Yesterday, I attended an #alamw18 preconference on collective leadership presented by Cassandra O’Neill. One of my biggest takeaways from this pre-conference is one that I think is super relevant to youth librarians. As she was talking about the process of implementing collection leadership techniques, Cassandra emphasized that things might not work the first time. And that’s okay. It’s okay to fail as long as you don’t give up, as long as you keep learning and trying. She suggested that this is a big idea to emphasize with staff as you’re making changes. It might not work right away. And that’s okay.
Librarians, and especially youth libraries, like to be excellent. We like to be great right away. And if you’re great right away, that’s fantastic. But if you try something new, something different, and you’re not great right away, that’s also okay. In fact, it’s expected. When we’re trying out new programs, developing new skills, or implementing a new system of doing something, it’s important to build the expectation that it might not work right away, but that’s not a reason to immediately abandon it and never try again.
So don’t be afraid to try something new and don’t be afraid to keep trying, even if you’re not great right away.