Two weeks ago, I hosted the first “stop” on my virtual book tour in support of Teams That Meet The Moment.

The format was an Author Q&A, and you all brought some pretty great Qs! We covered content questions, practice questions, and even a few about my own writing experience.

Honestly, I had a blast. Nothing gets me more energized than being in a room (or Zoom) with a group of curious teaming enthusiasts.

One of the hottest topics was how exactly to start bringing exceptional teaming to your organization.

When writing TTMTM, I always said that the book was going to be for people who know work can be better, but need help with the elusive how.

So many of us have read the research, seen the case studies, and firmly believe that agile decision-making, open communication, purposeful meetings, and frequent reflection (among other things) are key to business success.

That’s why, with this book, I did my best to take established ideas and translate them to the level of application and practice.

Not hypotheticals, not vague promises. Actionable, road-tested practices that our clients use every day. I like to think of it as more of a toolbox than a book—a collection of useful ideas and habits that will improve the way you work.

So for you, reading this email, wondering to yourself, “How can I get started?”...let me break down one of my Q&A answers and hopefully give you the kickstart you need to take action today:

Q: How do you imagine this book being used in organizations?

A: My fantasy for how this book gets used is that a CEO sees the book in an airport, starts to read it, gets hooked, buys it for all their managers, and creates space for people to talk about it.

Now, fantasy aside, creating an opportunity for shared conversation is a great place to start. I’ve found that good teaming often happens in pockets, but people don’t have a shared language. But if managers gather to learn together, they can disperse the practices widely.

So, get a book club together. Get managers talking to each other about where they’re getting stuck, and then bring in the practices that fit their needs.

Part Two of the book, the decision-making section, is a pretty universal entry point. People often experience those tensions concretely in their day-to-day work.

A great, organic way to help people understand the power of the practices is to personalize them through case work. For example, you could introduce the idea of ‘Safe To Try,’ then have leaders look back at a recent decision and ask them, “How would a STT mindset have unlocked a different path for you?”

And finally, go where there’s energy! In every org, there are 10% of people who are like “this is my jam.” Find those people, convene a second book club with them, and see how the ideas scale.

Now, if any CEOs out there do find the book in an airport, let me know…I would love to see my fantasy come to life. But in the meantime, my best advice for kicking off shared learning is to find like-minded people and grow together.

If you’re interested in starting your own TTMTM book club, I’ve created a discussion guide you can download here to help you along. And if you’re interested in joining our next book tour session, scroll to the end of this email for more details.

Y’all are the secret sauce that makes these book tour stops so special, so I hope to see you again soon!

Karina Mangu-Ward

Partner, August Public

P.S. More to come soon on the “How To” of better teaming…be sure to keep an eye on my LinkedIn if you’re not following me already.

Ready for the next virtual book tour stop? Me too!

This one’s coming up at the end of the month, and I might be even more excited for it than the first.

We’ll be hosting a Better Teaming Workshop on August 27th inspired by the practices in the book. You come ready to work through a problem your team keeps stepping around, and I’ll help you tackle it.

This workshop is for anyone who believes work can be better, but needs help with the how.

Hit the button to register and add the invite to your calendar. I hope to see many of you there!