How Work Works

How Work Works Plot Summary

Introduction

Imagine walking into an important client meeting where everything seems to be going well. You're discussing your services, answering questions confidently, when suddenly the client glances at his watch. Most people would recognize this subtle cue and start wrapping up the conversation. But what if you miss it? What if instead of gracefully concluding, you launch into another detailed explanation? This moment—this failure to "read the air"—could cost you the client relationship. Throughout our working lives, we encounter countless unwritten rules and invisible dynamics that govern success. The Japanese have a term for this intuitive understanding: "Kuuki wo yomu," which means "reading the air." It's the ability to grasp what remains unsaid, to navigate the informal networks, information flows, development opportunities, and advancement paths that exist beneath the formal structures of every workplace. In a world increasingly characterized by technological disruption, remote work, and diverse teams, this ability to read the social environment has never been more critical. The author draws on decades of research and experience to reveal how learning to navigate these invisible systems doesn't just advance your career—it creates deeper connections, fosters belonging, and ultimately helps you find meaning in your work without losing your authentic self along the way.

Chapter 1: The Trust Exchange: Building Foundations of Workplace Belonging

I once worked for a multinational tech company that seemed perfect on paper. Great salary, impressive benefits, talented colleagues—what more could anyone want? But within weeks, I developed a constant feeling of unease. Something in the air didn't feel right. During my first week, a teammate was fired for supposedly "underperforming." Later, I learned she had actually been terminated for raising concerns about bullying within the team. Each week after that, someone else would be let go, with departures announced abruptly and publicly. My discomfort intensified when I met Rachel, an executive I'd be supporting. Our first interaction began with her criticizing my all-black outfit before I could even sit down. "No one cares about your qualifications or experience, honey. It's all about results," she interrupted when I tried to share my background. Throughout our meeting, Rachel belittled everything from my accent to my handbag, from where I lived to my husband's employment status. I escaped to the nearest bathroom afterward, fighting back tears and feeling like I was back in primary school, being bullied on the playground. Over the next nine months, Rachel excluded me from meetings then pretended she had invited me, mocked me behind my back (once, not realizing I could hear her on a Zoom call), and systematically undermined my confidence. When I reported this behavior to my boss, she dismissed my concerns: "Rachel has only ever been nice to me. She is very senior. I hope you two can get along." I gradually stopped speaking up in meetings and sharing ideas until a colleague finally asked, "Michelle, what's happened to you?" That was the moment I knew I had to quit. In my exit interview, my boss finally admitted, "I was gaslighting you. I knew she was bullying you; I just didn't want to do anything about it because she is so senior and it would make my life difficult." Two months after I left, both Rachel and my boss were fired. What my experience illustrates is that workplaces are fundamentally trust exchanges. We invest our time, energy, and expertise with the expectation of receiving not just tangible benefits like salary, but intangible rewards like respect, belonging, and meaning. Trust is built on predictability—knowing that others will act with our best interests in mind. When this trust is broken, as it was repeatedly in my situation, it becomes impossible to feel safe, valued, or connected. The foundation of any successful workplace relationship is this mutual trust. Without it, even the most prestigious job with the highest salary becomes unsustainable.

Chapter 2: Invisible Networks: How Informal Connections Shape Success

Throughout my career, whenever I started at a new company, someone would inevitably share the organizational chart during onboarding. It took only minutes to explain the formal structure. The real challenge was understanding the invisible network beneath—who was connected to whom beyond formal titles, which team members preferred working together, how strong these relationships were, and whom I could trust. Chris, a CEO I've coached for two years, exemplifies what I call a "superconnector." He built a multimillion-dollar mobile personal training business from scratch, starting as a personal trainer working twelve-hour shifts in a local gym. Within just one year, he had over 120 clients. When I asked what motivated him to connect across differences, he looked confused and replied, "It makes life so much more interesting. Who wants to hang out with the same people every day?" Even in school, Chris made it a habit to get to know kids who were often left out or didn't share his white, middle-class, heterosexual, able-bodied identity. When a group of Japanese exchange students arrived at his school, Chris was the only white student who made an effort to get to know them, taking a genuine interest in their passion for anime. Today, he prepares for client meetings by researching their interests beforehand, finding points of connection that transcend obvious differences. Most of us limit our networks to people similar to ourselves. Research shows that if you build your network by introducing yourself to new people more than 65% of the time, you're probably creating a network of people relatively similar to you. But a 2012 study published in MIT Sloan Management Review found that people with more diverse networks were not only more likely to be promoted and stay with their organizations longer, but they also solved problems more innovatively and creatively. The world of work has changed. The old boys' network—where white men build informal relationships exclusively with people similar to themselves—no longer serves us in today's diverse, global marketplace. In an ever-changing environment where most employees change jobs every four and a half years, having a diverse range of advocates for your career allows you to take advantage of varied opportunities. Network scientist Ron Burt's 2013 research found that being in an open network rather than a closed one is the best predictor of career success.

Chapter 3: Beyond Self-Awareness: Reading Others and Your Environment

Self-awareness is the difference between how we see ourselves and how others see us. But research published in Harvard Business Review found that while 95% of people think they are self-aware, only about 15% actually are. This gap between self-perception and reality can derail careers and relationships. I once coached Brendan, a senior manager in corporate finance who was promoted to CFO and rumored to be the next CEO. Sitting opposite him daily, I noticed that while he didn't work excessive hours, he spent considerable time on the phone, in meetings, and chatting with colleagues. When I asked if he ever tired of talking to people, he replied, "Yes, of course. I'm an introvert. But it's my job to know what people around the table are saying." Brendan's success came from understanding how others think and feel, the challenges they face, and how they perceive him. At least once weekly, he would check in with me to seek opinions on managing team conflicts, business decisions, or his personal development. He knew he couldn't achieve his ambitions without support, so he focused on managing how he achieved goals by consistently gathering feedback. Self-awareness operates as a dynamic cycle of reflection, review, and regulation. Reflection means thinking about your behaviors and their impact. However, asking "why" questions—like "why don't I like my job?"—actually decreases self-awareness because we answer based on our biases and insecurities. Instead, asking "what" questions—"what would it take to enjoy my job?"—helps us seek evidence and feedback about closing the gap between self-perception and reality. Once, when facilitating leadership development programs, I was coaching a leader who received feedback that he didn't seem committed during virtual meetings because he kept his camera off. Had his colleagues engaged in perspective-taking—imagining themselves in his situation—they might have understood he was trying to remain present while homeschooling two young children during the pandemic. When we understand why people think, feel, and behave as they do, we can respond with empathy and understanding. The most successful leaders don't just understand themselves and others; they develop organizational awareness—seeing themselves, their relationships, and their work environment through others' eyes. This awareness enables collaboration across differences and bridges cultural divides, making it possible to navigate the complexities of today's global, hybrid workplace.

Chapter 4: Learning the Unwritten Rules: From Observer to Master

Sitting in a small, dusty office in Houston, Texas, I wondered if Shaun, the CEO of an online recruitment software company, would keep his job. His company was about to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but employee survey results revealed people didn't feel included, supported, valued, or connected. The board gave him twelve months to improve these metrics. Despite having all the technical skills for his role, Shaun struggled with people. His bookshelf was filled with technical manuals, but what he needed couldn't be found in those pages. Most of us suffer from what I call an "ideal worker hangover." For decades, the model employee was someone who engaged in dominant, assertive, aggressive, and competitive behavior, worked long hours, and was willing to discriminate against others to maintain their position. This model worked in the industrial era when productivity at all costs was the goal. But today, in our information economy, how we produce something matters as much as what we produce. While technical skills help deliver the "what" of work, universal skills (often misleadingly called "soft skills") help manage the "how." Research finds that 75% of long-term job success depends on these universal skills, with only 25% depending on technical capabilities. Yet most of us—like Shaun—don't know how to develop them. They can't be learned in a classroom or through e-learning. Instead, they're acquired informally through observation, feedback, and trial and error. To learn these skills, we cycle through three practices: awareness, understanding, and application. First, we become aware of the unwritten rules by observing how people navigate informal systems, who succeeds and who doesn't. Second, we learn from our peers who provide feedback, share experiences, and offer guidance. When Shaun struggled to understand how his behavior impacted others, I introduced the A-C-M feedback model: Awareness (helping someone understand the impact of their behavior), Corrective Action (detailing what behavior needs to change), and Moving On (implementing changes without dwelling on mistakes). Finally, we apply what we've learned through trial and error, experimenting with new approaches to see what works. Like mastering any skill, reading the air takes practice. A 2010 Catalyst study found 88% of participants learned workplace norms through this experimental approach. We observe, seek feedback, try new behaviors, observe responses, adjust, and try again until reading the air becomes second nature. As workplaces become more informal, ambiguous, and volatile, our ability to cycle through these three practices—awareness, understanding, and application—determines our success. With enough effort and consistency, anyone can learn to read the air.

Chapter 5: Navigating Career Evolution in the Modern Workplace

"It's all been for nothing," Maya said, her eyes welling with tears. After twenty-five years at the same multinational company, Maya, the chief people officer and my supervisor for five years, was retiring. At her celebratory lunch, I expected to hear about her plans for retired life. Instead, she confessed, "I pursued position after position until I finally got the role I wanted. Now it's over, and it feels like it was all for nothing. I guess I just thought the title and the money would be enough. But it isn't. I feel empty." Maya, like many of us, had been encouraged to view her career as a predictable climb up a corporate ladder. But careers have fundamentally changed. In the 1950s and 1960s, most people followed traditional career paths within hierarchical organizations, often staying with one company for life. Today's careers are described as "protean"—capable of changing shape or form. They're self-managed, requiring lifelong learning and the ability to work across boundaries and cultures. Our definition of success has evolved too. No longer is it just about objective measures like salary and titles. Today, career success is subjective—the degree to which your needs are fulfilled through meaningful contribution. Research shows that how employees feel about their accomplishments matters more than salary growth. When your needs for safety, belonging, contribution, development, and recognition are met, you're more likely to find fulfillment. The problem is that many workplaces aren't meeting these subjective needs, leading to what's been called "quiet quitting"—where employees remain employed but do the bare minimum. A 2022 Harvard Business Review article noted that quiet quitting happens when leaders focus solely on results (the what) while ignoring how work gets done and employee needs. When managers support employees' needs, however, they see 62% more extra effort on the job. Managing your career in this new landscape means taking responsibility for three key practices: knowing why, knowing who, and knowing how. Knowing your why means understanding what gives your work meaning. In Japanese culture, they call this "ikigai"—the sense of purpose that makes life worth living. Knowing who involves building relationships with people who can advocate for your career advancement. And knowing how means managing your reputation—consistently demonstrating clarity, transparency, and consistency in your behavior. These practices benefit not only you but your organization. This is called the "protean paradox"—when you prioritize your career aspirations and needs, you become a better colleague, more engaged and committed. Like elephants conditioned to believe they cannot break free from thin ropes that once held them as calves, many of us stay tied to jobs and careers that no longer serve us. Managing your career means reclaiming your freedom to choose both the experiences and the meaning you gain from your work.

Chapter 6: Finding Meaning: How Paying It Forward Creates Fulfillment

Throughout this book, I've shared how learning to read the air is how we learn to connect with our workplace, colleagues, and ourselves. Often when leaders talk about finding meaning at work, they share the well-known story of President John F. Kennedy visiting NASA in 1962. When Kennedy asked a janitor what he did for NASA, the janitor replied, "I'm helping put a man on the moon." Leaders love this idea that even the person doing the most monotonous job can find meaning by connecting their work to organizational achievements. But academic research paints a different picture. Simply chasing one achievement after another doesn't create sustainable meaning. How would that NASA janitor answer today? "I'm helping put the thirteenth man on the moon" doesn't have the same impact. For work to be truly meaningful to modern employees, we need to identify our contribution beyond tasks or results. Meaning isn't handed to us by workplaces; it's something we discover in how we work together. Despite the myth that salary predicts happiness, research shows that relationship quality matters most. A 2018 BetterUp survey found that nine out of ten employees, regardless of level or salary, were willing to trade 23% of their lifetime earnings for greater meaning at work—almost as much as people spend on housing! If employees found meaning solely in what they do or what their companies achieve, "quiet quitting" wouldn't be so prevalent. But workplaces aren't just places or buildings—they're communities composed of people connected by shared contribution. How committed you are to your workplace results directly from your behaviors. In academia, "organizational citizenship behavior" describes voluntary positive actions beyond job descriptions—like helping an overwhelmed colleague or making suggestions for workplace improvement. This is "paying it forward," and it benefits both individuals and organizations. I think of Ms. Anderson, my primary school headmistress in South Africa, who worked well into her seventies. She stood on the playground every morning to greet me as I exited "the Kabal," our family's dented, smoke-belching pickup truck that made me an outcast. In my final year, Ms. Anderson realized I couldn't see well and ensured I got glasses. While many teachers thought I wouldn't finish high school, she took extra time at lunch to help with homework, encouraging me when I made mistakes. She's the reason I have five degrees today. On my last day of school, Ms. Anderson called me to her office and wrote Ella Wheeler Wilcox's poem "Winds of Fate" in my leaving book: "One ship drives east, and another drives west / With the selfsame winds that blow. / 'Tis the set of the sails, / And not the gales, / Which tells us the way to go." Her message applies perfectly to our careers today. As workplaces change, we choose—through the set of our sails—what gives us meaning. Organizational development scholar Herb Shepard described the future of careers as "a path with heart." The protean career offers the freedom to chart your own course. Your fulfillment comes from paying it forward and serving your community at work. Regardless of where you work or who you work with, you can make a contribution beyond what you do by managing how you do it.

Summary

The hidden science of workplace connection reveals that beneath formal structures and explicit rules lies a powerful invisible realm that truly determines our success and fulfillment. Reading the air—understanding the unwritten norms and expectations that govern how things get done—isn't just a nice-to-have skill; it's essential for navigating today's rapidly evolving workplace. Through practices like building diverse networks, developing self-awareness, learning through observation and feedback, and taking ownership of our career development, we can master these subtle dynamics that so many miss. What emerges most powerfully from these insights is that true career fulfillment comes not from climbing ladders or accumulating titles, but from the quality of our connections and the meaning we create through contribution. Like trees in a forest that survive by supporting each other through underground networks, we thrive when we pay attention to the air around us and respond with empathy, understanding, and generosity. The path forward isn't about ruthless individual advancement but about finding your authentic way to contribute while building meaningful relationships. By learning to read the air, you don't just advance your career—you discover how to belong, connect, and find purpose in your work without losing yourself along the way.

About Author

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Michelle P. King

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