Michael C. Hyter - The Power of Choice: Embracing Efficacy to Drive Your Career

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 7

Efficacy is game changing. Too often in our careers and in our lives, we become thwarted by limitations set by others or even ourselves. The Power of Choice shows you how to take control of your professional destiny and move forward with the confidence and competence required to be effective and successful. I'm thrilled Mike Hyter is sharing these lifechanging principles.

Donna James, Managing Director, Lardon & Associates; Former President, Nationwide Strategies Investments

I participated in an Efficacy seminar as a freshman at Harvard. In the forty years since, it has helped me navigate tough career decisions and manage complex layers of interactions I've experienced as a professional man of color in academic and corporate environments.

William H. Carson, M.D., President and CEO, (Retired) Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization

Every year I share this book with our young, talented administrative fellows. The book lays out a strategy to use the power of choice to pursue their personal and career fulfillment. The conversations sparked by the book inevitably lead to a better understanding of their life purpose and what it means to live life by design, rather than default.

Gerry Lupacchino, SVP Experience, Engagement and Organization Development, Hartford HealthCare

I was fortunate to have exposure to the Power of Choice early in my career. It has served as a critical enabler to my advancement and successa compass to navigate opportunities and challenges, to take individual responsibility for my career, and to shape my career journey by design, not by default. Now, I'm committed to pay it forward by exposing future leaders and executives to the practical advice and proven career strategies outlined in this book.

Shanda Hinton, Talent Management Executive, Fortune 100 Company

MICHAEL C. HYTER

Copyright 2021 by Michael Hyter. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate percopy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 7508400, fax (978) 6468600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 7486011, fax (201) 7486008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hyter, Michael, author.
Title: The power of choice : embracing efficacy to drive your career / Michael Hyter.
Description: Hoboken, New Jersey : Wiley, [2021] | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020038234 (print) | LCCN 2020038235 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119780922 (cloth) | ISBN 9781119778806 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119778790 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Career development. | Self-efficacy. | Success.
Classification: LCC HF5381 .H97 2021 (print) | LCC HF5381 (ebook) | DDC 650.1dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020038234
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020038235

COVER DESIGN: PAUL MCCARTHY
COVER IMAGE: ISTOCK | ERHUI1979

I dedicate this book to my children, Ashlei, Mike Jr., Donovan, Ten, and Ace, and to my granddaughters, Donatella and Isabella.

Your future is the inspiration for this book.

I love you all.

I FIRST ENCOUNTERED the principles that are the core of this book as a student at Harvard University, and they immediately resonated with me. My parents had always encouraged me to believe in myself and to have the confidence to shape my own path, despite the obstacles presented by the segregated society into which I was born. I was determined to succeed, and to do it in a way that was true to myself. That mindset has had a powerful impact on my career path, my approach to leadership, and the success I've achieved along the way.

A pivotal example came in my senior year of college. As my peers busily applied for jobs, I was unsure what direction to take. My undergraduate majorand passionwas economics, but I was also drawn to the law. My gut was telling me to follow a path that combined the two. However, I didn't know anyone who had done that, so it seemed like a crazy idea to my 21yearold brain (an assessment readily shared by the friends who thought I would be a natural lawyer).

It took a great deal of selfconfidence, and the encouragement of one of my favorite professors, to follow the path that felt right to mebut that's what I did, earning both a JD and a PhD in economics. I consider it one of the best decisions I've ever made, because it laid the foundation for what has been a wholly fulfilling and meaningful career grounded in my deepest passions and interests.

In charting my career path after graduation, I didn't have the benefit of Mike Hyter's The Power of Choice. But so much of the advice he delivers in this engaging and insightful book rings true to the experiences I've had. For example, Mike explains that although technical proficiency is foundational to career success, it's not enough. When I entered the workforce, I had solid credentials and competence in two fields, thanks to the educational path I chose. But I quickly recognized that to have the kind of impact I wanted to have, I'd need to deliberately hone the skills that Mike identifies as equally essential to technical proficiency: building relationships and influencing others.