Monday's Pick!

Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A fable for managers (and their employees) by Patrick Lencioni

I first heard about Patrick Lencioni in a department meeting, when a manager began the session with a memorable quote from an earlier work by the same author, Death by Meeting: “meetings” she said, “are like movies in that they need conflict and resolution to hold people's attention.” Lencioni’s words set a wonderful atmosphere for our afternoon, and I made a mental note to track down his additional works.
I soon discovered the author is rather prolific in his advice, with 8 books in his business literature repertoire. Three Signs of a Miserable Job is his newest business publication, and was well worth the effort of finding.
But don’t be fooled! While the title suggests this is a manual for lackluster employees, it’s really not; quite the opposite, in fact. Lencioni uses the well shaped tale of a retired CEO-turned-pizzeria manager to reveal the three foundations of employee discontent: immeasurability, anonymity and irrelevance, and how these factors can directly contribute to dissatisfaction in all jobs and at all levels.

Lencioni’s short chapters and easy-to-read narrative clearly illustrated his “management mantra”. While I am not a non-fiction reader, I found myself hooked on Three Signs, taking the time to read through each chapter fully, thoroughly considering what our protagonist was attempting to accomplish with his employees. I am happy to report I have already begun incorporating aspects of the Three Signs lesson into my daily work life.

I highly recommend Patrick Lencioni for any employee looking to better themselves, their relationship with their coworkers/supervisors, or their work-life balance. His style is enjoyable but informative; educational but approachable.