For this Book Club review, I am steering away from career journeys and swerving into communication. Which, if you think about it, can only HELP you with your career journeys, so you are welcome!

Adam Grant’s new book “Think Again, The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know” is a must-read for anyone who communicates with anyone, in any way.  Really. No joke. I mean it.

As someone who has developed and facilitated programs on communication for 20+ years in various settings I can honestly say, it is one of the more difficult topics to teach. Not because it is complex, it is actually quite simple, you talk, someone listens, they talk, you listen…you get the picture. Okay. I may be simplifying it slightly but…it really isn’t rocket science.

I am sure you are now yelling at your screen “SO WHAT’S THE PROBLEM WITH COMMUNICATION?!”

In my humble opinion, the problem is this: People like to talk (some LOVE it) but very few people like to listen. #facts

Anyone who has ever held a leadership position (not just a leadership title; remember leadership is not a title!) or had to deal with any type of conflict in their life, most of the time when you get to the root of the disagreement, it has something to do with communication or lack thereof.

With the rise of social media and the “freedom” people feel to “communicate” their thoughts with the ability to “not listen” to opposing views if they choose not to, communication has become even more broken. There is a lot of “curated conversations” but not enough “real talk.”

2020 has really been a watershed moment when it comes to people expressing their thoughts, and opinions about serious issues such as politics and the pandemic. From my perspective, we have really “lost the plot” when it comes to communicating with one another especially if we have different opinions. I feel debate is healthy and important. But so is coming at it with empathy, facts, and an open mind. Being able to be wrong is totally okay. I will always say my best learnings have come from mistakes I have made. I feel with a lot of this communication conflict, particularly in social media, it seems like some people are trying to be right instead of being open to learning or understanding another perspective.

Enter Adam Grant’s book THINK AGAIN!

Adam dives into the power of having the “ability to rethink and unlearn.” He looks at it from so many different perspectives: Individual Rethinking, Interpersonal Rethinking, and Collective Rethinking. He illustrates his chapters with real-life examples to help you understand the information he is sharing.

“The Rethinking Cycle” and “The Overconfidence Cycle” illustration was a big “aha” moment for me.

As someone whose life motto is #AlwaysLearning, Adam’s book was right up my alley. I learned a lot, even better, I have applied the learnings from this book, and I feel it has made me a stronger communicator.

Highly recommend this read for anyone who wants to learn. I hope that is everyone.