Desuckify Work

By Terry Gillis

From the Introduction:

Have you ever been in a relationship-a marriage, a friendship, or whatever-that was going off the rails?

Most of us can tell that something is wrong, even if we can't put

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ahria Consulting
• Release date: Mar 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781988179612

Book preview

What People are Saying about Desuckify Work

Most leadership books are full of ego, rehashed theories, and ultimately very little usable substance. Nothing dates faster. If we’ve learned anything through this pandemic, it’s that many of the old answers have passed their use-by date. Desuckify Work is refreshingly different. It firmly faces the future with great, practical insights into better, more satisfying ways to do business. I genuinely enjoyed reading Terry’s book and learned a lot from it. He got me thinking in ways that I plan to draw on in my own business. That’s surely the highest praise one can give to any book in this overcrowded category. This one is well worth your time.—Jannine Fraser, Managing Director, The Career Insight Group, Melbourne, Australia

Terry shares some radical and innovative approaches that challenge Leaders to break with old constructs and models of leadership and make a step change in how they think and behave. He tells it as it is, calling out vague concepts, established jargon and all the received wisdom that people talk about without true understanding and encourages leaders to tune into the things that really matter to people by jettisoning outdated thinking. When they start to make this shift, they are well on the way to desuckifying work. Terry’s writing is exactly like his boardroom persona - articulate, provocative, authentic, credible, engaging and humorous. (Sadly the volume doesn’t come through though).—Lynne Hardman, CEO, Working Transitions, London, England

I have had the pleasure to know Terry Gillis for most of my leadership time at Libro, both before and during my tenure as Head Coach, President and CEO.  Terry is a friend, colleague and student of servant leadership clearly on a mission to make organizations better through the people they have on their teams. Desuckify Work is filled with practical examples of his journey and learnings to create a work environment that is the envy of others.  Throughout my career I have been a passionate student of leadership and the one skill that I have been credited for is an ability to build strong teams. Whether that be at a local business unit or in the last decade as the Head Coach, President and CEO. Terry has been along this journey with me through his work.  The book Desuckify Work is a must read for both leaders who have been in their leadership role for some time and new leaders alike. The new learnings for me from this work is the idea of staff colleagues as an investor and what is their return on investment. Directly applicable and a nice reframe – this book will prove useful to many that read it.—Stephen Bolton, Head Coach, President & CEO, Libro Credit Union

Many books have been written on how to make workplaces better. In Desuckify Work, I was struck by the intersection of honesty backed by expertise. This is not a book that should be ignored by anyone looking to build a great organization.—Bill Kellner, CEO, Career Partners International

Desuckify WORK

Doesn’t Everyone Deserve a Great Place to Work?

Terry Gillis

President and CEO of Ahria Consulting Inc.

Chair of Career Partners International LLC

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Copyright © 2020 by Terry Gillis. All rights reserved.

First Edition. Published in Canada by BrightFlame Books, Burlington, Ontario. www.BrightFlameBooks.com

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and articles in their entirety.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The information in this book is presented for entertainment purposes only. The publisher and authors make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this work and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a qualified professional adviser where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of income, profit or any other commercial damages, nor any emotional or psychological distress, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

Dedication

To my father, who inspired me in ways he will never know.

Acknowledgements

This book would not be possible without the support of so many, as is often the case. 

Where would I be without the love and support of not just my life partner, but business partner, Kelly.  While she doesn’t know it, many of her stories have weaved their way into my desire to desuckify work—and for that I am grateful.

Evan, Zach, and Lauren have missed their dad who works too hard and decided to add writing a book to an endless to do list.  This book is for you guys so that you never have to work in a sucky workplace.  Ever!

To my father, to whom I am dedicating this book.  As you will read, it was a profound exchange he and I had on his death bed that inspired me not only to write this book but to pursue my passion of making the world of work the best it can be for everyone.  It is my hope that one of my last interactions with my hero may translate into better workplaces the world over.

To my mother, who never stops worrying about me and my brother because, well, she is a mother.  Her stories are buried in this text as well.  And her gift of being able to laugh at oneself has been the magical elixir I have needed to carry me through life’s toughest moments.

To the team at Ahria, who have embraced the vision of transforming work so that everyone has a great place to work.  And when the going gets tough at our little shop, you have kept the focus that I sometimes lose. Thank-you.

To my mentor, Bill Carswell—thank-you is not enough.  You took a chance on a snot-nosed kid a long time ago and taught me not only how to run and build a business but also to never lose sight of the fact that work can be fun.  I will treasure our moments of laughter forever.  Thank-you my friend.

Finally, without the hundreds of people who have been clients, candidates or confidantes, where would I be without you?  You know who you are and there are too many to mention.  Know that you have played a role in helping me get these thoughts out of my head and onto paper—I hope I have not failed you in what I have written.

Foreword

By Lâle Kesebi

Founder & CEO, Human at Work

I’ve spent the better part of my career trying to make work better for others.  Even when I wasn’t fully aware of it, I always thought making work better was just what leaders did: people in places of privilege who had not just a responsibility but an obligation to serve others in their care. 

I’ve come to understand, though, that not everyone sees leadership like I do.  That’s because leadership is a human experience.  Leaders are made, not born.  What we see, feel, and experience from other leaders as we grow into greater and greater roles of responsibility has a profound imprint on how we show up as leaders ourselves.  It’s good, bad, and at times ugly role model leaders. Sometimes we emulate what we got.  Sometimes we carve a different path in spite of what we see. 

There is one truism through it all.  No one sets out to be a bad leader.  There is no human being I am aware of that starts the day thinking Ha! Today is the day I will bring her down.

For most of us, our path is a matter of luck and opportunity.  There are great people around us that inspire us and others that don’t.  There are good people with bad leader role models.  There are incompetent people who are skillfully groomed by the best to be great.  Regardless, we all build tools and skills along the way and try them out—rightly and wrongly—in every situation and then repeat the process.  We experiment, learn, experiment, fail, and learn again.  At the start it’s all great lines, images, theory, and thinking.  At the finish line it’s either a Picasso or a kindergartener’s finger painting.

Through all of this we have an ardent audience—our people—who, as long as we’re not sociopathic or narcissistic, amazingly are in it for our win.  They need for us to win.  Because that makes work and life better for them and for everyone, frankly.  They need leaders that care, that build trust; where they find faith to follow, especially when times are unpredictable and difficult.  They need leaders to challenge systems and the status quo, ask why not? instead of saying cannot.  They want to be seen.  To be known.  To matter.  They need cultures designed by leaders where everyone shows up, belongs, and unleashes magic in service of something bigger and better than anyone can do on their own.  They want to win.  Otherwise, work can just plain suck. 

Enter Terry Gillis, my long-time friend and author of the book you’re about to start reading. For those of you who know Terry, you’ll hear him jump right off these pages.  For those of you