UVA Darden Career Coaches Review Latest Books on Career
By Jay Hodgkins
Picking out new career goals and new books to read to help achieve them is a new year tradition, which is why the career coaches on the University of Virginia Darden School of Business Alumni Career Services (ACS) team were busy reading in January to vet some of the top offerings in the career advice books section.
In a post on ACS’ Career Corner blog, the coaches reviewed four career-related books from authors including former Disney CEO Robert Iger to renowned executive coach Marshall Goldsmith.
ACS Executive Director Jen Coleman provided the review of Iger’s book, The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned From 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company.
The Ride of a Lifetime is not a must-read. But if you’re a sucker for a Cinderella story (Cinderella, Disney … see what I did there?), it is an entertaining and enjoyable read worth a few hours of your time. Iger describes in detail his path to and experience as CEO of the Fortune 100 company. He acknowledges both directly and indirectly that there is no road map to the top. There is a tremendous amount of luck involved. But he does provide nuggets of wisdom that are valuable reminders to leaders at all levels. If I had to summarize his advice: First, lead with humility. Iger never assumed he was the smartest person in the room and never underestimated people. Second, lead with empathy, not just for your employees but for everyone you deal with — managers, customers, counterparties and partners. Iger repeatedly demonstrates how truly considering the perspective of others helped him advance and win key negotiations. Lastly, and not unrelated to the first two, you won’t get anywhere without relationships. Iger wasn’t friends with everyone, but he built key relationships that fast-tracked his career.
Find out which career advice-oriented books scored big with the ACS coaches and which fell flat on the Career Corner blog.
The University of Virginia Darden School of Business prepares responsible global leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences. Darden’s graduate degree programs (MBA, MSBA and Ph.D.) and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning programs offered by the Darden School Foundation set the stage for a lifetime of career advancement and impact. Darden’s top-ranked faculty, renowned for teaching excellence, inspires and shapes modern business leadership worldwide through research, thought leadership and business publishing. Darden has Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington, D.C., area and a global community that includes 18,000 alumni in 90 countries. Darden was established in 1955 at the University of Virginia, a top public university founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
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