I work with a career development team for researchers at an academic medical center. Developing researchers’ careers is our central role in the enterprise. We do not have a formal structure that this book describes, but an informal culture of synergy and growth is a huge part of what we cultivate. Because of a constantly evolving world, career and professional development can provide an edge for organizations. A culture of growth attracts and retains top talent while fueling, year after year, a company’s ascent. The key step is for leaders to learn to nurture growth instead of merely demanding results.
Obviously, it didn’t take much to sell me that I could benefit from this book, and I did. In particular, I learned more about the psychology of an individual’s career growth. The authors hail from the field of adult development where growth starts from one person within. As the authors acknowledge, however, this book lacks showing in detail how workers can develop from the outside in. After finishing, I remain relatively ignorant of how outside practices transform themselves into productive thinking.
The subtitle and title of this book should be switched. The book is primarily about a “deliberately developmental organization” or DDO. It’s based off an in-depth study of three American companies in different industries. Each organization promotes human development in unique ways that have evolved from solving its own peculiar problems, but they unite around promoting a culture with growth mindsets among employees. An “everyone culture,” an element of DDOs, means requiring buy-in from every employee to push the company towards excellence. Using this concept in the title makes it seem as though the book is about inclusivity; that is not the primary topic, only a component.
This book appeals primarily to organizational leaders. The higher up the organization one is, the more relevant this book becomes to your work. It doesn’t propose a fixed framework but instead proposes a new mindset, especially for those with power. Further research and thought needs to occur about the structures that best promote growth. We live in a changing world where knowledge workers must grow continually at work. Agreeing with the authors, I suggest workplaces that promote professional (and even personal) growth deliberately will continue to rise in coming years.
An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization
By Robert Kegan, Lisa Laskow Lahey, Matthew L. Miller, Andy Fleming & Deborah Helsing
Narrated by Stephen R. Thorne
Audiobook Copyright (c) 2017
Tantor Audio
Text Copyright (c) 2016
Harvard Business Review
ASIN B01N4RFATK
Length: 11:01
Genre: Organizational Leadership
www.amazon.com