How to Listen: Discover the Hidden Key to Better Communication

Oscar Trimboli

Page Two, 288 pp., $17.95

Business leaders spend 83 percent of their day listening, but only 2 percent have been trained to listen effectively. That's a problem for everyone, particularly when we already have so much noise and so many distractions to deal with. You become tired of repeating yourself at work when you feel like nobody is listening. In How to Listen, Trimboli, host of the award-winning podcast Deep Listening, gives you the tools to become a great listener. When communicating, listening is just as important as speaking. Master the missing half of communication and make a more significant impact in your workplace.

The Burnout Challenge: Managing People's Relationships with Their Jobs

Christina Maslach and Michael P. Leiter

Harvard University Press, 272 pp., $27.95

Experts estimate that more than $500 billion and 550 million work hours are lost annually to on-the-job stress. That stress can lead to burnout, which we tend to characterize as an individual problem. In The Burnout Challenge, Maslach and Leiter use research data and anecdotes to explain that's not the case. They also advise on interpreting worker self-evaluation surveys to reveal workplace issues and solutions. Managing and preventing burnout is a collective effort. The authors give you the tools to identify the signs of burnout—exhaustion, cynicism, and ineffectiveness—and guidance on how to improve employee health and happiness. Use this book as your guide to implement effective change.