us who are underrepresented talent, there are tradeoffs to finding success in today’s workplace culture. If you rise to the challenge, you stand a good chance of reaching your full potential—both professionally and personally. 

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Foreword
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Introduction
  7. PART I: The Foundation
    1. 1 The Requirements for Career Success
      1. Technical Skills
      2. Relational Skills
      3. Influential Skills
      4. What's Required for Success?
    2. 2 Believe You Have What It Takes
      1. The Fixed‐Capacity Mindset
      2. The Capacity‐Building Mindset
      3. Effective Effort Drives Development
      4. Failure and Difficulty as Feedback
    3. 3 The Power of the Message
      1. A Downward Spiral
      2. Creating an Upward Spiral
      3. Tell‐Tale Signs of the Impact of Low Expectations
  8. PART II: Choose Your Strategy
    1. 4 Build Confidence
      1. Self‐Talk
      2. A Network of Support
      3. Protect Your Confidence
    2. 5 Make Your Effort Effective
      1. Choose What You Want as an Outcome
      2. Focus on What You Can Control
      3. Expand Your Skills Incrementally
      4. Align Your Goals with Your Organization's Needs
      5. The Highest Return on Investment of Your Time and Effort
    3. 6 Leverage Relational Skills
      1. Connect with Others
      2. Shape Mutually Beneficial Relationships
      3. Determine Shared Objectives
      4. Clarify the Advantages of Cooperation
      5. Take a Risk on Relationships
      6. Build Trust over Time
      7. Be Strategic in Building Personal Connections
      8. The Characteristics of an Effective Network
      9. Develop a Connection with Your Manager
      10. Professional Relationships Are Not Friendships
      11. Avoid “Connection Compromisers”
      12. Relational Confidence Draws Others to You
    4. 7 Use Influence Skills to Shape Your Reality
      1. Choose to Be Influential
      2. Influence Skills Require Practice and Effort
      3. Identify Your Desired Outcome
      4. Identify the Benefits
      5. Understand the Context of the Situation
      6. Build Alliances with People Who Have Influence
      7. Influence Is Not Asking for Permission
  9. PART III: The Power of Choice in Action
    1. 8 Real‐World Choices
      1. Choose to Overcome Low Expectations
      2. Choose to Build Supportive Relationships
      3. Choose to Expand Your Impact
      4. Choose to Influence
  10. Afterword
  11. Index
  12. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: The Power of Choice
  • Author(s): Michael C. Hyter
  • Release date: December 2020
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119780922