Thoughts on Leadership

Every time I run across an article or post I want to incorporate into my blog I save it in a folder.  Today I looked at the hodgepodge of items in that folder and found three related to leaders and leadership, so I am throwing them all together in today’s post.

 

• How to Seize Your Greatest Opportunities on Leadership Freak discusses how obstacles are opportunities:  “Great leaders face great challenges and solve great problems. . .  Leaders without obstacles are ships without wind.”  This is an “aha” statement for me.  Instead of turning away from obstacles, I’m going to try to see them as opportunities.
• 10 Ways To Ensure Your Business Success As A Leader from Ed Robinson’s blog is a no-nonsense look at how to be a leader:  “I often tell my clients that business is simple but people complicate it.  There are a few basic things every leader can do which will increase his/her effectiveness right away.”  I am glad to see some of my old friends here (mission statement, strategic planning, careful hiring practices) but there are other things in his list of 10 I don’t always think of.
• 4 Steps to Becoming a Transformational Leader from The Fast Track describes transformational leadership as “a process in which leaders and followers help each other to advance to a higher level of morale and motivation.”  This seems to be taking leadership skills to a higher level, and I find the topic and the post intriguing.

 

And there you are—three posts today that I hope will enhance your skills as a leader.  Please share other ideas with me!

 

Star pencil (Photo credit: @Doug88888)

 

You Can’t Go Wrong With Chocolate!

So, today’s post isn’t really about chocolate, except tangentially.  But maybe I grabbed your attention.  Which is really what it is all about.

The Illinois Libraries Matter post on Are you Talking to Yourself made me re-think what I’ve been telling libraries about social media.  I use to say, what a great way to remind people “storytime begins in 10 minutes” or “join us tomorrow for our gigantic book sale,” and so on, but the post suggests such a message “is easy to post, but it’s not compelling, it’s not a conversation starter. It is simply pushing an advertising message.” Instead, “it’s time to refocus. It’s not about talking AT your community; it’s about talking TO your community.”

So OK, if like me you are asking “and just how do we do that?” go read the full post! But here’s a preview (and where the chocolate comes in):  The Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District promoted their One Book title via a YouTube video. When the author of the book saw a tweet about the video she quipped that she would give one M&M to everyone who checked out a copy of the book from the library.  Thus was born the campaign Check Out for Chocolate, shared via social media.  More than just passive messages, “The online conversation generated buzz and became something for customers and staff to talk about offline!”

English: A pile of plain M&M’s candies. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Something to Think About!

Two posts on being a boss, or manager, or whatever term you’d like to use, make some really useful points.

Are You Cut Out to Be a Boss by Alison Green of AskAManager cautions: “Starting to think you might be ready for a management role? Before you make the move, make sure you’ve thought through what it really takes to be a manager. Parts of the job are painfully hard, and the role isn’t for everyone.”

So do think about some of those hard things, and whether want to, or will be able to not only do them but do them well.   Things like:

• deliver criticism and have tough conversations
• make hard decisions about goals and priorities
• exercise authority with people older and more experienced than you
• represent the company even though you might disagree with a decision from above

Though it’s a different take on being a boss, 10 Ways You’re Annoying Your Employees describes “10 of the most common ways that managers frustrate and annoy their employees.”  It’s also by Alison Green—she gets around! This list includes:

• not being clear about what you want
• not dealing with problem employees
• not understanding what it takes for your employees to get their jobs done
• not keeping your word

Scream (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So, do you think you’re cut out to be a boss?  Do you think you can not annoy your employees?  Good for you!  Go to the head of the class!

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s the Real Issue?

Today’s post has to do with communication again, which I know I’ve addressed before.  But today’s topic is more specifically about communication about workplace problems or issues.

Often, when people tell us about something that’s worrying them, they talk “around” the topic. Counselors call it the “presenting issue.” It can be difficult for them to get right to the heart of the issue; or, they may not be clear and able to articulate what they are thinking and feeling. If you feel that concerns aren’t getting out into the open, use these questions that will help bring important clues to the surface.

If you encounter this particular communication problem, you might consider asking the type of questions suggested in this post on Tips to Pinpoint Real Issues at Work.

Communication (Photo credit: P Shanks)

Don’t Just Drift!

Sometimes in our lives it is OK, maybe even wise to just float.  Kick back, let the current take you wherever it will.  But usually this does not work in our professional lives.  Success doesn’t just “happen,” and organizations, including libraries don’t just “become” great.  Nope, Teams Do Not Drift to Greatness (another great blog post from Seapoint Center.)

Success, and greatness, don’t just happen.  You have to work at it.  And not surprisingly, this has to do with planning, which I’ve written about before.  You do need to have that vision, and core values.  You also need all the other things guest blogger Mark Miller lists, too, like resources, education, encouragement.

Look, I’m all for serendipity and I love it when a “happy accident” that I’m not even looking for just falls into my lap.  But in our libraries we can’t just sit back and wait for funding, or successful programs, or great staff, or whatever, to just happen.  We have to make greatness happen:  “Although the journeys are all unique, they all begin the same way – it starts with leadership. Leaders build high performance teams by ensuring their teams are strong. . . .”

As one of the comments on the post says ““Nobody ever reached the summit of Everest and said ‘oh wow, I never expected this’. You may not reach the summit even if you have the vision, but you certainly won’t accidentally stumble upon it.”

If you haven’t, please do start upon your path to greatness today.  You won’t get there by drifting.

Aerial view of Everest. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Listening to Your Community

I didn’t know that the library vendor Demco offers an online newsletter on their site.  I thought the article 5 Steps to Redefining Your Library was really well done.

It talks about surveying your community in a variety of ways:  “Leave your library. Go into the community and host forums in popular venues; meet with community leaders; conduct surveys in your library, on your web site, in partnership with local businesses, agencies and schools. The goal is to gather real-world, unbiased information.” Great advice!  And then, what to do with what you learn?  The article covers that too!–ending with “create lifelong library users”:

Your library has much to offer. Don’t leave it to chance for your community to find you. Reach out and bring them in your doors. Once there, they’ll be pleasantly surprised to discover your rich array of programs, services and spaces that will keep them coming back time and again.

Do read the article, and do see if any of the newsletter issues ring a bell with you.  Thank you, Demco!

(Photo credit: taylor library)

Connect2Compete: Check This Out!

If you haven’t already, check out Connect2Compete, an initiative to “help Americans access technology through three exciting offers: free digital literacy training, discounted high-speed Internet, and low-cost computers. To promote the work, Connect2Compete will create a national outreach campaign focused on the importance of technology to develop digital skills and find new opportunities.”

The section on Free Training does list public libraries—and if you offer computer training and your library isn’t listed, you can contact them to be added.  You may also want to check out the free resources on the site.

The outreach portion of the initiative has been piloted in San Diego, and is planned to expand to all 50 states.

What do you think?

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Content Overload

Content overload.  Here’s a topic we’re familiar with as librarians.  There is simply TOO MUCH STUFF out there, and libraries can’t possibly buy it all or make it all available.  There is also simply TOO MUCH STUFF for us to keep up with.

Max Maldre’s take on overload is interesting.  Maybe we should all be willing to learn more.

What we need is a nation that embraces learning. A nation whose corporations value learning by making it a requirement that ALL employees take classes at least once a year. We all claim that our children need a better education. Why stop learning when you graduate? As we do our jobs, we need to learning all the time.

A company will improve if it’s employees each do a better job than what they’ve done before. If we are all able to excel, then our country will excel.

Well, you know me, I think all library employees should keep learning, and should make use of at least one learning opportunity each year (not necessarily a class.)

What do you think?

information overload (Photo credit: verbeeldingskr8)

 

Are You Communicating Clearly?

Sometimes as managers, supervisors, library directors, we communicate with our staff in polite, collaborative ways (after all, we want everyone to like us!), when we really need to be more direct and make it more clear that we are not simply making a suggestion but directing staff to do a certain thing.

If you find you are having trouble communicating, or if your staff thinks you are simply making suggestions, you might find How Can You Communicate With More Authority helpful.

Be very clear in your language and your statements.  I will be interested to hear if you take this advice, and if it helps.

Communication (Photo credit: P Shanks)

10 Great Tips

Teacher Librarian Tips are actually for (new) school librarians, but I think they are pretty good tips for any librarian or library staff member.

Be sure to read the full article, but here are some of the tips:

• Assume the best.
• Be flexible.
• Set measurable goals.
• Build community.
• Publish and flourish.
• Be the solution.
• Balance old and new.

(Photo credit: thoth92)