My Kindle noted that I was 17% done reading Seth Godin’s book, Linchpin. The main thought running through my head was how freakin’ long of a build-up Seth was taking just to get to anything actionable in the book. He kept looping thoughts and popping into odd side tangents. Was I being too harsh on the book or would the rest of the Swift Kick team agree with me? I couldn’t wait to find out at our team book club lunch next week.
On the face of it, a team book club might seem like a waste of work time, but don’t be so quick to judge a book by its cover. It can be very beneficial and can lead to better relationships between coworkers. Plus, there’s always the option to branch out – if you’re all creative then why not select some story prompts and set the task of writing your own stories to read out to the group? If you’ve hired a bunch of like-minded people then it’s good to get them connecting over the same thing. There are many benefits of a team book club:
Team Bonding – Relationships are built on shared experiences. Hosting a team book club is a shared experience. Everyone on the team is reading the same book at roughly the same time. Then during the actual book club, the team is engaging in a conversation around a specific topic.
Shared Learning – A common practice in many larger organizations is to host regular professional development sessions. Topics can range from time management, to conflict resolution, to diversity. The benefit of a whole team training is that everyone walks away with a common language to continue to conversation and learning. There’s no reason shared team learning is reserved for only large organizations. A simple book club with as few as two or three people can create the same shared learning that is experienced by large organizations.
Positive Habit Integration – Considering that a large percentage of our life is spent within our professional work space, think about ways to shape your work environment to better cultivate positive life habits. I love reading, and I know most of the Swift Kick team loves reading too. When the idea of book club was initially suggested, I was all in, because I want my work life to reflect the same set of positive habits I try and cultivate outside of work.
As it turns out, the team shared many of the same opinions on Linchpin as I did. We disagreed and debated on a few points as well. In the end however, we walked away a little smarter, a little wiser, and a little more bonded to each other. Maybe a team book club is exactly what your team needs.
