Taped to the metal cabinet in my work cubicle is a list of tips to “Get Unstuck in 2018” that I printed from author and leadership expert Robin Sharma’s website two years ago. The reminders provide guideposts to help me lead by my best example. I’m struck by the similarities between Sharma’s advice for leaders and the pearls of wisdom for early childhood educators collected from Mr. Rogers of children’s television fame, further strengthening my belief that children’s librarians make the best leaders. Below are my favorite mashups from both experts, Robin Sharma (RS) and Fred Rogers (FR). I hope you find them as helpful as I have in rediscovering my center and redefining my values for guiding a team in the new year: Tip #1: RS: “Ordinary people talk about goals. Leaders get them done. With elegance, brilliance, and finesse.” (1) FR: “There’s a world of difference between insisting…
Category: Blogger Managing Children’s Services Committee
Staff Empowerment
My first position as a department head coincided with the opening of a new branch. It was hectic. Our branch was the first in a major capital building campaign, and it featured a lot of new technology. Besides different phones and fax machines, we also had an audio recording studio and a Smartboard. To top it off…we were short staffed. Just after the building opened, the head of children’s (I was teen at the time) left for a different position. Therefore, we had a lot of substitutes in the building for a few months, which was difficult because they were not comfortable with the new equipment. The department heads (me, the head of adult, and the branch manager) were running ragged. Not only were we doing our typical job and handling the high volume of visitors we faced the first 6 months, but we were constantly…
Family Engagement During Storytime: Shifting from Performer to Early Literacy Facilitator
Welcome to Ask ALSC, where the Managing Youth Services Committee asks leaders in children’s libraries to share their response to an issue or situation. We hope to showcase a range of responses to topics that may affect ALSC members. If you’d like to respond to today’s topics, or suggest a topic for the future, please leave a comment.
Leading Toward a Shared Vision and Common Purpose
Supervising a creative, project-driven team, I often tread a fine line between wanting to be a supportive ‘yes person’ and making strategic choices for how we allocate staffing and resources. It’s not always easy, for as David Maister says, “Strategy means saying no” (davidmaister.com). Three books are helpful when balancing intentional decision-making with motivating a team: Harwood, Richard. Stepping Forward: A Positive, Practical Path to Transform Our Communities and Our Lives. Austin, TX: Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2019. This new book by the founder of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation introduces seven principles of stepping forward to help communities find common ground, rebuild trust, expand circles of action, and develop a culture of ‘civic confidence’ for positive change. Harwood talks about the importance of stopping to listen, of having the courage and humility necessary to show up, to make those tough and intentional choices, and to remain open to…
Refinement: Growing in place
We just wrapped our last day of Summer Reading with our finale. As the festivities came to a close, several patrons asked about next month’s schedule of programs. “When does storytime start again? What’s going on tomorrow?” Youth Services work is often very cyclical and at times quite regimented. Certain programs are offered on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. At the same time, our work prompts us to look ahead in our planning, purchasing, and anticipating what’s next. While there is some comfort to be found in familiar patterns and repetition, how can we keep a fresh outlook and focus in on the present moment? Additionally, how can we ensure that we continue to grow professionally, adjust within our evolving roles, and meet the needs of our communities?
Children’s Librarians Are Experts at… Leading a Team
Gretchen Caserotti gave an inspiring keynote presentation at the 2017 Power Up Leadership Conference for Youth Services Managers and Staff about natural leadership traits inherent in children’s librarians. The comparison has crept into my thinking multiple times since. Using LLAMA’s Leadership and Management Competencies as a framework, it’s easy to see why children’s librarians are experts at leading a team. Change Management and Problem Solving Who hasn’t planned the most beautiful, age-appropriate story time for 4-5 year olds, only to be surprised by a room full of toddlers? Or sensed in the first pages of a story that you’re losing the wiggly kids in front of you? Children’s librarians are experts at flexibility and problem solving. We can improvise a Plan B, achieve buy-in, and motivate a group to follow our lead, breaking into song or dance when needed. We take risks, try new things, persuade others, and keep a sense…
Advice for New Managers
Everything I know about storytime I learned from Nancy. A veteran storyteller, Nancy carefully folded me into her programs during my first month on the job as a new librarian. First, I simply observed. Next, I was allowed to do a fingerplay. The next time, I did a fingerplay and read a book, and so on. After a while I was confidently leading the group on my own. That was not my experience when I became a manager.
Getting Back to Basics
As summer reading comes to an end, I breathe a sigh of relief and sadness. The fun and learning always continues at the library, but summer definitely brings its own unique hustle and bustle. However, autumn is a great time of year to refocus the mind and decide what goals you would like to accomplish before another summer reading planning season begins. For me, fall is often all about weeding. It’s a great time to really dig into the various collections in the children’s department and see what has been going out, what is falling apart, what has disappeared, and perhaps, what gaps you’ve noticed via reference questions over the summer. I feel at my most refreshed and ready for weeding in the fall. Honestly, it is cathartic to start digging into collections again in a way I definitely haven’t had time or energy for in the last four or…