Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Reading is Fundamental

By Jeff Schoeneberg

Most career development happens on the job as a direct result of experiences from projects, coaching sessions, even observing someone else’s work performance. The manner in which one absorbs that experience is highly dependent on personal context – personal experiences, personal knowledge, and (perhaps most importantly) personal attitude. The greater the context one has, the more likely one is able to turn any experience into personal growth.

Continuous learning is a great way to expand context. It enhances knowledge and can provide a new lens through which to evaluate experiences. Many people enhance their development by reading books focusing on personal growth, business management, and technical skills. To that end, we have some book recommendations that we have found to be valuable in this regard.

Change Management:
Leading Change (John Kotter, Harvard Business Press) and The Dance of Change: The Challenges to Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations (Peter Senge et al, Doubleday) are two books which, in combination, provide a great framework for understanding the mechanics and demands of change management. Kotter’s book provides an 8-step model for effective change, and also discusses common mistakes. It is a valuable guidebook for anyone trying to move their team from point A to point B. Ultimately, however, change is quite a bit messier than Kotter’s model suggests.

Senge (perhaps best known as the author of The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization) embraces the mess. He describes the many ways change efforts can lose momentum, detailing real-life experiences in sustaining organizational change. His assertion, “organizations have complex, well-developed immune systems, aimed at preserving the status quo” is well substantiated by his excellent book.

Leading Change is packaged neatly and is very digestible. The Dance of Change is something you’ll need to spend some time and effort in absorbing. Both are well worth the read.

Teamwork:
Over a period of 15 years or so, Frank LaFasto and Carl Larson interviewed more than 6,000 team members across a variety of industries to find out what conditions help or hinder team success. Their conclusions are published in When Teams Work Best : 6,000 Team Members and Leaders Tell What It Takes to Succeed (Sage Publications). LaFasto and Larson reveal the factors that distinguish effective team members, the dimensions of team leadership, and steps to effective problem solving for teams. This is a good read for all members of a team, not just team leaders.

Leadership:
Leadership and Spirit (Russ Moxley, Jossey-Bass and the Center for Creative Leadership) is a very different book than you’ll see on the business best seller list. It does not focus on driving business results, directly. There are no catchphrases or nifty allegories. The purpose of the book is to…well, I’ll just let the author tell you in his own words:
“By personality, preference, and temperament, I prefer data and truth that can be known through one or more of my senses. I am logical and rational. But slowly and over time, as I reflected on my own experience and paid attention to the experience of others, I have come to believe that there are truths that cannot be empirically proven, truths about effective leadership that we have too long ignored. One of those truths is that our practice of leadership either suffocates or elevates spirit.”

This is a powerful book.

We hope you make an effort to read these books and would enjoy your thoughts on them. And if you just can’t make it through Chapter 1 of a business book without falling asleep, never fret. Find the learning mechanism that works best for you. The important thing is to learn and have fun in the process.

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