Looking back at the team building workshops that we’ve designed for our clients, one of the most cost-effective, yet impactful approaches has been with Book Clubs. The simplicity of its structure and the shared learning leads to some pretty impressive results. So how does it work?
CREATE A CULTURE OF LEARNING
One of the things that high performers tell me is that they want to continue to learn and grow. By setting a deadline in the calendar, reading becomes a priority and as a leader you are supporting a culture of learning and development.
GETTING STARTED
When the team arrives on site, they already have shared understanding of new concepts that will put them on the same page (pun intended)! Begin with one simple question and you are off. “What resonated with you the most?” This allows for everyone’s voice to be heard and will give you great insight to what makes the team tick.
THOUGHT PROVOKERS
Once everyone has had a chance to speak, introduce some thought-provoking, open-ended questions. Ideally you want to create healthy debate and some light-hearted discussion. Business guru, Jim Collins suggested that the difference between good teams and great teams is their ability to challenge one another. Since it’s someone else’s content, it depersonalizes the topic allowing for a softer, less confrontational approach.
DEEP DIVE
If you bring in a coach to facilitate, this is a great time for an exercise or breakout session. Divide the team into groups and send them off to a flip chart to explore one of the over-arching concepts of the book. Be sure to team them up with those they don’t typically work with to develop new connections.
PAPERBACK PUNCH
Finally, here’s where you’ll get the most punch for your paperback. Leave them with this question: “Given this new learning, how does this change the way that we do business?”
DON’T KNOW WHAT TO READ?
Contact us and we’ll send you our TOP TEN BOOKS for teams. Better yet, leave the whole thing to EDGE3, and we’ll show up with the books, the exercises and an amazing facilitator!
