There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job, by Kikuko Tsumura. Pub 2015. Translation by Polly Barton. Pub 2020. I don’t usually include fiction on this blog. When I first received this book (as part of a set of books won in a raffle earlier this year), I thought it was a non-fiction book, a guide to job hunting in the realities of a complicated world. It is not really that, but it is a good fable about the difficulties of finding work that is utterly easy, disconnected, or non-impactful.
0 Comments
Last year, I started a new program called the Leadership Square*. Modelled after the concept of a Mastermind Group, the Square is a monthly-ish virtual gathering to talk about leadership, work, balance, and all manner of topics. I provide a topic and some suggested reading, and then those who are interest gather in the virtual square for discussion. The topic for February’s Square was passion and purpose. January and time to revisit priorities and goals, both from last year and for the year ahead. In December, I completed a reflection and retrospective of 2022. Now it's time to plan for 2023. On Confidence, by The School of Life. Pub 2017 Nothing’s impossible, I have found For when my chin is on the ground I pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again.* I first read On Confidence about a year ago, in the midst of an upheaval and change that rocked my world and my confidence. I saw this book in one of those "if you like X, you'll also like Y" section of a bookseller's website, and then a few days later saw it on display at a local coffee shop. All signs seemed to be saying, “read this now”. So, I did. I chose this book, Big Feelings, by Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy, based on the social media hype and discussion about it. Many will be familiar with the illustrations and comics by this pair of workplace and development consultants. This is their second book (the first was No Hard Feelings from 2019, which looks at effectively expressing and controlling emotions at work - still in my to-read pile). This latest book looks at seven difficult feelings that can emerge at work and in life, and is especially relevant in the time of COVID (when the dominant feeling was languishing). Published in early 2022 and subtitled, "How to be okay with things are not okay", the book promised to be immediately impactful. And to some extent it was, but ultimately fell short of my expectations. |
Who is Robyn?
My career as a research project manager is rewarding, dynamic, challenging, and fun. I'm looking forward to sharing my knowledge and experience in communication, organization, and common sense approaches in research management and leadership, and to enabling others to learn and grow in this exciting career. Categories
All
Archives
April 2024
|