Jesse Sostrin’s Beyond the Job Description is the book I was looking for when I was developing a training program for new managers last year. I wanted to give them something valuable—something that had tools and ideas that really worked. Something I could confidently say would truly help them on the job and beyond. Something that applied to a variety of managers—no matter what their role within the firm was. And something that dealt with the real problems in the workplace, not just vague generalities of a mythical corporate culture.

I never found it, so I settled for one of a dozen look-alike books on great management, halfheartedly endorsed it, then labored to fill in the gaps. This year will be different, because this year I will be able to give the new managers a copy of Beyond the Job Description. What this book does differently is that it shines a bright shining light on the “hidden side of work” that no one ever acknowledges, but which consumes a considerable amount of our time and energy. It’s all that stuff we have to do “beyond the job description” that interferes with our ability to get the things actually on our job description done.

Sostrin argues that our ability to discover and successfully navigate this “hidden side of work” directly correlates to our job satisfaction and long-term employability. His book cleverly shows you how to do both. Not only does it illuminate these things, but it provides you with tools to create your own funny looking road map to navigate your way through these obstacles. In creating your map, you will experience numerous personal “aha” moments as you gain insight into the work you do. This will motivate you to action.

The result is that we begin to view our work (and our role within our organizations) in an entirely new way. And, what’s better yet, this shift in perspective facilitates engagement. Sostrin helps us understand his detailed and multi-step process by including numerous relatable examples of how these strategies have been applied in the workplace to real problems. These examples bring clarity, and also give us a head start to discovering our own hidden side of work.

This system helps you bring clarity to virtually any challenge you may face, and helps you figure out a plan to correct it. My new manager’s will benefit from the strategies in this book, and so will their staff.

[9.5 stars out of 10. Overuse of unremarkable acronyms caused it to lose half a star.]