March Reads

Mar 31, 2023

Lots of fiction this month, a welcome relief from all the behavioural and psychological tomes! Fiction is such a great teacher when it comes to human behaviour. 

These three fictional stories were great examples of how humans are shaped by their relationships and their social context.

Maggie O’Farrell’s books Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait are both set in the 1500s and really reminded me to be grateful for modern life. 

O’Farrell’s story telling had me completely engaged from go to woe.

The Secret World of Connie Starr written by Robbie Neal is set in Ballarat during the Second World War and into the 1950s.  

An ode to Australian life from desperate despair, outrage, ingenuity, personal agency in the face of hopelessness, all the way to hope and love. 

A truly rich tapestry of many individual lives lived within community.

Fear Less by Dr Pippa Grange was a drier tome, it’s a 'how to' book so requires some concentration.

What I did love was Granges’ use of language, imagination, metaphor to help the reader access a more expansive way of being in the world.

Christina Maslach and Michael P. Leiter are the world’s leading researchers in seeking to understand burnout. 

Their latest book The Burnout Challenge invites us all to rethink work. Especially to consider when there might be a mismatch between the work and the worker.

The authors have been immersed in this work for multiple decades and conclude that burnout says more about the workplace than it does about the worker and 

turning things around requires collaboration, customisation and commitment. Compulsory reading for every middle manager to Board Chair.

The Act of Leadership written by Dan Haesler is a coaching book, another ‘how to’ book, a rather useful one that I encourage you to use to coach yourself. 

I love his premise: "Roger Federer still feels the need for a coach, and you don't? "

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Sharee's Monthly Reads

 

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