How Work Works: The Subtle Science of Getting Ahead Without Losing Yourself

by Michelle P. King

A unique and revelatory guide to understanding and navigating the unwritten rules of the workplace—the key to achieving success, finding meaning, and staying true to your authentic self in today’s business world—from the organizational expert and celebrated author of The Fix. In her two decades researching organizations, Michelle King has discovered that people who succeed possess a particularly unique They know how workplaces work . More specifically, to get ahead, they do not rely on the often generic and outdated written formal rules that for a century have defined the workplace. Instead, they have learned to gauge how they should behave and perform by becoming aware of informal (and unspoken) rules that exist just below the surface, rather than “formal” organizational guidelines. In this one-of-a-kind guide, King offers her proprietary framework based on over ten years of research and hundreds of employees who reached leadership positions. By focusing on five key areas -- navigating informal networks; developing self-awareness and awareness of others; learning the skills you need to be adaptive to changing conditions; getting support for your next promotion; and finding meaning and fulfillment at work—King teaches every professional how to understand and make these systems work for them and achieve their career ambitions. The new world of work requires a new way of working. With more people vying for top positions, a volatile unpredictable global workplace, and an ever-evolving landscape, it is increasingly important for employees to understand how to negotiate the unspoken and intangible elements of workplace culture.. In How Work Works , King dispels old myths and provides keen observations about what it means to find belonging, build networks, manage the informal and ultimately thrive at work.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Self Help, Labor

235 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 10, 2023

About the author

Dr Michelle Penelope King is a globally recognized expert on inequality and organizational culture. Based on over a decade’s worth of research, Michelle believes that we need to learn how workplaces work, so we can make them work for everyone. She is the host of a popular podcast called The Fix. Michelle is the author of the bestselling, award-winning book: The Fix: Overcome the Invisible Barriers that are Holding Women Back at Work. Her second book How Work Works, will be published internationally on the 10th of October 2023 with Harper Collins.

Michelle is a published, award-winning academic with five degrees including a Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Organizational Psychology, a Master of Arts in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, a Master of Business Administration, a Post Graduate Degree in Journalism and a PhD in Management. Michelle is pursuing a post-doctoral research fellowship with Cranfield University in the United Kingdom.

Michelle has been featured in The Economist, Harvard Business Review, CNBC, CNN Business, Fortune, Financial Times, Bloomberg, Time, Business Insider, The Times, Daily Mail and LinkedIn Editors.

In addition, Michelle is an award-winning speaker, having spoken at over 500 events worldwide including conferences like the Nobel Peace Prize Conference, Ellevate Network Conference, The Massachusetts Conference for Women, Texas Conference for Women, SXSW, She Summit and the Pennsylvania Conference for Women.

Michelle is represented by London Speakers Bureau and regularly hosts keynotes, fireside chats or masterclasses with companies like Amazon, FIFA, Guardian, Dior, FedEx, Netflix, BNP Paribas, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and MetLife to name a few.

Michelle is the founder of The Culture Practice, a global consultancy that provides leaders with the assessment, development, and inclusion coaching needed to build cultures that value difference. In addition, Michelle is a Senior Advisor to the UN Foundation’s Girl Up Campaign, where she leads the NextGen Leadership Development Program, which enables young women to navigate and overcome the barriers to their success. Before this, Michelle was the Director of Inclusion at Netflix. Prior to that, she was the head of UN Women’s Global Innovation Coalition for Change, which includes managing over 30 private sector partnerships to accelerate the achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment. Michelle has two decades of international experience working in the private sector.

In each of her roles, Michelle lends her expertise to advance gender equality and enhance global opportunity and achievement for women. In 2022 Michelle was named LinkedIn’s Top Voice for workplace equity and was recognized as one of the Top 100 Women at Davos by Global Women’s Leadership Experts. In addition, in 2019, Women Tech Founders, a Chicago-based organization dedicated to advancing women in the tech industry, awarded Michelle the 2019 Inspiring Innovator Award for her outstanding achievements in the sector.

Reviews

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐

I recently transitioned from academia to industry, and this is the first book I have ever read in the Business & Work Life genre. Being my initial foray into these books, I was hoping for novel insight into the commercial world. How Work Works is a surface-level literature review of organizational psychology and business research with a few anecdotes from author Michelle King's professional life sprinkled in. The thesis of the book is that to succeed in the workplace, one should "read the air", which is to use context and non-verbal cues to as guidelines for interaction in the workplace.

In the end, this was a supremely mid read. While I took note of a few unfamiliar ideas I could incorporate into my workplace habits, the ~160 pages of this book could be boiled down to a sentence I already knew was true: emotional intelligence is good. I believe 75% of the advice presented was obvious, making most of the book feel tedious. The systematic listing of research studies came off as recitation without thoughtful analysis, and the stories of King's career read more like a novice writer exercising their skills in creative storytelling, rather than a polished narrative crafted to support the arguments presented.

One standout positive and my favorite part of the book was King's succinct analysis on the definition of trust in the work place, "...[definitions of trust] can be boiled down to one thing-- predictability. We trust people when their behavior is consistent and we can accurately predict why they behave the way they do." I had not previously considered defining trust in a professional setting in this way, but in retrospect, I found it to be consistent with the coworkers I found trustworthy. Additionally, I found the summaries of ikigai (生きがい) and the A-C-M model of feedback to be particularly well-explained. Although I am grateful for these perspectives, I wanted more considering they only made up 5% of the book.

How Work Works would have served better as an essay or article than a full (albeit short) book. It's far from terrible, and you may find it beneficial if the "people" part of work is something you struggle with. If you feel comfortable with your ability to "read the air", then I'd recommend looking elsewhere for your next work-based read.

[Emma Sheridan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually had the chance to attend a live session with Michelle where she discussed her research as part of a career development series for women. I appreciated the recommendations from the book, particularly on the four informal areas of the modern world of work. I also liked the feature of external research too! Overall I would give the book 3.5 stars. I know the author has another book, The Fix, which I believe discusses hurdles that prevent women from career progression. I would be interested to check this out as well, as someone in quite a male dominated industry :)

[Julia Czernik · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was quite insightful read but coated from top to bottom with trivia and repetitiveness that I’m still not sure how I survived

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book looks at knowing how to belong, read the air, gain advice and support, be in the know, manage a career, and find meaning at work. The ultimate message is observation and the book provides plenty of anecdotes to prove the point of reading the room when in the workplace. There are also common myths to help readers ease themselves into the workplace without worrying about belonging and losing track of their goals, such as understanding that fitting in is not necessary to belong somewhere. There are questions for readers to consider while reading through the contents of the book, recognising whether the workplace is inclusive and offers opportunities to learn and grow. This is a lengthy read with a small message, so the book could be condensed into a quicker read. The structure is also repetitive so it's difficult to navigate through the book looking for specific sections to refer back to. Nonetheless, this is a comprehensive book providing case studies and personal experiences.


I received a free copy and am leaving a review voluntarily.
Thank you to Booksirens and author.

[Helen Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is well researched & written but working for an enterprise corporation, I felt the content wasn't groundbreaking.
A good reminder that higher level, more valuable skills in corporate America are people skills and the ability to lead them.

[Sambasivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading the air could have been the alternative title.

The book teaches you how to belong in an organization. Step
By step.

Revolutionary idea. Written with verve and passion. Autobiographical in a way and therefore sounds credible.

Go for it.

[Rolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a lot drier and steeped in corporate-speak than I had hoped.

[Susan Sanders]

DNF after 10%

I am not sure if this is wrong book wrong time or what.

[LL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good info in here. Insightful. Solid advice. Well-written. Definitely food for thought about how to approach dynamics in the workplace and your career. I'd seek out other work by this author.



Free copy received through Goodreads Giveaways.