We all want great staff at our libraries, yet many of us have found ourselves in frustrating situations with administration at our libraries. How do we, as managers, support youth services innovators, folks who embrace change and want to bring new, innovative programs and services to our libraries? How can innovators make their needs heard with their managers?
I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel of amazing youth services librarians, addressing these very issues. Managing the Future: Supporting Your Youth Services Innovators took place on Saturday morning and we had a great discussion about how managers can support youth services staff and what youth services staff can do to make their needs know when they feel like they’re not being supported.
You can follow the conversations we had at the Twitter hashtag #futureYS, and here are MY takeaways from the session (yes, I’m learning even from the session I’m presenting on…!):
For youth services employees seeking a change or new project:
- When meeting with your boss about implementing a change or starting a new project, come prepared with a bullet-pointed list of how it will work, a clear idea of what budget you need, and examples of successes (if it’s something that’s been tried at other places). All of this goes a LONG WAY towards getting a yes.
- Be open-minded about brainstorming. Your boss has more experience than you (or at least different experience than you!). And when your boss comes to you with a new idea, be open-minded about that, too.
- Don’t be discouraged if RIGHT NOW is not the time for your new idea. Play the long game. You have a long career ahead of you and plenty of time to do all the things you want to do. Hold on to your good ideas.
For youth services managers seeking to motivate and support staff:
- THINK YES. Get in the mindset of saying yes. If you cannot say yes immediately, don’t say no right away, but say you’ll think about it. (But then actually think about it and follow up!)
- Give your staff credit for their good work. Give them genuine praise to their faces, but also praise them to your director, your Board, your community. Don’t take credit for ideas that aren’t yours, but bask in the glow of having supported staff in achieving great things.
- Invite your staff to speak to the Board, the Rotary Club, other community stakeholders about the great work they are doing.
- Give employees a budget to manage, even if it’s a small one (for programming, any collection they are developing, a project they are doing). This gives them more ownership over their department.
- Have regular scheduled meetings to discuss ongoing projects, new ideas, etc. with your staff. Don’t just expect to manage them off the cuff. Show them you value their time by regularly giving them some of your time.
You can read more about the panel by checking out the Twitter hashtag #futureYS.
— Abby Johnson, Children’s Services Manager
New Albany-Floyd County Public Library
New Albany, IN