April Wensel

Founder of Compassionate Coding (@compassioncode), Engineering Leader, Keynote Speaker, Ultra Runner, Ethical Vegan, https://t.co/51evktcmcy

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Book Recommendations:

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Recommended by April Wensel

Congrats, Sarah! Sarah’s a proponent of mindful, compassionate leadership, so I know this book will have great insights. https://t.co/eMjaJG69Kj (from X)

In Lead Upwards: How Startup Joiners Can Impact New Ventures, Build Amazing Careers, and Inspire Great Teams, startup marketing leader Sarah E. Brown delivers an illuminating and accessible guide to maximizing your impact and delivering results in a startup leadership role. The author draws on over a decade of experience scaling SaaS companies as she explains how to prepare for, earn, and succeed in an executive role at a startup company. The book describes every step on the way to realizing your goals―and the goals of your startup―as you navigate the gap between a management role and the executive team. It covers what to do in your first 90 days, how to build and sustain a healthy team culture, and the art of communicating results to your leadership team and board. You’ll also learn: How to manage the challenges posed by leading a remote, distributed, or hybrid teamManagement strategies based on inclusive and diverse teambuilding, alignment with business objectives, and inspirational leadershipEffective ways to level up your skills and stay current as your company grows A must-read book for current and aspiring executives at startup firms, Lead Upwards will also earn a place on the bookshelves of startup board members, founders, funders, and managers seeking a singularly insightful discussion of business leadership.

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Recommended by April Wensel

One of my favorite quotes from the book Clearing Emotional Clutter. Photo from today’s hopeful hike. Go outside, save lives. (from X)

A Fresh Start to a Healthy Emotional Life Is emotional clutter blocking success in your personal and professional life? You’ve likely heard about the psychological benefits of clearing out the clutter in your surroundings, but how do you handle your emotional clutter — the psychological version of the jam-packed closet or impenetrable garage? Shutting away and trying to hide old pains and traumas creates toxic patterns that can keep you from having the life of your dreams. Integrating mindfulness and cutting-edge neuroscience, international mindfulness expert Donald Altman teaches how to modify entrenched habits and patterns with only a few minutes of attention daily. Altman first helps you realize what your baggage consists of and how to transform or jettison it. He then shows how to avoid the daily danger of accumulating new emotional clutter. No matter how fraught your life or relationships may be, you can cleanse, heal, or accept the old wounds, mistakes, and disappointments. With Altman’s lifestyle tools, you’ll discover how to address your past, better deal with the present, and cultivate the best possible future. Start fresh with Clearing Emotional Clutter.

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Recommended by April Wensel

@amyvpellegrini I really liked a book called Difficult Conversations. I also love the book Nonviolent Communication for conflicts. (from X)

Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most book cover

Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen, Roger Fisher(you?)

From the Harvard Negotiation Project—which brought you the megabestseller GETTING TO YES—this practical guide will help you handle your most difficult conversations with confidence and skill Whether dealing with an underperforming employee or a challenging colleague, disagreeing with your spouse about money or child-rearing, negotiating with a client, or simply saying "No," "I'm sorry," or "I love you," we attempt or avoid difficult conversations every day. No matter how competent we are, we all have conversations that cause anxiety and frustration. This book can help. Based on almost thirty years of research, Difficult Conversations walks you through a step-by-step approach for how to have your toughest conversations with less stress and more success. You'll learn how to: • Decipher the underlying structure and challenge of every difficult conversation • Raise tough issues without triggering defensiveness • Manage strong emotions—yours and theirs • Keep your balance no matter how the other person responds • Get to the heart of the matter in ways that promote learning and build relationships Filled with examples from everyday life, this third edition is thoroughly updated and addresses issues such as race, culture, gender, power, social media, and communicating via technology as we talk to one another across the world—and across worldviews. With constructive communication an ever more critical need in personal, professional, and public life, Difficult Conversations is a classic you will turn to again and again for powerful, practical advice.

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Recommended by April Wensel

Compassion can be fierce! Women’s anger can be a powerful force for good. “Anger is the emotion that best protects us against danger, unfairness, and injustice…” For more on this, check out @GreaterGoodSC’s article about the book Rage Becomes Her. https://t.co/SIwBbm7mmF (from X)

***A BEST BOOK OF 2018 SELECTION*** NPR * The Washington Post * Book Riot * Autostraddle * Psychology Today ***A BEST FEMINIST BOOK SELECTION*** Refinery 29, Book Riot, Autostraddle, BITCH Rage Becomes Her is an “utterly eye opening” (Bustle) book that gives voice to the causes, expressions, and possibilities of female rage. As women, we’ve been urged for so long to bottle up our anger, letting it corrode our bodies and minds in ways we don’t even realize. Yet there are so, so many legitimate reasons for us to feel angry, ranging from blatant, horrifying acts of misogyny to the subtle drip, drip drip of daily sexism that reinforces the absurdly damaging gender norms of our society. In Rage Becomes Her, Soraya Chemaly argues that our anger is not only justified, it is also an active part of the solution. We are so often encouraged to resist our rage or punished for justifiably expressing it, yet how many remarkable achievements would never have gotten off the ground without the kernel of anger that fueled them? Approached with conscious intention, anger is a vital instrument, a radar for injustice and a catalyst for change. On the flip side, the societal and cultural belittlement of our anger is a cunning way of limiting and controlling our power—one we can no longer abide. “A work of great spirit and verve” (Time), Rage Becomes Her is a validating, energizing read that will change the way you interact with the world around you.