Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career

This book is very good if you interested in developing your managerial career in a different direction, and want to hear the wisdom of someone with both relevant experience and academic credentials. It can also be useful if you are line managing and developing staff through their careers. Most of the examples refer to business executives that may have changed managerial roles or set up a new business, so I think it will have most direct relevance for this context. This book may not be for you if you are plunged into change and need to keep money coming in somehow. Nor is it for you if you are after a quick fix and some magical formula that will spout out your ideal career. Indeed, the whole concept behind this book is that successful change takes time and occurs through small iterative steps. She maintains that sitting in a room reflecting on past successes and experiences, or doing personality profiles, will only get you so far: ultimately you have to take a plunge, however small, and try things out so that you feel and experience which doors are right for you to open. Do you need a book to tell you this? Maybe not but why are you even reading this? Change is a strange thing, and it is easy to get caught up in day-to-day work and not look at the broader picture, no matter how organised or ambitious one is. I am very cynical about so called "self-help" books: I am sure the answer is never in a book but some might help illuminate paths forward if they are on your wavelength. I specifically searched for a reputable publisher (Harvard University Press) and author (from a good business school) to avoid the risk of evangelical preaching about one can really be a bullfighter or filmstar or whatever, just by reflecting on what you're good at and being brave. Life is not like that, and neither is this book. The author takes a calm and measured approach and gives case examples of how experimenting with change can be done in any setting in order to find out what really makes you happy. The answer is your answer and there are probably many. The book assumes you have time to experiment and being proactive in seeking change. It is not about reacting to change, unless you have time and money rolling in to carefully consider you next step. It is written well and authoritatively. You might also want to consider Timothy Butler's book "Getting unstuck". Similarly written by academic career psychologists, it takes you through a process of gradually arriving at options.

Really enjoyed this book. Really helped me sort where I was going with my career by opening new thinking to possible opportunities. Only downside is almost all the examples in the book are for people already in senior positions. Would have been interesting to see her approach for someone middle management who previously didn’t earn well above the average.

The central idea is that a change of this magnitude is a heuristic process. You must act before you are fully ready through a process of small experiments. Only through trying out new modes of behaviour do you come to see which routes will work most effectively for you. The book is an antidote to those processes and gurus who advocate deep internal self-reflection and then decisive and single-minded action. In line with Ibarra's background, the tone is considered and academic rather than breathless and strident like so many business and self-help books. This is refreshing and engaging and made the book so much easier to absorb. As other reviewers have noted, the book is short on prescriptive actions. The real benefit of the book is going on the journey with the characters she brings out in the case studies. Nevertheless, for those of you who like the key messages bullet point-style, they are teased out at the end in nine "Unconventional Strategies". If you are a career counsellor or just wondering how to make sense of a mid-career change, I'd definitely recommend this book.

Intriguing

A real help in sorting out the muddle of thoughts and feelings going on in my head about my future direction. It encourages confidence in the process as it has somehow made 'official' things that I was already doing. Ms Ibarra's clear thinking is a tonic that so many business people need in order to help with probably the trickiest, most fraught decision of one's career. An essential read.

Very sensible and pragmatic advice on how to plan and execute a change of career, though probably of limited usefulness for anyone forced into a rapid change due to redundancy or other life events -- as the author points out, the most potentially effective way of changing career is gradually and over time, which is a luxury not everyone will enjoy.

Excellent book for people who are thinking about a career transition. This is a very readable and practical book. It is full of helpful strategies and case studies for how to make such a transition.

As a coach and having changed careers several times, I totally recommend this book as it provides a wide range of mini-bios outlining the rarely-mentioned but natural psychological and practical difficulties associated with major career and life change, as well as advice in tackling them.

Dieses Buch liefert zwar keine Werkzeuge oder Hilfe wie konkret eigene Transformation aussehen und gestaltet werden kann aber es gibt grundsätzliche Beispiele wie es laufen kann und zeigt dass es gewisse Schemen und Tendenzen oder Muster gibt die sich immer wieder wiederholen. Es beruhigt es zu wissen wenn man selber auf de Weg ist

I found this extremely helpful. If you are about to change careers or are just considering such a move, read this book.

"Working Identity" è un valido supporto per chi è in una fase di transizione lavorativa e ha bisogno di un metodo per scoprire e perseguire le alternative lavorative che ha a disposizione, adottando un approccio "fai e poi vedi" piuttosto del classico "pianifica e implementa". Decisamente consigliato.

I’m sure the examples in the new edition will be better, but Ibarra’s insights are leading edge. As an executive coach, I highly recommend this book when my clients want to think strategically about their careers.

Herminia é inspiração !