By Patricia Trick

One thing that most leaders will agree on is that there is not enough time to keep up with leadership development. For the conscientious leader, the niggling pressure to keep up with the latest leadership literature can be a challenge. Choosing a book and finding the time to read may be significant barriers. After all, not all of us are motivated to go home and dive into reading that relates to work.

Or are we?

Last September, Calgary Laboratory Services (CLS) launched a pilot Leaders’ Book Club as a part of the leadership development program.  The selected books were “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell; “Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done” by Larry Bossidy and John Baldoni’s “Lead By Example”. As we navigated our way through the pilot, there were some surprises, a clear indication of the program’s success and some lessons learned.

The Surprises

The different visions and expectations as to how the discussions would unfold. During the first meetings, a lively debate ensued as to what the purpose of the meetings would be. There were two factions:

The discussion is a means to an end. One group felt strongly that the club should be for the purpose of enhancing their roles and relating the literature back to the workplace.

The discussion is an end to a means; discussions should be uninhibited by an obligation to tie the material back to the work place – rather, the act of gathering and engaging in itself is the “food” that leaders need to nourish their development.

Ultimately, the differing approaches were not mutually exclusive and the group gravitated towards tying the discussions to specific organizational issues and their role as leader. However, the group also acknowledged the benefits gained by simply coming together and engaging.

The hierarchy. Twelve members joined, including managers and executives. Unlike social book clubs, the playing field was not level.  The first meeting had its share of silent pauses and awkward moments.  This was quickly overcome by members of the executive participating, allowing their views to be challenged and positively reinforcing the managers’ contributions.

The courage to join the book club. It turned out that with the exception of HR staff, no one had previously belonged to a book club. People came not knowing what to expect, the format, protocols and book club etiquette.

The Outcome

At the end of the pilot, the feedback was positive. COO Paula Hall commented that she values “people coming from different parts of the organization to discuss what they thought was the most important message in the literature and how it could apply to our workplace.”

Many leaders were leery about finding the time to read the books. Sharon Lengsfeld, manager of chemistry, feels the book club structure “forces me to read leadership books…it was always a struggle to find the time.”

CLS Leaders have since incorporated some teachings from the literature into the workplace. For example, Gladwell tells how when Sesame Street first aired, the program suffered from low ratings. The creators did not junk their show; rather, they added Big Bird and the show ‘tipped’. By its 40th anniversary in 2009, Sesame Street was broadcast in over 120 countries. When grappling with floundering programs at CLS, we have since asked ourselves, “what is the Big Bird we need in order to salvage this?”

In his book, “Execution”, Larry Bossidy claims that “execution is a systematic way to expose reality and then to act on it.” He asserts that “most companies don’t face reality very well.”  Recently, a CLS team was working on a long overdue system redesign and through Bossidy’s wisdom, first tackled the most difficult questions that needed to be answered in order to move forward. As the team eventually conquered the toughest issues, they acknowledged, “we are now executing!”

Participants commonly indicated that they most valued the group discussions. Paula Hall stated that in retrospect, “I remember what came out of the discussion more than actually reading the book.”  Lengsfeld said upon hearing some of the key points others gleaned from the book, she thought “Wow, I never thought of that.” The program provided an opportunity for leaders to come together in an interactive and creative forum. Lengsfeld further commented, “It promotes continuous learning and it is good to interact with peers and colleagues in a different atmosphere.”

As a bonus, leadership skills were enhanced by using very little resources. As organizations continue to deal with the economic downturn and slashed budgets, this is an easy and low cost method to supplement leadership development.

As a result of the pilot’s success, a second book club will be introduced to CLS supervisors. They will cover last year’s line-up of books. Meanwhile, the senior leaders will embark upon a new selection of leadership literature. Moreover, Calgary Laboratory Services has proven that a workplace book club can be the impetus for leaders to go home and dive into work related reading, benefitting both themselves and the organization.

The Lessons Learned

• Spend more time upfront talking about the goals of the club and the purpose of the meetings. Create a safe environment by establishing a level playing field (as much as possible) for the discussion. Provide more information in advance around the purpose, ground rules, protocols, and process.
• Mix it up with books and journal articles. Alternate articles and books to allow for ample reading time in between.  A two month space in between meetings worked well.
• Send out the reading list and the schedule in advance. Ample notice, reinforced with regular reminders, helps to keep everyone on track and contributes to attendance levels.
• Maintain a cap of 12 participants.  This number of people allows for all to contribute to the meetings and assists with creating a safe environment.

Patricia Trick works with Calgary Laboratory Services, one of Alberta’s Top 50 Employers. The organization employs approximately 1800 employees, and is committed to providing quality of work life initiatives, meaningful work, leading edge technology and education incentives for our employees.

(PeopleTalk: Winter 2010)