The Art of Waking People Up: Cultivating Awareness and Authenticity at Work [Hardcover]

Kenneth Cloke (Author), Joan Goldsmith (Author)

Book Description

Series: J-B Warren Bennis Series | Publication Date: January 22, 2003

In The Art of Waking People Up authors Kenneth Cloke and Joan Goldsmith draw on more than thirty years of practical experience with hundreds of organizations-- from Fortune 500 companies to government agencies, schools, and nonprofits-- to reveal new ways of giving and receiving feedback that maximize personal and organizational change and foster lifelong learning. They show how organizations can develop the systems, processes, techniques, and relationships that affirm, rather than undermine, the intelligence and humanity of their employees. This important resource is filled with the necessary tools, interventions, and strategies managers can use to encourage their employees to speak, hear, absorb, and use the information they need to improve the way they work.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Inspiring, coaxing, guiding, and mentoring, Cloke and Goldsmith take us through a systemic approach of waking up organizations and employees. This is a book for everyone, guiding us to what good management and worker goals should be and can be when they are one. By stressing equally the goals of management and the needs of employees, they have found the road to long-term productivity." —Piedad Robertson, president, Santa Monica College, and former Secretary of Education, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

"This book evokes the "aha" phenomenon. You will recognize immediately the somnolent state of many workers whom Cloke and Goldsmith describe. In a wonderfully written book, these incredibly wise and humane organizational experts approach the problem of workers' apathy with the keen eye of the clinician, the clear-mindedness of the theoretician, and the empathic heart of the gifted therapist. The Art of Waking People Up is a real gem!" —Jean Lipman-Blumen, Thornton F. Bradshaw Professor of Public Policy and Organizational Behavior, Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management, Claremont Graduate University; author, Connective Leadership: Managing in a Changing World

"Cloke and Goldsmith bring a basic tenet of civics to business organizations: personal responsibility and involvement. Their notion of a democratic corporation is both inspired and critically necessary. The principles of leadership and citizenship replace hierarchical management doctrine, establishing a collaborative process that promotes both organizational and personal growth." —Terry Fitzpatrick, senior vice president, business operations, Sesame Workshop

"A greatly needed and practical wake-up call to companies and individuals for transforming suffocating environments into dynamic, democratic, and personally fulfilling organizations." —James E. Austin, McLean Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

From the Inside Flap

The overwhelming challenges created by today's new work requirements — endless technological innovation and increasingly complex organizational issues— cry out for feedback, mentoring, and coaching processes that promote self-reflection, self-corrections, and improved performance.

In The Art of Waking People Up authors Kenneth Cloke and Joan Goldsmith draw on more than thirty years of practical experience with hundreds of organizations— from Fortune 500 companies to government agencies, schools, and nonprofits— to reveal new ways of giving and receiving feedback that maximize personal and organizational change and foster lifelong learning. They show how organizations can develop the systems, processes, techniques, and relationships that affirm, rather than undermine, the intelligence and humanity of their employees. This important resource is filled with the necessary tools, interventions, and strategies managers can use to encourage their employees to speak, hear, absorb, and use the information they need to improve the way they work.
Unlike other authors who describe a discreet mentoring process or coaching technique, Cloke and Goldsmith provide managers with a new paradigm for workplace feedback and ways of giving and receiving information that maximizes personal and organizational change. The Art of Waking People Up includes information on how to

• Create work relationships that are more honest, open, respectful, and effective
• Analyze the structures, systems, processes, and cultural practices that limit personal and organizational growth
• Identify the behaviors that suppress awareness, creativity, and initiative
• Target the information to pass along that will help develop creativity, flexibility, leadership, and responsiveness
• Implement strategies for encouraging the development of democratic organizations

In addition, this book contains value-added tools, interventions, and solid strategies that will go a long way toward "waking up" people up in any organization.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (January 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787963801
• ISBN-13: 978-0787963804
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #848,729 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Art of Waking People Up, April 24, 2006

By 

Meryl MarshallDaniels (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Art of Waking People Up: Cultivating Awareness and Authenticity at Work (Hardcover)

This is a must buy for anyone who is coaching their employees, becoming a coach or consultant to managers or is seeking to live an authentic life in work. The information is easily digested and applied. It is well written, a reference book that has become a permanent part of my library.