Leadership by the Book
Beth Speck, Senior Consultant, Organization Development & Training, UW Medicine Health System
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
Engaging, entertaining and thought-provoking, The Happiness Project chronicles a year in the life of author Gretchen Rubin, who realizes one day that—although she is happy with her life—she is not as happy as she thinks she could be. So she decides to spend the next year seeing if she can, in fact, behave her way to more happiness. Although Rubin’s book doesn’t target any particular group, I believe it offers a number of powerful take-aways that could help UW leaders maximize their effectiveness.
An avid reader and skilled researcher, Rubin pulls together historic wisdom, scientific research, popular culture, and an impressive project management approach to create her personal “happiness project,” complete with timeline, specific “resolutions,” concrete strategies, and a chart by which to measure her progress.
Taking a “whole life” approach, Rubin addresses aspects of her home, her work and her “self” (i.e., health, spirituality, mindfulness, and attitude). Her strategies will resonate with individual readers differently, but there is likely something for everyone in these pages. Leaders (and others) will be reminded of how even small changes, repeated over time, can produce results—and personal change.
Rubin’s approach also reminds us of the importance of paying attention to the whole of one’s life, since taking care of one area influences our effectiveness in others. None of us can run on empty; we must consistently engage in practices, relationships, and choices that replenish us—both at work and away from work. Leaders must do this for themselves as well as encourage it in those they lead.
A final point of interest to leaders is Rubin’s ability to observe herself in action. Leaders with this skill are able to recognize when an “old” behavior will not get the desired result and, in that moment, pause and choose a different, likely “new” behavior. Leaders who can learn this skill are more successful in a wider variety of situations. Rubin experiences success and failure with being able to flex her behavior and lets us in on her thinking as she goes. She closes her book with tips and references for readers, including how to create one’s own “happiness project.”
