Much of the workday, in mindshare and time, is dedicated to outer work: meetings with co-workers, interactions with customers, or working on a deck or other tangible deliverables. For most of us, this is the very definition of “work”: external, externally-focused activity. Inner Work puts forth an assertion that is novel today, but that successful leaders have known for millennia: inner work--the practice of thoughtful attention to the inner experience of yourself and others--is “work” as well, and of crucial importance; not just as a question of wellness or employee satisfaction, but as the engine of a potential transformation in the efficacy (and, yes, happiness) of most organizational workplaces.
Inner Work draws on a legacy of thought that spans both the Western and Eastern traditions to frame leadership, creativity, and work as an inner experience. For thousands of years across geographies and cultures, humans have understood that leadership and productivity depend on an individual’s inner balance and understanding. The importance of these lessons in a knowledge economy is well understood today--from Netflix to Zappos to Google to Valve, leading companies are constantly seeking to create value by empowering employees to unlock their own potential. And for the individual--leader, employee, or both--the need is even more urgent and plain: how can you create more value in your work for your human life?
Inner Work is a book about self-exploration; it’s also a toolkit for how to improve. Its assertion is that, by looking into ourselves with rigor and integrity, we each have the power to achieve both these goals. This is a book that will help leaders and employees create value for themselves and their organizations by actively exploring their own inner processes, values, and mental models: the tools we use, constantly, to operate in the world.
