Glow: How You Can Radiate Energy, Innovation and Success
Author: Lynda Gratton
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Price: £14.99
Rating: 3 out of 5

'Meaning' - in this context the meaning you get from life or work - is one of the hottest topics in HR at the moment. This new book by Lynda Gratton taps into the Zeitgeist by forcing readers to think about their own job and what impact it has on them. It's an ambitious endeavour, and one that deserves applause, but for me, this a book of contradictions.

At the start Gratton says 'glowing' at work is not about personality, but I think it is actually based on what we already know about leadership, extraverts and intraverts. It's obvious those who find it difficult to break out of their natural personalities will also find it difficult to glow. I found this aspect of the book challenging.

On the bright side, the second half was excellent; it took existing ideas and repackaged them under new banners like 'jumping out of boundaries', 'moving across worlds' and 'igniting your latent energy' - all supported with examples from the likes of Unilever and Tata. The reason why the second half is good, but the first comparatively poor, is because too much of the first part is about Gratton. It's all about her, the things she's done, the houses she owns, the people she's met. Okay, she has a wonderful life, but I'm really not interested.

Eventually it turns to more useful research and analysis and that's what makes the book powerful. But there is still one slight snag. Being fulfilled and glowing is all well and good, but there's little about whether this is desirable all the time. I recently read Moby Dick and didn't realise how much of it was about the work of harpooners. They were all very fulfilled, but it's through their work that we have seas bereft of whales. There needed to be analysis about unintentional effects of fulfilment at work. After all, Hitler could be described as having 'glowed' at his job. See Lynda Gratton in HR's Most Influential, p27

WHY NOT TRY...
Diversity in Coaching
Author: Edited by Janathan Passmore
Publisher: Kogan Page
Price: £24.95
Rating: 3 out of 5

It's hard not to read this book and wonder if its contributors (who each spend a chapter discussing how to coach a particular group of people - black Americans, Indians, and those from the Middle East, Brazil and China, etc.) are more preoccupied with cultural, religious and racial stereotypes than the people they say you will coach. But they do a sterling job in making coaches culturally and religiously aware when operating in different territories. It's a useful country-by-country guide, and there are some interesting chapters about the gender differences when it comes to coaching. The book is worth the money just for peace of mind, and knowing your boundaries will surely make you a better coach.

Find Your Dream Job
Author: Sarah Wade and Carole Ann Rice
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Business
Price: £12.99
Rating: 4 out of 5

HR professionals have careers too. Find Your Dream Job is a collection of real stories about people who were stuck in a rut but did something courageous to get out of it. As the authors explain, getting your dream job is not about figuring out the new direction your life should take, but more to do with knowing why you feel the way you do about your existing, unfulfilling role, and what you can do to remedy it. It is lively read, packed full of case studies that are designed to inspire. Find out how to reflect on your life, restructure it and immerse yourself in your new one - by reading about people who have already done it. Learn how to make the mind shift you need to grab the life you want.

MUST READ

Debbie Hayes HR director of VINCI Park UK, is inspired by a tale of survival and the use of metaphors

Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor E Frankl is an amazing book recounting the period Frankl spent in a Nazi concentration camp during the Second World War. It is a compelling read from start to finish not only because of its harrowing nature but also because it was inevitably the inmates with a goal or reason to live and get out of the camp who had the will to survive. The difference between having and not having goals is evident from this read.

The Magic of Metaphor by Nick Owen encompasses 77 different stories for teachers, trainers and thinkers to use at compelling moments. Metaphors are a brilliant way to let the mind make of a story what it will - they are scene-setting, uplifting, soul-searching and this book has a great selection.