Book Summary Preview : The Truth About Managing Your Career

The Big Idea

In this book, Dr. Karen Otazo reveals 60 principles and techniques that allow you to take control over your career. This is the truth about how to get and keep the job that you really want-- a helpful practical guide to effectively manage your career. 

Part I. The truth about starting a new job.

Truth 1. Hitting the ground running can get you into trouble.

The problem with hitting the ground running is that you do not know what you are getting into. It may also be a sign of hidden problems in the company. You should always get feedback and guidance from others and think about the long term.

Truth 2. Act dumb and think dirty: The less you say, the more you learn.
The early days in your new job should be about listening and observing while giving away as little as possible. You should keep your ideas to yourself and gather information that tells you who to trust and how to develop your strategies.

Truth 3. Having made the move, you should grow where you’re planted.
You need to fully engage with where you’re now planted. This includes letting go of your old workplace while finding out about the past and ethos of your new organization.

Truth 4. Take ownership of your job without stepping on toes.
It is important to claim your “territory”: the tasks, issues and decisions that you are responsible for and the way in which you do them. You should be establishing relationships and finding ways to perform while causing a minimum of disruption.

Truth 5. It’s important to know who knows what: Build your circle of information.
Getting the right information despite, or even because of, the range of information available can be difficult. You should have a good “circle of information,” contacts both inside and outside of the company who know your thinking and who are there when you need them.

Truth 6. Recognizing whom to trust keeps you from getting burned.
You need to develop trust in your colleagues, as they do in you. Every occasion for dealing with others is a chance to test their trustworthiness. The four major types of trust are:

• Get-it-done trust- involves knowing that others will meet commitments on time and within budget, and will alert you to any potential delay.
• Expertise trust- believing in someone’s special knowledge or ability.
• Political savvy trust- knowing that your colleagues understand workplace norms and know how to play the organizational game.
• Structural trust- knowing that the person puts the organization’s interests before his own and gives credit to other departments rather than taking total ownership.

Part II. The truth about working with bosses.

Truth 7. Honor your boss: It pays to adjust to the way your boss likes to do things.
A good relationship with your boss can mean all the difference to your career potential. You should invest effort into adapting your specific approach to his needs and preferences.

Truth 8. Your boss can make (or break) your reputation.
In nearly all organizations, the person directly above you in the hierarchy has the most influence in your career progression. The better your boss knows you, the better he or she can represent your value and potential to others. Make daily efforts to strengthening your bond, and develop a relationship of mutual trust and support.

Truth 9. Kiss the ring: Hierarchy matters.
Showing the appropriate respect to those in high positions helps keep your career path obstacle-free. Kissing the ring is not about sycophancy, it is about respecting the senior person’s position and the responsibility that goes with it.

Truth 10. You can learn a lot from dealing with a bad boss.
Learning can be done from short stints under bad bosses. Their bad habits can be used as training exercises to hone your people-management skills. The three most common boss faults and how to fix them are:

• Delegating at the last minute. You can start to proactively manage your boss’ delegation by showing a regular interest in his priority project and volunteering for them ahead of time.
• Micromanaging. Keep a checklist of current tasks to address with your boss, and ask him to designate priorities.

Wanting everything done his or her own way.You have to be flexible enough to adjust to that particular method.

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