Leadership in Academic Leadership in Academic LibrariesLibraries

Paula KaufmanJuly 7, 2011

Think about Library Leaders Think about Library Leaders You Have KnownYou Have Known

• What attributes did they have?What attributes did they have?

• What did they do?What did they do?

• What did they not do?What did they not do?

Leadership vs. ManagementLeadership vs. Management

• Leadership – Leadership – directly and directly and indirectly influencing indirectly influencing people to cause changepeople to cause change

• Management –Management –effective effective utilization of resources to utilization of resources to achieve organizational achieve organizational goalsgoals

Comments from Seasoned Comments from Seasoned LeadersLeaders

““Fundamental change is more likely through Fundamental change is more likely through effective leadership than managementeffective leadership than management””

““Effective leadership is based on valuesEffective leadership is based on values””

““Effective leadership can change the culture of Effective leadership can change the culture of an organization, management cannotan organization, management cannot””

Leaders instill in their staff hope Leaders instill in their staff hope for success and belief in for success and belief in

themselves. Positive leaders themselves. Positive leaders empower people to accomplish empower people to accomplish

their goalstheir goals

Leading the LibraryLeading the Library

• Learn and understand the culture of the University and the library

• Understand the valuesvalues of the University and the Library

Know YourselfKnow Yourself• Why did you take the Why did you take the

position?position?• What is your decision What is your decision

style?style?• What are your strengths?What are your strengths?• What do you fear most?What do you fear most?• How will you measure How will you measure

success?success?• How will you stay fresh?How will you stay fresh?

Practical StepsPractical Steps

• Read reports and other materialsRead reports and other materials

• Meet with staffMeet with staff

• Familiarize yourself with library and campus Familiarize yourself with library and campus culture/context/processesculture/context/processes

• Identify issues, aspirations, concerns, Identify issues, aspirations, concerns, perceptionsperceptions

• Maintain an open mindMaintain an open mind

• Find a mentorFind a mentor

EVERYTHING IS EVERYTHING IS INTERCONNECTEDINTERCONNECTED

• Management decisions Management decisions are financial decisions are financial decisions and vice versaand vice versa

• Library servicesLibrary services

• Recruitment/retentionRecruitment/retention

• Fund-raisingFund-raising

Managing and Leading the Managing and Leading the UIUC LibraryUIUC Library

Organization structureOrganization structure• LibrariesLibraries• AdministrationAdministration

• Centralization in a decentralized environmentCentralization in a decentralized environment

• DivisionsDivisions• Administrative CouncilAdministrative Council

UIUC LibraryUIUC Library’’s Missions Mission

• Central to intellectual life of UniversityCentral to intellectual life of University

• Enhances UniversityEnhances University’’s mission by s mission by providing and stewarding collections providing and stewarding collections and content and by offering a wide and content and by offering a wide array of servicesarray of services

UIUC LibraryUIUC Library’’s Mission s Mission

• Advance UniversityAdvance University’’s goals by ensuring s goals by ensuring unfettered access to information and by unfettered access to information and by providing a network of expertise that providing a network of expertise that ensures value, quality, and authenticity of ensures value, quality, and authenticity of information resourcesinformation resources

• Integrate and manage knowledge to Integrate and manage knowledge to enable learning and the creation of new enable learning and the creation of new knowledgeknowledge

UIUC LibraryUIUC Library’’s Missions Mission

• Will be worldwide engaged leader and Will be worldwide engaged leader and information and knowledge broker information and knowledge broker through our collections, services, new through our collections, services, new technologies, collaborations and technologies, collaborations and strategic thinkingstrategic thinking

• Remain stewards of high quality Remain stewards of high quality informationinformation

• Enhance our role as educators and Enhance our role as educators and teachers of information literacy in all teachers of information literacy in all formatsformats

• Sustain an environment that supports Sustain an environment that supports and advances pursuit of excellenceand advances pursuit of excellence

• Embrace change while balancing it with Embrace change while balancing it with continuitycontinuity

VisionVision

VisionVision

• Building upon a rich heritage, the Building upon a rich heritage, the Library seeks to maintain a strategic Library seeks to maintain a strategic position as an institution of worldwide position as an institution of worldwide preeminence that offers unparalleled preeminence that offers unparalleled opportunities for intellectual opportunities for intellectual explorationexploration

Guiding ValuesGuiding Values

• Accept nothing less than excellenceAccept nothing less than excellence

• Provide services and content that Provide services and content that advance the endeavors of faculty, advance the endeavors of faculty, students, and primary external students, and primary external constituenciesconstituencies

UIUC Library Guiding ValuesUIUC Library Guiding Values• Address needs and opportunities of Address needs and opportunities of

diverse and increasingly global, diverse and increasingly global, interconnected, constituencies interconnected, constituencies through: through: • services we offer services we offer • scholarly content we make availablescholarly content we make available• instruction we provideinstruction we provide• engagement with external communitiesengagement with external communities

UIUC Library Guiding ValuesUIUC Library Guiding Values

• Speed the transformation of the current system of scholarly communication to one that advances the distribution of knowledge through more affordable and accessible methods

UIUC Library Guiding ValuesUIUC Library Guiding Values

• Create a nimble and adaptive Create a nimble and adaptive institutioninstitution

• Protect our usersProtect our users’’ rights to privacy and rights to privacy and freedom of thought and expression in a freedom of thought and expression in a free and open societyfree and open society

"Any people that would give up liberty for a little temporary safety deserves neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin

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New Service ModelsNew Service Models

• Build on traditional strengths (including Build on traditional strengths (including the depth of our collections and the the depth of our collections and the quality of our services) to ensure that quality of our services) to ensure that Illinois remain as much a leader in the Illinois remain as much a leader in the provision of library services in the provision of library services in the twenty-first century as it was twenty-first century as it was throughout the twentieth.throughout the twentieth.

Faculty GovernanceFaculty Governance

• One facultyOne faculty

• Executive CommitteeExecutive Committee

• Broad-based participationBroad-based participation

Advisory CommitteesAdvisory Committees

• Senate Committee on the Library Senate Committee on the Library –– mandated committeemandated committee

• Student Advisory CommitteeStudent Advisory Committee

Leadership ChallengesLeadership Challenges

• Effectiveness and relevancyEffectiveness and relevancy• New servicesNew services• Collaboratinos and partnershipsCollaboratinos and partnerships

• TerritorialityTerritoriality

• Advancing a vision bigger than any Advancing a vision bigger than any individual library: Library with a capital Lindividual library: Library with a capital L

• MoraleMorale

• Financial Resources Financial Resources

ATTITUDE MATTERSATTITUDE MATTERS

• Positive, supportive, empowering – Positive, supportive, empowering – share information and engender trustshare information and engender trust

• Reduce conflict and competition by Reduce conflict and competition by role modeling respectrole modeling respect

• Communicate values and principles Communicate values and principles that characterize how you will that characterize how you will function through examples function through examples

ATTITUDE MATTERSATTITUDE MATTERS

• Distinguish criticism from critical Distinguish criticism from critical analysis - analysis - ““blame and complainblame and complain””

• DonDon’’t overreact – people have t overreact – people have opinions and different personalitiesopinions and different personalities

• DonDon’’t delay difficult decisionst delay difficult decisions

• Rumors are important to understand Rumors are important to understand and addressand address

OUTLINE A OUTLINE A CLEARCLEAR VISION VISION FOR THE FUTUREFOR THE FUTURE

• Identify barriers and facilitators for Identify barriers and facilitators for achieving the visionachieving the vision

• Include key individuals that who will Include key individuals that who will support changesupport change

• Begin consensus building and unit Begin consensus building and unit refinements of the visionrefinements of the vision

• Build shared vision with deliberate speedBuild shared vision with deliberate speed

OUTLINE A OUTLINE A CLEARCLEAR VISION VISION FOR THE FUTUREFOR THE FUTURE

• Reward behaviors that contribute to Reward behaviors that contribute to achieving the vision/goals/values achieving the vision/goals/values publiclypublicly

• Link individual goals to group goals Link individual goals to group goals

• Facilitate collaborationFacilitate collaboration

DEALING WITH RESISTORSDEALING WITH RESISTORS

• Spend time to understand their Spend time to understand their concernsconcerns

• Define consensus clearly & make Define consensus clearly & make decisions transparent decisions transparent

• Do not empower their position Do not empower their position

• Make true merit decisionsMake true merit decisions

A Leader is a Coach for all A Leader is a Coach for all StaffStaff

Good staff are key to Good staff are key to meeting librarymeeting library’’s goalss goals

Determine best ways to Determine best ways to involve staff in setting and involve staff in setting and meeting goalsmeeting goals

Measure performance Measure performance objectively against progress objectively against progress towards goalstowards goals

• Talk to colleagues holding similar Talk to colleagues holding similar positionspositions

• Try to be fully informed before making Try to be fully informed before making decisions and remain transparentdecisions and remain transparent

• Remember what is said and what is Remember what is said and what is heard might be differentheard might be different

• Suspend negative judgments as much as Suspend negative judgments as much as possiblepossible

THE LONG HAULTHE LONG HAUL

• Role model desired behaviors Role model desired behaviors

• Cultivate distributed leadership Cultivate distributed leadership through influencing othersthrough influencing others’’ decisions decisions

• DonDon’’t worry about who is getting credit t worry about who is getting credit – celebrate together– celebrate together

• Challenge yourself and others to Challenge yourself and others to ““figure out a way to get therefigure out a way to get there””

THE LONG HAULTHE LONG HAUL

THE LONG HAULTHE LONG HAUL

Distinguish temporary setbacks from the Distinguish temporary setbacks from the need to revise goalsneed to revise goals• Communicate Communicate • Encourage & supportEncourage & support• Revise methodologies & processesRevise methodologies & processes

Identify potential leaders and create plan Identify potential leaders and create plan to develop their skillsto develop their skills

Enjoy the difference you are making!Enjoy the difference you are making!

Your Success as Leaders is Your Success as Leaders is Measured Measured

by the Success of Othersby the Success of Others

Create an environment that fosters achievementCreate an environment that fosters achievement