Building community one page at a time: The power of professional book clubs

As a lifelong learner, nothing excites me more than a book club. I find pure joy in a rich community of people with different perspectives coming together to have meaningful conversations around a particular topic.

Pierce PR launched a new professional development book club this year that brings team members together to discuss books on topics such as leadership, culture, time management and organization, as well as miscellaneous topics such as creativity and mental health. As a relatively new team member, the book club was a fantastic way to get to know my colleagues beyond working with them on day-to-day projects.

For our first book, we read The Six Types of Working Genius. We each took a quiz that matched us with our working geniuses, or areas where you’re naturally gifted, our working competencies, or areas where you’re capable and don’t mind doing, and our working frustrations, or areas where you aren’t naturally gifted and don’t derive energy or joy from. The book taught us about all six geniuses and how they can work together to maximize joy and fulfillment, increase productivity, and boost morale.

We created a map using everyone’s quiz scores to outline how the group can work together – taking advantage of natural gifts and ideally minimizing time spent on areas of frustration. For me, discernment and enablement are my gifts while invention and wonder are my frustrations. Using this tool was incredibly helpful, as it affirmed how I can quickly evaluate ideas and assess strategy and also that I derive joy from helping my team. It validated why I may need extra time to ensure I’m in the right headspace to really tap into my creativity. From a wider perspective, it helped the group easily identify who to go to as a strong resource in each area. The map also helped us identify gaps for future hiring.

My first reaction to this book was how grateful I was to be at a company that values each person and recognizes that we all have unique gifts that we bring to the table. Rather than focusing on areas of improvement, as you typically do in the standard review process, this book club gave each person an opportunity to speak into what they do well. Not only that, but our leadership and operations team approached this with an open mind, willing to have conversations about how we can make changes and be sure everyone is properly using their gifts to ultimately be fully engaged. For me, creating a book club and making space for these conversations was a major motivator in my engagement.

How can you implement a company book club that empowers teams and strengthens community? Here are a few tips from my experience to get started: 

• Allow it to be a group effort: There is always stronger engagement and buy-in when you allow people to have input on their work. We now have a running list of books to choose from, which every team member has access to and can make recommendations on what they’d like to read next. Our book club is also optional so that people can decide if they have the space to add this to their plate. This approach gives them the freedom to sit it out if the topic is not something that interests them, along with the flexibility to hop back in for the next study.
• Decide on appropriate timing: Personally, I can get incredibly excited about the idea of a book club but then overwhelmed with the actual reading. We decided to do these on a quarterly basis, allowing for breathing room between studies and providing ample time to read the assigned book before the team meeting. This also allows reflection time for the content to fully sink in rather than jumping right into a new study. 
• Create a fun environment: In the age of Zoom, it’s so easy to hop on another call. Choosing a fun location to meet in person if possible removes the screen barrier that naturally disconnects people and creates a fun atmosphere that builds community and allows for meaningful conversations. Nothing brings people together like food, so scheduling this over a meal like a breakfast or lunch allows people to view this as something special and not just another meeting. 
• Appoint a moderator: We had a book club leader who put together a list of questions and sent them out ahead of our meeting so we could come prepared. While our group would’ve had no trouble filling the conversation, this was a great way to stay intentional and make the best use of our time together. The leader guided us through these questions and made sure every person had an opportunity to share. 
• Respect all voices: One of the big benefits of a book club is that it brings together lots of different perspectives. Creating a safe space where all voices are valued is imperative to building a strong culture and community that empowers people to speak up and share their thoughts.

We thankfully are at a point in time where people can show up more fully in the workspaces as their authentic selves. By creating nurturing environments and providing resources like book clubs where team members can refine their skills, learn from each other, and ultimately have fun and build community, work becomes more meaningful and people become more engaged.

Amelie Smith is an Account Manager at Pierce Public Relations.