Working Scared: Blueprints for Employees and Leaders to Succeed During Turbulent Times - Hardcover

by Stanley B. Silverman (Author), Kenneth N. Wexley (Author), David H. Wexley (Author)

Transform workplace uncertainty into career confidence with proven strategies that work for both employees and organizations

In Working Scared: Blueprints for Employees and Leaders to Succeed During Turbulent Times, authors Stanley B. Silverman, Kenneth N. Wexley, and David H. Wexley deliver a comprehensive roadmap for navigating today's volatile work environment. Drawing on decades of consulting experience across organizations ranging from small companies to Fortune 500 corporations, combined with extensive research and executive coaching credentials that establish them as leading authorities on workplace dynamics, the authors directly address eight primary sources of job insecurity plaguing the modern workforce. They discuss AI transformation, arrogant leadership, hybrid work challenges, economic turmoil, and more, providing dual-perspective solutions that empower both individual employees seeking career advancement and leaders working to optimize team effectiveness.

The book systematically examines each workplace challenge through a structured framework that combines data-driven analysis with real-world case studies, revealing how successful employees and leaders have navigated similar situations. Avoiding boilerplate, generalized advice, the authors identify ten overarching Keys for Success that create resilience and adaptability in the face of organizational uncertainty. Each chapter delivers actionable strategies grounded in practical experience, moving readers from reactive anxiety to proactive confidence in their professional lives.

You'll find:

An original, dual-perspective approach: Unique strategies tailored specifically for both employees and leaders facing the same workplace challenges

Eight critical workplace scenarios: Comprehensive coverage of an AI organizational transformation, difficult leadership, team dynamics, hybrid work, restructuring, mergers, economic instability, and personal well-being

Ten universal success principles: Overarching keys for success that apply across all workplace uncertainties and organizational changes

Real-world case studies: Practical examples from the authors' experience with diverse industries and organizational levels, from front-line workers to C-suite executives

Evidence-based solutions: Strategies validated through extensive consulting work and research across small companies to global organizations

An essential resource for all employees, including mid-career professionals, emerging leaders, and managers navigating workplace uncertainty or leading teams through organizational change, Working Scared is also the perfect guide for HR professionals, executive coaches, and business consultants required to solve problems for both individual workers and organizations.

Front Jacket

In Working Scared: Blueprints for Employees and Leaders to Succeed During Turbulent Times authors Stanley B. Silverman, Kenneth N. Wexley, and David H. Wexley deliver a comprehensive roadmap for navigating today's volatile work environment. Drawing on decades of consulting experience and extensive research, the authors directly address eight primary sources of job insecurity plaguing the modern workforce, providing unique dual-perspective solutions that empower both individual employees seeking career advancement and leaders working to optimize team effectiveness.

Working Scared systematically examines each workplace challenge through a structured framework combining data-driven analysis with real-world case studies. The book covers AI organizational transformation, difficult leadership dynamics, team culture challenges, hybrid work arrangements, restructuring and downsizing, mergers and acquisitions, economic instability, and personal well-being. Each chapter reveals how successful employees and leaders have navigated similar situations, providing readers with practical insights validated through extensive consulting work across diverse industries and organizational levels.

The book features comprehensive case studies from frontline workers to C-suite executives, evidence-based solutions validated across small companies to global organizations, and ten universal success principles that apply across all workplace uncertainties. Unlike other business publications that focus narrowly on single issues, this approach uses multiple challenging workplace scenarios as a foundation for developing resilient, adaptable employees and leaders who can successfully manage the complexities of the modern work environment.

An essential resource for all employees, mid-career professionals, emerging leaders, managers, HR professionals, executive coaches, and business consultants, Working Scared transforms workplace uncertainty into opportunity through proven strategies that work for both individuals and organizations. It's the perfect guide for workers and leaders expected to solve hard, complicated problems in a constantly changing environment.

Back Jacket

Praise for WORKING SCARED

"What a perfect time for this book! Given all the changes in today's turbulent business climate, Working Scared provides powerful actions and strategies for employees and leaders alike to thrive amidst these changes. From effectively adapting to change, thriving in a hybrid environment, to giving leaders a blueprint to build a successful culture--the book helps the reader build better skills to help them navigate through any situation. In addition, the book provides individual and organizational surveys to help diagnose and create distinct opportunities to strengthen individual and organizational capabilities. I highly recommend this book!"
--MICHAEL GOLDFARB, Chief Executive Officer, Manco Abbott, Inc.

"Given the challenges leaders and employees alike are facing in today's turbulent times, Working Scared provides much needed recommendations to confront these challenges head on. From adapting to a changing workplace to thriving in a hybrid team, practical and proven actions for employees and leaders are found throughout the book."
--JOE KANFER, Chairman Emeritus and Venturer, GOJO Industries, Inc., the makers of Purell

"Working Scared resonates with me because it speaks to both sides of the table--those building their careers and those leading teams through change. The authors turn uncertainty into practical, human guidance, rooted in real experience rather than theory. In these times of shifting priorities and new realities, this book shows the path forward and team language we can act on."
--SWATI NAGPAUL, Global Head of Talent Operations, SoftwareOne

"Leading through uncertainty isn't easy, but this book makes it achievable. It offers a proven approach for today's fast-moving business world, sharing practical tools and insights drawn from decades of global experience. If you want to build stronger teams and a high-performance culture, start here."
--TIM MCNICHOLAS, Managing Partner Boston Office, Egon Zehnder

"Whether you are working in or are leading an organization, we live in interesting times. Such things as supply chain disruptions, advances in technology, political crosscurrents, even climate-related forces, are creating a great deal of uncertainty relative to what will come next or, importantly, how to best react. The good news is that Working Scared, by Silverman and the Wexleys, not only does a fine job of describing the challenges that must be overcome, but it also provides the reader with a unique and valuable set of tools with which to promote personal or organizational resilience and success. I strongly recommend this volume and urge you to give it a close read."
--RICHARD KLIMOSKI, Dean Emeritus and Professor of Psychology and Management, Costello School of Business, George Mason University

Author Biography

STANLEY B. SILVERMAN is Dean and Professor Emeritus at The University of Akron and President of Human Resource Decisions, Inc.

KENNETH N. WEXLEY, PHD, is founder and CEO of Wexley Consulting, an internationally known consulting firm.

DAVID H. WEXLEY is President of Wexley Consulting, spe-cializing in organizational development and management consulting.