Idea for Encouraging Team Connection: Start a Book Club
Encouraging team connection is one of the most vital principles of infusing a thriving culture into your organization. A book club is an easy way to facilitate this, with like-minded team members gathering and bonding over a shared experience.
At the firm I work with, Actualize, we’ve had numerous versions of book clubs over the years, and we’re just getting ready to begin another. Here are some tips on how you can start a book club within your organization (or even with a group of friends or family):
1.) Survey the team on the frequency and types of books to explore. (We landed on quarterly after discovering it was too hard to keep up with reading one book a month.)
2.) Choose a club leader with co-leaders to manage each book’s selection,
check-ins, and discussion sessions. This encourages participation and allows others to share the ownership.
3.) Invite the team to select the next book via a brief survey listing several potential books, after asking for new recommendations. The majority vote determines final selection.
4.) Choose a time to discuss the book. Be sure to send a list of questions* before the meeting so everyone is prepared to participate. (We identified this pre-discussion list of questions as a best practice to focus our time together.)
If your team is remote and you cannot meet in person, either have a conference call or utilize a video conference technology, such as Zoom, to make the meetings more personal.
*Sample Questions:
What is the significance of the title? How did you interpret it prior to reading the book? Were you pulled effortlessly into the book, or did you have difficulty getting into it? Why? What have you gained from reading this book?
5.) Summarize key points from the book and distribute these to the entire firm. This strategy may entice new members to join!
What are some of your favorite books or experiences with book clubs? I would love to hear from you to help us get our book club back in session!
