BOOK REVIEW
Book Title: Crafting Connection: Transform how you communicate with yourself and others
Author: Felicity Dwyer
Publisher: Practical Inspiration Publishing
List Price: $21.99
Format: Digital, 248 pages
Publication Date: 2022
ISBN: 9781788604031
Reviewer: Eddrika Russell, MPH, PMP
Review Date: April 2024
Introduction
In a world of increased productivity, micro habits, extreme multitasking, and “maximizing your earning potential”, Crafting Connection: Transform how you communicate with yourself and others reprioritizes introspection, connection, and community. This book is a timely and practical guide to grounding yourself from a whole person perspective and exploring whether your daily actions are in alignment with your values, beliefs, and priorities. Oftentimes, the humdrum of the everyday work culture can influence how project managers are able to perform. Many times, project management can be metaphorically compared to firefighting, racing as a track and field athlete who specializes in the high jump, or trying to limbo under the lowest hanging stick without injuring your back. Yet, this book breaks from the oft ever linked and widely accepted pairing of stress and productivity to encourage us to focus on rebuilding our internal and surrounding ecosystems, first.
Overview of Book’s Structure
Throughout the book, the structure unfolds in three distinct parts, each delving into various facets of human behavior and connection.
- Part 1, “Connecting Within,” serves as the groundwork for the journey ahead, emphasizing the importance of introspection and self-awareness. It prompts readers to assess your inner landscape, encouraging them to navigate past personal barriers, align your actions with your core values, and access your intuition (also known as that tiny, little voice that helps us assess project risk).
- Part 2, “Connecting With,” shifts the focus outward, exploring the dynamics of interpersonal communication, both personal and professional. Here, the author explains how honing essential skills such as active listening and assertiveness yet respectful communication can foster stronger connections both with others and with your own aspirations. She goes on to coin listening as the “master key to connection” and “the secret to better relationships,” explaining the different levels of listening and practices for being better and more intentional with listening.
- In the closing of the book, Part 3, “Connecting Beyond,” the author expands the scope to encompass the broader significance of community-building. She explores the various dimensions of crafting communities on different levels and across different areas of both your personal and professional life and emphasizes the transformative power of collective support in nurturing growth and fulfillment.
Highlights
Crafting Connection does not waste time with useless examples or padded fluff. It is a comprehensive guide that seamlessly integrates foundational knowledge, practical exercises, and essential tools to help readers understand their inner value and unearth their best selves. Through insightful reflections and engaging exercises, the author urges readers to:
More…
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How to cite this review: Russell, E. (2024). Crafting Connection: Transform how you communicate with yourself and others, book review, PM World Journal, Vol. XIII, Issue V, May. Available online at: https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/pmwj141-May2024-Russell-Crafting-Connection-book-review.pdf
About the Reviewer
Eddrika Russell, PMP
Maryland, USA
Eddrika Russell, MPH, PMP is a public health professional with expertise in project management and data analytics. She graduated from South Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and minor in Chemistry, and from George Washington University with a Master of Public Health degree. She has successfully led strategic initiatives focused on quality improvement and health equity, with an emphasis on patient-oriented approaches, and is passionate about mixed methods research. She uses both agile and traditional project management approaches to advance this work. Eddrika can be contacted at eddrikarussell.health@gmail.com
Editor’s note: This book review was the result of a partnership between the publisher, the PM World Journal and the PMI Silver Spring Chapter. Authors and publishers provide the books to the PMWJ editor or directly to the PMI Silver Spring Chapter, where they are offered free to PMI members to review; book reviews are published in the PM World Journal and PM World Library. PMI Silver Spring Chapter members can keep the books as well as claim PDUs for PMP recertification when their reviews are published.
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