Trends in Library & Information Management and

Related Practices

Report by:

L. Base & A.Delgado

LIS 315: Management of Libraries and Information Centers

September 28, 2012

“Most U.S. corporations today are over-managed and underled.”

LEADERS

Vision

What could be

Align people

Motivate people

MANAGERS

Organization

What is

Assign people

Control people

Based on and adapted from John P.

Kotter article in Harvard Business

Review, December 2001

Leadership in the 21st Century

Leadership is an elusive concept. It is easier

to recognize than to describe in words.

There is a concern on how to identify

potential leaders and provide training they

need to perform successfully.

Managers should also be leaders, but leaders

need not be managers.

Leaders are made and not born.

3 Levels of Leadership

1. Individual - leader is mentor, coach,

motivator

2. Group - leader focuses on team-building

and resolving conflict

3. Leader builds an organizational culture

Modern leadership is focused on human

relations and is not reserved for those at the

top and not about control or manipulation.

Abilities leaders need

1. Attention: creating a compelling vision

2. Meaning: communicating the vision

3. Trust: the emotional glue that

binds followers to leaders

4. "Deployment of Self": applying

knowledge, persistence, and

risk-taking, commitment, and

challenge, along with the ability

to learn from failure

What we want from leaders

Purpose, trust, optimism, action, and

results.

They give staff freedom to do their job, have

a personal interest in them, and have

outgoing personalities.

They let staff be innovators and

allow them to make mistakes

along the way as long as they are

learning.

Post-heroic leadership

In the past, leaders were

heroes who have all the the

answers, followers go

along. The disadvantages

are dependent followers and a

the ‘perfect’ leader who can’t acknowledge

mistakes.

Post-heroic means shared power and flat,

participative organizations.

Before, After

5 Levels of Leadership

Executive

Effective Leader

Competent Manager

Team Member

Capable Individual

10 Facts of Life for 21st Century Leaders

1. The rules have

changed

2. Life is faster

3. Accelerating

change

4. Higher expectation

5. The culture is in

moral decay

6. Servant-leadership

is stretching

7. You are a limited

resource

8. Leadership is

draining

9. More is not the

answer

10.There is hope!

Future leaders will be...

Sensitive to diversity issues

Interpersonally competent

Skilled communicators and motivators

Community builders

Capable of well-aligned organizational

structures

Failure vs. Effective Leadership

Conflict avoidance

Oppression of

subordinates

Micromanagement

Inaccessibility

Manic behavior

Analytical

intelligence

Willingness to meet

challenges

Sociability

Receptiveness to new

ideas

Agreeableness

Dependability

Emotional intelligence

Issues & Case Studies

describes a management situation:

setting, organization, people

Case studies test our decision-making skills

and help us apply them to real situations

There is no right solution, a problem can be

solved in many ways

In analysing, note the factors that influence

the situation in individuals, groups, and the

environment. Think of solutions and their

likely results.

#1: The Internal Candidate

Caleb is frustrated that he wasn’t appointed as

associate director even he has worked here longer

than Cassie, who was chosen instead. Jack, the

library director, remains neutral. Soon, Caleb vs.

Cassie is affecting everyone in the library.

#1: Recommendations:

Cassie should acknowledge Caleb’s expected

frustration but propose they work together as

professional colleagues.

Jack could have prevented this by talking to

Caleb why they haven’t chosen him, based on

his performance and behavior.

Caleb must learn that advancement depends on

his responsibility for his own behavior.

Jack can look for other ways to encourage

Caleb

#2: It is obvious we don’t matter Peter, the new head of

the Serials, finds his staff

unresponsive to his

requests for suggestions.

He learns that they have

a silent conflict with the

librarians who take them

for granted. The staff

feels that they don’t

matter. How can Peter

change that?

#2: Recommendations:

Once on the job, the supervisor must work on

building rapport and trust. When asking for

input, explain consequences of ideas rejected

and accepted.

A recognition program like “Employee of the

Month” and post articles and pictures of his or

her accomplishments.

It is the librarians’ responsibility to bridge the

gap

#3: Let me do my job! Amanda feels that the board is

trying to take over. Olive, a

board member, hired an

unqualified applicant with no

library experience just

because they were close. They

don’t seem to follow policy.

Another board member wanted a friend’s

collection to be added to the library, unaware of

donation policies and required procedures.

What must Amanda do?

#3: Recommendations:

Amanda can contact a library association to

help conduct a training for board and staff,

and invite speakers such as a national librarian

and government official.

The differences of the board, the director, and

the staff should be clear.

Amanda is still a government employee who

needs to respond to community needs.

She should communicate more with the local

government officials, her real bosses.

#4: What is taking those people so long?

Walter, the reference librarian,

is complaining that needed

books stay too long in cataloging.

Mina, the cataloger, says that

say they take too long to ensure

quality bibliographic standards.

Walter thinks they are making

excuses as they only get most records in the

OCLC. The library director supports Mina.

#4: Recommendations:

Delia must create a strategic plan to reflect the

library’s goals and the patrons, not fight over whose

job is more important or whose training more

prestigious.

Everyone needs to understand better the work of

other employees. There can be a monthly meeting

where each person explains his work.

Mina must also be aware of users’ needs. Other

points about bibliographic standards can be put off

for later.

Direct confrontation intead of complaining to a

colleague solves many problems.

#5: Controlling Unruly Students

Joan, a librarian in a school library, has to solve

the problem of rude, unruly, and noisy students.

The attitude problem is also in the classroom, as

teachers have complained. She takes the issue to

the vice principal for discipline but she does not

want to send student after student to him. What

strategy must she implement to reclaim proper

behavor?

#6: Accepting a wealthy donor’s useless collection

In a community college library suffering budget

cuts, the library director Ana relies on fund-

raising. One day, the president says that a donor

is willing to give $500,000 if the library houses his

collection on Latin. Ana’s concern is

the books are not right for the college,

and they have not taught Latin for so

long. The college may gain money

but she is worried about the library’s

resources and facilities.

#7: Dealing with pornography in the library

Alan is assigned at the internet

stations of the reference section

of a public library. Access is

unfiltered because he opposes

censorship. But many patrons

are complaining about some

men accessing porn for all to

see. The director asked Alan to

solve it. He learns that a local

newspaper is interested in the

complaints. How can he stop it

before its too late?

#8: Succeeding an unfit director Colin is the new associate

director of a community

college library. Ken, the

current library director, had

neglected the library and left

staff with low morale. To

Colin’s surprise, the

president called and said

Ken was fired and Colin is

the new director. How can

he create a dynamic and

committed team?

CHALLENGE

The Leadership Challenge

There is a leadership crisis in society. In

government, education, corporations, and

even libraries, people are dissatisfied about

leaders and what kind of leadership they

want.

Few managers possess a

clear vision of the future

and the knowledge of how

to get from here to there.

Today: ‘Anti-authoritarian Age’ It is more difficult for to assume leadership

positions as people now are more likely to

question the leader's authority.

Today's leader must inspire confidence and

trust for followers who are likely to distrust

any kind of authority

A leader can’t please everybody, something

always fail to live up to expectations. (A

common pattern is to oust a leader and look

for another.)

Leadership is needed!

Many complain about the lack leadership in

society

There is a call for better and effective

leadership as the cure for the illnesses of

society and institutions, but...

“We believe in leaders and in leadership,

but… on a personal basis few of us want to

be led.”

Leadership Irony

When people's trust

are at its lowest and

those who are

supposed to be leaders

can't be trusted, when

people are tired, angry,

and cynical that a

society needs leaders

most to “transcend the

vacuum”. (Bennis)

People-centered Leaders

A new leadership style with management-

worker unity

The leader creates a vision and has the

practical ability to do it

A people-oriented leader

The leader from ‘cop to cheerleader’

Leaders are found in every level of the

organization, and they must encourage others

5 Practices of Exemplary Leadership

Conclusion

Effective leaders adapt

their style to the

situation. Choosing is

always a challenge.

In most modern

organizations, leaders

are found in all levels.

The idea of a leader as

the person only at the

top is outdated.

End. Thank you for listening! -Liza & Allana