The Seismic Shift in You
The Seven Necessary Shifts to Create Connection and Drive Results
An inspiring leadership guide, The Seismic Shift in You encourages changing one’s perspective.
Michelle K. Johnston and Marshall Goldsmith’s encouraging leadership guide The Seismic Shift in You is about becoming more engaged in order to transform a company’s culture.
Leaders, the book says, should be present, humane, and interactive in order to lead their workplaces toward great results. It conjures a vision of authentic leadership grounded in meaningful connections that start from within, inspiring employees to perform their best every day. Expatiating upon its philosophy in broad terms, it encourages moving toward personal fulfillment and even addressing society-wide issues like the loneliness epidemic at an organizational level.
While Johnston commands the bulk of the book, Goldsmith contributes regular ruminations on subjects including what a person should prioritize, the stories leaders tell themselves, and the habits that hold people back. Enlivened by eye-catching and interactive elements like images of lightning bolts, bullet-point lists, and highlighted excerpts, each chapter breaks down a different shift in behavior in zippy, succinct terms. The text covers diverse topics related to one’s calendar, conversations, and energy. There are tips toward practical adjustments and prompts for self-reflection too.
Business case studies are used to bolster the book’s points. These highlight leaders like the WD-40 CEO to exemplify particular ideas, as of why leadership should be about the people involved and about methods for building trust. Studies from the US Department of Health and Human Services and Gallup also ground it, while appeals to other business books, including Supercommunicators and How to Work with (Almost) Anyone, position it well among its peers.
The prose is direct, immediate, and empathetic. Johnston expresses sympathy for leaders who dread meetings before sharing tips on making meetings more meaningful exchanges of ideas, for instance. She also poses thoughtful questions in the moment, as about how one might make time for the most important people in one’s life, complementing the book’s ultimate aims toward personal growth. Language like “Okay, y’all, I’m going to be really honest with you” is disarming, creating gentle access points. Also engaging is the closing story of how Johnston’s father connected with everyone he stopped to talk to, making them feel like the most important person in the world in that moment. Herein, strong leadership is shown to be about developing authentic connections.
An inspiring leadership guide, The Seismic Shift in You encourages changing one’s perspective and priorities to become more intentional, empowered, and successful.
Reviewed by
Joseph S. Pete
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
