Survive and Thrive as a Library Director: Part 2 (Nov/Dec 2016)

Survive and Thrive: Staff

December 5, 2016

Comments from last week? Anything you changed or began?

• Type in the chat space

First: prioritizing• Know your style, community and staff• Know your goals, know your resources,

follow or adjust the strategic plan• What really needs YOU? • Color code your week if you’re a visual

person• Leave a meeting with no assignment

other than following up

Library staff:Put yourself in their shoes• Meet with teams• Your good/bad supervisors• What do they think they will do at work

each day?• How supported are they?

Key attributes of a director that make the best staff

• Has vision• Is ethical• Is consistent• Is fair• Gives continuous feedback• Prepares them for what’s next

Bonus slide: Predictions on what is “next”

• Circulation staff will need to become either tech savvy or reader’s advisors or customer service representatives

• Reference staff will need to learn how to teach and the art of conversation

“It’s better to lose a book than a patron.”

“It’s about the conversation first,

linking to resources second.”

Communicating the mission

“The library’s mission is to promote the joy of lifelong learning, stimulate curiosity, support the exchange of ideas, and provide a welcoming gathering place for our community.” (Newtown, CT)

Poll time!

1. How many of you have a mission statement you are proud of?2. How many of you have a strategic plan you are proud of?

Their role in the missionGetting staff to “get” the vision—they have to own it and see themselves in it.

You have to speak at a high level and outline concrete actions at the same time. Remember the N and the S types. You likely have more S than N.

You should always be in hiring mode

• Base hiring on your strategic plan• Hire for the future, not the present• Is the org chart in sync with the plan?• Recruitment techniques• Try-out opportunities• Hire people first, skills for positions second

How to select

• Identify (resumes, referrals, personal observation, etc)

• Interview• Observe• References• Take your time

The interview

• Don’t use questions they can practice• Set up practical situations• Stress the desire and capacity to learn• Watch for empathy

Beware

Make sure you know what NOT to say.

Sleep on it

You will make mistakes

We hire for skills and fire for attitude.

“On boarding”

Welcome them, orient them, invest in them. (but pay attention to the probation period)

How to deal with who you inherited

Get to know them better to uncover talents or discover their future plans.

Have them tell you a couple of things

about themselves:

• What would someone be surprised to learn about you?

• What have you learned to do recently away from work?

For new directors

1.       What shouldn't I change and why?2.       What are the 3 most important things to

change & why?3.       What do you hope I'll do?4.       What are you afraid I'll do?5.       Is there anything else I need to know?

• Don’t be fooled by the E’s• Look hard for the ISJ’s=work• Look for loyalty• Look for shared vision, different skills

Identifying your staff strengths

Model the behavior you expect

Poll time!

Do you have someone you have to say “goodbye” to?

Problems can occur when power is

concentrated in the wrong places or badly dispersed

You’re only as good as your weakest link

• Solve one and the next pops up• Everyone is counting on YOU to

solve it• Expect fallout after you do

They can be like adolescents

Hard to get them separated so they can act singularly. Help them to do that. Like bus drivers with time between runs. Don’t give them time together!

Dispel myths and past rules

“But we used to…”“No one told ME that policy changed”

The person least invested in your vision will be the most likely to use those words.

Be their union!

Know your management rights clause

A contract can be their excuse and your crutch. Know it cold and put it away.

Have staff blanket the community

Helping managers

Your biggest staff challenges

• Keep close to them• Make them advisors• Give them time and attention

Your biggest worries

• Who is handling the finances?• Who is saying what directly to public?• Who has personal relationships with

key people like board members?

Watch out for:

• Showing favorites• Telling them more than they are

able to handle• Feelings of frustration

Think of the worst that could be said about you.

“You must be hard to work for”

Who me???

Poll time!

1. Do you have an evaluation process?2. Are you happy with it?

Evaluations and the Strategic Plan

• Stick to the strategic plan as a guide• Use situational management• Continuous feedback=no surprises• Document, document, document

Evaluations, cont’d.

• Practice what you’ll say• How you evaluate your

managers will be the way they evaluate their staff

• Choose the right location

Cherish every one

• Everyone has a gift. Bring it out. • Know what motivates them. • Give each a role that’s unique

One staff, one library

Homework:Make a list of staff who you don’t know well or haven’t had

contact with

Ask for feedback on one or two things

you could do to be even better.

Reminders: 1. send me your photos2. make your second

1-on-1 appointment

The Front Row Culture by Seth Godin

The group files into the theater, buzzing. People hustle to get to the front row, sitting side by side, no empty seats. The event starts on time, the excitement is palpable.

The other group wanders in. The front row is empty and stays that way. There are two or even three empty seats between each individual. The room is sort of dead.

In both cases, the CEO or the guest speaker is going to address the group for an hour. But the two groups couldn't be more different.

The first organization sees possibility, the second sees risk and threat. The first group is eager to explore a new future, the second group misses the distant past. 

The truth is this: it's possible to hire for, train for and lead a front-row organization. And if you merely let entropy take over, you're going to end up with the second, lesser, failing organization instead.

It’s worth saying this as clearly as possible: The culture, the choice of front row or back row, is a choice. It's the result of investment and effort.

Where would you rather work?