The Power of Choice Embracing Efficacy to Drive Your Career

Straightforward advice for navigating the challenges facing professionals who are underrepresented in the leadership of today's organizations

Michael Hyter is one of the nation's highest regarded executives of color, and a widely respected thought leader in the area of talent development and leadership succession. To get there, he worked hard and made his work count through Efficacy. In The Power of Choice he reveals the lessons he learned along the way?putting you on the fast track to career success.

This book provides answers to the questions you might face as you immerse yourself in an often confusing and challenging workplace culture. It is about how to take informed personal responsibility for your career. Inside, you'll find an open and frank discussion of how you can?and must, if you want to succeed!?make deliberate choices about who you are and how to represent yourself in your career. You'll learn how to open doors for yourself (rather than waiting for others to open them for you), choose what?s important to you, and decide how you will achieve your goals.

• Learn how to choose greatness by embracing efficacy to make the most of your time and energy
• Take your career into your own hands with inspiration from others who have made it
• Discover how embracing personal responsibility can create the opportunities you've dreamed of
• Gain deep insights into your own mind and make the right decisions to get where you're going

Yes, for those of us who are underrepresented talent, there are tradeoffs to finding success in today's workplace culture. If you rise to the challenge, you stand a good chance of reaching your full potential?both professionally and personally.

Foreword xi

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction xix

Part I The Foundation 1

Chapter 1 The Requirements for Career Success 3

Chapter 2 Believe You Have What It Takes 15

Chapter 3 The Power of the Message 27

Part II Choose Your Strategy 37

Chapter 4 Build Confidence 39

Chapter 5 Make Your Effort Effective 51

Chapter 6 Leverage Relational Skills 63

Chapter 7 Use Influence Skills to Shape Your Reality 77

Part III The Power of Choice in Action 89

Chapter 8 Real-World Choices 91

Afterword 109

Index 111

MICHAEL C. HYTER is an accomplished senior executive and leadership consultant specializing in the development of enterprise leaders and their successors. He currently serves as Chief Diversity Officer for Korn Ferry. He is coauthor of The Power of Inclusion: Unlock the Potential and Productivity of Your Workforce.