Microskills - by Adaira Landry & Resa E Lewiss (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The promise of this book is simple: if you buy this book on Friday, you will be better at your job on Monday. Do you ever find yourself: Prioritizing the demands of work over your personal needs? Struggling to build positive and collaborative energy with your team? Watching others gain opportunities while you remain stagnant and overlooked? Every future goal, complicated task, and healthy habit can be broken down into simple, measurable, and tiny skills that can be easily practiced and mastered by removing obstacles, overcoming assumptions, and maximizing your potential at work and in life. In MicroSkills, Harvard-trained physicians Dr. Landry and Dr. Lewiss assert that your success does not require absolute self-sacrifice. You'll learn microskills of prioritizing your health, support systems, and personal boundaries. They encourage a collaborative mindset as opposed to an individualistic one. You'll learn microskills of sponsorship, upstanding, and collaboration. They argue the "good enough is good enough" mentality can stall your career. You'll learn the microskills of building expertise, organizing tasks, and screening new opportunities." --

Book Synopsis

*Longlisted for the 2024 Porchlight Business Book Awards*

The promise of this book is simple: if you buy this book on Friday, you will be better at your job by Monday.

MicroSkills is built on one core, easy-to-learn principle: every big goal, complicated task, healthy habit, and, yes, even what we think of as character traits, can be broken down into small, learnable, skills that can be practiced, and incorporated real-time. We call these: MicroSkills.

As award winning physicians, educators, and mentors we hear the gamut of challenges with navigating the workplace. And when we learn a lesson we often wish we had learned it earlier. MicroSkills is packed with the privileged information that you want delivered to you as efficiently as possible.

In MicroSkills you will learn

• How to build your career without breaking yourself
• How to manage your task list to get work done
• How to build and maintain your professional reputation
• How to become a subject matter expert
• How to grow and nurture your network
• How to become a better communicator
• and so much more...

MicroSkills is the gift we wish we had received early in our careers.

Review Quotes

"MicroSkills is more than just a book, it's a practical, evidence-based road map intertwined with real-life stories of leaders' journeys to being more productive and successful in the modern workplace. Landry and Lewiss will leave you feeling inspired and motivated to chart a better path forward for yourself and your people regardless of your occupation or profession. We highly recommend MicroSkills for anyone striving to advance their career--and any organization and leader ready to improve critical workplace skills at every level." --David G. Smith, PhD, and W. Brad Johnson, PhD, coauthors of Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace

"I was blown away by MicroSkills! The book is prescient and brilliant; the practical advice immediately applicable. Where so many books about success and habits are written by men, I most appreciate how the authors centered the experiences of women, people of color and other underestimated professionals, so each page is inclusive and relevant to all. By sharing personal stories and how the authors applied MicroSkills to succeed in medicine, they've created a success manifesto that applies to all facets of life, from personal to professional. Brava!" --Ruchika Tulshyan, author of Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work


"A remarkably practical book, MicroSkills offers dozens of simple practices that will help anyone be more effective at work. It's a how-to-guide that spans the realms from verbal communication and compelling writing to relationship building, logistics simplification, and even self-care. It is a rare book that provides this level of concrete actionable advice."--Amy C. Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership, Harvard Business School, author of Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well

"Adaira Landry and Resa Lewiss have put together an incredibly comprehensive book--that's also fun to read! They cover the most critical skills needed to navigate the workplace, providing clear and practical steps along the way. Readers will no doubt feel empowered with Landry and Lewiss as their able guides."--Amy Gallo, author of Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People) and cohost of HBR's Women at Work podcast

"MicroSkills is a must-read for anyone entering the workplace, especially if you feel like an outsider. This isn't just about being more productive, it's the bigger task of understanding how we work, how to work with others, and how to become more effective at both. This book is an essential roadmap to leveling up both in and out of the office." --Minda Harts, author of The Memo: What Women of Color Need to Know to Secure a Seat at the Table

"A friendly, practical guide filled with excellent advice, this book makes the ups and downs in professional life seem manageable. An excellent addition to career self-help collections."--Library Journal