Barsh - GROW WHEREVER YOU WORK: no-nonsense solutions to your everyday challenges

There is no straight path to success; we learn and grow from our mistakes. Joannas book of wise stories and guidance can help all of us get closer to our full potential and dreams.

Joanna draws upon decades of experience as a leadership advisor, along with real-life stories from high performers, to provide professionals at any stage of their career with an empowering and very practical tool kit on how to grow through challenges and drive toward purpose at work.

Practical advice from a role model of purpose, passion, and perseverance!

Joanna Barsh has written a remarkably engaging and wise book about how to deal with the most vexing workplace challenges. Grow Wherever You Work offers brilliant and field-tested advice so you can respond with grace and competence to ugly hurdles such as working with the office villain and surviving stretches when everything seems to suckand for rising to the occasion when it is time to take a big risk. This is the best book of its kind.

Almost every obstacle that youll face at work has been faced beforeand chances are that Joanna Barsh has helped tackle them. In this useful book, she draws on her 35-year-career to coach us to learn from the major challenges of our careers.

A prominent thought leader on talent and leadership, Joanna helps us turn difficult work challenges into personal and professional growth, spinning gold from inspiring stories, valuable coaching, and the caring mentorship we all want and need. Treasure this book!

How do you survive a disappointing performance review? What do you do if your team wont listen? What if work just plain sucks? Top business leader Joanna Barsh has answers to these and other pressing questions that plague us all, as well as the experience to guide you calmly through.

Copyright 2018 by Joanna Barsh. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

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ISBN: 978-1-260-02646-7

MHID: 1-260-02646-9

eISBN: 978-1-260-02647-4

eMHID: 1-260-02647-7

Design by Lee Fukui and Mauna Eichner

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Barsh, Joanna, author.

Title: Grow wherever you work : straight talk to help with your toughest challenges / Joanna Barsh.

Description: 1 Edition. | New York : McGraw-Hill Education, 2017.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017039530| ISBN 9781260026467 (hardback) | ISBN 1260026469

Subjects: LCSH: Leadership. | BISAC: BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Leadership.

Classification: LCC HD57.7 .B3677 2017 | DDC 658.4/092dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017039530

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The wise stories inside would not exist without the research participants.

The idea for this book would not exist without my daughters.

The book itself would not exist without my brother.

And my resolve would not exist without David.

We are all connected.

So this book is dedicated to you.

T he exact right place to start is with the amazing participants who filled my research with high points, low points, and points of view. Thanks to every company that participated. I am in your debt.

A special shout-out to the story-givers in the book. You know who you are. That took courage, humility, vulnerability, and a fair number of e-mails. By going first, youve encouraged the rest of us. For those whose remarkable stories live on in my files, thank you for that generous contribution. You are the reason I have tremendous hope for our future. Your collective voice is remarkable. Never forget that.

Talent professionals, thank you too. Engaged by the research questions, you jumped in with talent of all shapes and sizes. Your selections shaped this American story: of ambition, hope, challenge, and achievementa story told by fierce individuals of every background, born in the United States or from almost every corner of the world.

Very special thanks to Anne Thevenet Abitbol from Danone, who imagined closing the gap between generations through open dialogue. Your innovative Octave training was undiluted encouragement.

McKinsey friends and colleagues, thank you too. Karen Tanner blessed this research in its early days; we all miss her. A valiant team volunteered to help mine the data: Lauren Danielle Brown, Srishti Gupta, Kayvan Kian, Olivia Lee, and Smaranda Gosa-Mensing. A giant thank you to Leila Kian, a generous soul who helped even without knowing me. Thank you to Natacha Catalino, Katy George, Trish Gyorey, and Sara Bernowreaders from Brazil, Sweden, Turkey, and New Jersey! And to the McKinsey diaspora, your support carries me still.

Still more volunteers pitched in so graciously. Nicholas Alers, thank you for offering one mans view through endless drafts. Glynnis OConnor, you rescued this book from drowning in words. Doug Stern, thanks for being there. And Zach Todd, thanks for being you!

A horde of gifted professionals came on board too. Jim Levine, thank you for reading and reading and reading the pages spilling out of my figurative pen from 2015 onyikes. You cajoled, questioned, supported, and believed in the mission until we got it right. That brings me to Casey Ebro, my definitive editor. Enthused from the start, you were the books first fan! You applauded the chorus of diverse voices. Your high standards, adaptability, optimism, and skill made this book better. And thanks to the good people at McGraw-Hill who love books and especially the messages of this onethat a diverse group brings better solutions. That challenges are to be met and not avoided. That growth at work is everyones right. And it can be fun.

It goes without sayingGaby and Jetta Garbasz, youre the top. Youre the Colosseum! Im so proud of you for being who you are: tough, smart, caring, funny, energetic, creative, amazing women leaders. Im honored to be your mother and humbled by your talent. You pushed me to seek answers that would be more helpful and on point for the coming generations of leaders. You held up the mirror with kindness.