Drive Your Career

About the Author

Ed Evarts is a renowned leadership and career consultant with a deep passion for empowering professionals to take control of their career trajectories. He is the founder and president of Excellius Leadership Development, a Boston-based coaching organization dedicated to helping leaders and organizations reach their full potential. In addition to his work at Excellius, Evarts is the author of Raise Your Visibility & Value: Uncover the Lost Art of Connecting on the Job, a book that underscores the importance of networking and personal branding in career advancement.

Evarts also hosts Be Brave@Work, a weekly podcast where he interviews leaders about their experiences with bravery—or the lack thereof—in their careers, and how these experiences have influenced their professional journeys. His leadership and career insights are shaped by his extensive experience in the field and his active involvement in professional communities, including his past role as president of the International Coach Federation of New England, the fifth-largest coaching affiliation group in the United States.

Main Idea

Drive Your Career: 9 High-Impact Ways to Take Responsibility for Your Own Success by Ed Evarts is a comprehensive guide designed to empower professionals to take command of their careers. The book presents nine powerful principles that provide the necessary tools and insights for individuals to navigate their career paths effectively and achieve their professional goals. These principles cover a range of strategies, from developing positive relationships with superiors and colleagues to fostering self-awareness and curiosity. Evarts emphasizes the importance of proactive behavior, strategic thinking, and empathy in driving one's career forward. The book is a call to action for those ready to take their careers to the next level but unsure where to start.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Have a Positive Relationship with Your Boss
3. No One Knows You Better Than You Do
4. Be the Most Curious Person in the Room
5. Bell Curves Rock
6. Colleagues Are Your Best Resource
7. Play the Hand You’re Dealt
8. Pausing is Powerful
9. It’s All About Feedback
10. Actually, It’s All About Empathy
11. Conclusion

Introduction

The goal of Drive Your Career is to make readers better captains of their careers and help them make positive progress at work. Evarts argues that a simple set of behaviors and actions can help everyone, even if people don’t always believe it. While the specifics of each client’s situation are unique, common behaviors and actions can address many work-related issues, helping individuals make progress in their organizations, earn the respect of their coworkers, and be more productive and happier at work. Evarts encourages readers to consider implementing these nine ideas recurrently, emphasizing that consistency matters more than frequency.