I love World Book Day and frankly, every day is a book day for me as I’m a book obsessive through and through. With that in mind, I was delighted to be able to take part recently in the very first installment of the Institute of Leadership & Management’s Virtual Book Club. Leadership Development | The Institute of Leadership & Mgt (institutelm.com)

Hosted by the Institute’s very own Rodney Jones and Rebecca Martin, we were in conversation with multiply published author and Internationally sought after keynote speaker Jo Owen about his brand new book SMART Leadership: The Ultimate Handbook for Great Leaders ( Bloomsbury Publishing (UK ).

When I say multiply published, Jo has in fact written as many as twenty books based on his vast experience and expertise as a leader, which wonderfully have been translated into twenty-three languages. I’m aware as I write this evening, I can’t begin to list Jo’s many achievements in the world of pioneering business in such a way as to do them the justice they deserve, but suffice it to say, he has founded eight NGO’s including Teach First the educational charity aimed at addressing the lack of positive learning opportunities and outcomes for disadvantaged children and for which he was awarded an OBE. He’s also the only author to win the Chartered Management Institute’s Gold Award four times. So it was with much joy, anticipation and gratitude, we in the ILM’s Leadership Book Club, were able to receive Jo’s inspirational insights and cordial company last month.

I would like to come back another day soon, to say a little bit about Jo’s book and how helpful it is for anyone in their leadership journey, whether they are experienced leaders at the top of their game or like me, learning how to grow and develop their leadership skills in new directions.

I would like to say thank you again to Jo and everyone involved and to the Institute of Leadership and Management for yet another fabulous opportunity to learn and spend time with such a forward thinking and creative community of people.

The Institute’s Leadership Book Club meets once a month and March’s session is next Wednesday 8th – so check them out to join in!