Library personnel productivity & leadership 2011

Discovering Connections, Connecting Discoveries

LIBRARY PERSONNEL PRODUCTIVITY & LEADERSHIP 2011

Prof. Salvacion M. Arlante

OUTLINE Introduction Good Library Management: Transformational

Leader Personnel as One of the Essentials of Good

Library Management Characteristics of Good Library Personnel Increasing Productivity of Library Personnel Becoming a Motivational Leader Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” -- Paul J. Meyer

A good library program leads to increased academic achievement and personnel productivity.

INTRODUCTION

Productivity is about change. It is about changing current management and work practices in all aspects of the global economy.

Change, by its very nature, requires that difficult decisions have to be made.

To arrive at a sound decision, one must have superior leadership skills.

GOOD LIBRARY MANAGEMENT: TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER

LeadershipIs a function of knowing yourself, having a vision that is well communicated, building trust among colleagues and taking effective action to realize your own leadership potential (Hernon and Rossiter, 2007, p. 4)


VisionHere is what we are Here is what we do Here is where we are heading

and Here is what is important and

unique about our Library


Effective transformational leaders Embrace change because it is necessary to

move library organizations forward Motivate and/or empower their followers in

the organization to work on a shared vision & implement that vision

Mentor/coach followers to deal successfully with the change process (Hernon and Rossiter, 2007)


Why do we need a transformational leader?Libraries are experiencing rapid change as

a result of the technological transformation of society, higher education & service delivery

However, library staff resist change & reforms because it can: Alter the status quo Advance new systems & styles Abort traditional paradigms Allocate more resources to emerging paradigms Announce radical & apparently unacceptable policies Appear unpredictable & therefore received with a lot of

fear


Change & reform in an organization are vital for scientific breakthrough & technological advancement, social transformation & institutional & organizational survival

PERSONNEL AS ONE OF THE ESSENTIALS OF GOOD LIBRARY MANAGEMENT

The management of people at work is an integral part of the management process.

To understand the critical importance of people in the organization is to recognize that the human element and the organization are synonymous.

A well-managed organization usually sees an average worker as the root source of quality and productivity gains.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD LIBRARY PERSONNEL

Level of Education and Training Technical Skills and Abilities

Acquired from education, training and experience

Indicates ability to use knowledge, methods and techniques in the performance of library tasks

Human Skills Ability to work with and through people Includes understanding of motivation and

application of effective leadership Conceptual Skill

Incorporates the ability to understand the complexity of the overall organization

INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY OF LIBRARY PERSONNEL

Motivation Job enrichment

Provides employees with an opportunity to grow psychologically and mature in a job

Increases a job’s range and depth, which refers to the number of activities and the autonomy, responsibility, discretion and control

Merit payPromotion


Motivation Flexible working hours

Flexible time is intended to ensure that the work of the organization is accomplished and permits library staff and their supervisors to establish work schedules that recognize individual and family needs.

Research indicates that flexible scheduling can be motivational in that job satisfaction is improved and absenteeism is reduced (Pears, 1989).

The ability to accommodate employee needs is a healthy and positive approach to motivation.


Performance Rating Benefits

CPE Affiliations with organizations and institutions

both local and foreign Tenure Application of ICTs to Library Processes

CRITICAL OBSTACLES TO PRODUCTIVITY

Bad planning Lack of basic (raw) materials to work with Equipment breakdown and poor machine

design Careless and dysfunctional working habits Occupational hazards and accidents Poor working conditions Inadequate production infrastructures

BECOMING A MOTIVATIONAL LEADER

Motivational leaders consistently demonstrate a number of qualities that develop gradually over time in response to successes and failure in achieving desired responses from others


Key Qualities of a Motivational Leader Knowledge and skills Effective communication of ideas Confidence Commitment (ability to translate the goal or

purpose and elicit actions) Energy (empower and fire the imagination of

others. The “high energy leader” who is effective in one situation may be viewed as “pushy & aggressive” in another situation.)


Key Qualities of a Motivational Leader Insight into the needs of others (acute

awareness of the reason behind events and an ability to anticipate results of action)

Ability to listen, reserve judgment, give direct and positive feedback, recognize individual value through respect for others, and use humor

Professional practice and shared governance to produce an environment that fosters autonomy in decision-making and provides the skills, resources and information needed for others to make this transition


Promoting Library Services (Multi-level marketing) Leadership includes promoting library services

and resources using bold approaches Web 2.0 tools (Social Networking Sites, Blogs, Wikis,

RSS, Tagging, Virtual worlds, Social bookmarking & resource sharing )

Branding Badging Library radio program

CONCLUSION

It is the responsibility of the library management (leadership) to discover the potential in each library staff member and to apply the appropriate motivational strategy to increase productivity.

One cannot hire only the hand and the brain; the owner of that hand and brain must always come along.

“The only irreplaceable capital an organization possesses is the knowledge and ability of its people. The productivity of that capital depends on how effectively people share their competence with those who can use it” -- Andrew Carnegie (Source: Stewart, 1997, p. 128)

THANK YOU