No Time for Sitting on the Bench: Lateral Leadership in Libraries

1. No Time for Sitting on the Bench: Lateral Leadership in Libraries Holly Heller-Ross & Michelle Toth, SUNY Plattsburgh • “Look for opportunities to say yes. For our lives to continue to be interesting, we have to say yes to something new occasionally” • “Each month spend time pursuing at least one innovative project or possibility that is connected to the kind of work you are trying to create.” • “Suggest to your work group that together you come up with a project for the coming planning period, something you would all like to do that could benefit the group and the larger organization..” • “Organize and sharpen your personal skills at getting things done by yourself.” • “Understand clearly your strategic goal of an organized way of getting things done with others.” • “Learning some tactics of participatory leadership… Do things that stimulate others to become skillful at working together.” • “Begin with praise and honest appreciation.” • “Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.” • “Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.” • “Do the job you’ve been hired to do, and do it well. Otherwise you probably won’t be given the chance to prove yourself in other areas.” • “Make sure you direct your efforts toward activities that make a difference.” • “Having good relationships with people on the front lines…is not optional.” Examples • Spend time developing your ideas and goals. • Articulate/map-out how you arrive at your conclusions/decisions/ideas. • Prioritize your efforts and time so that you can move ideas forward. UnionsSUNY Librarians are a minority within the faculty union but wanted the union and the state to take more time to address their issues. Through professional listserves librarians organized and during the last round of contract negotiations and campus visits librarians at individual SUNY campuses stressed to union leaders the need for the union to take up academic librarians issues as part of the latest contract. The unified front presented at each campus resulted in a newly formed state-wide Labor-Management committee on Librarian issues. Campus CommitteesLibrarians participating on campus-wide committees get the advantage of both having a better understanding of issues at the campus level and to also see opportunities to move library related initiatives forward. The required LIB course at SUNY Plattsburgh is part of the General Education program and a librarian serves as a member of that committee. A proposal to make the Skills courses (including the LIB course) of Gen Ed pre-requisites for upper-level course work gained support but was not implemented. The momentum of the idea however was brought back to the library and we are now in the process of a pilot program with departments to include the LIB course as a pre-requisite in individual majors. Library Units/CommitteesSuccessful collaboration with colleagues as well as outside groups to improve the library often takes individual and coordinated leadership.Repurposing space from print reference indexes to student study/computer space involved an initial idea, librarians working with faculty to weed materials, circulation staff re-labeling and relocating remaining materials, cajoling facilities staff for electrical and painting, coordinating design and furniture selection, and of course…meeting the deadline for fall semester! Research and ConferencesOpportunities for leadership arise when you discover ideas and research results at conferences, then bring them back to your library.Two different librarians learned about LibGuides at conferences and recommended purchase and implementation for instruction . Other librarians saw the potential and very quickly devised additional creative uses, including a better way to guide students to our subject databases. Organize • Think creatively about how and with whom you might partner with to move your ideas forward. • Be open to unexpected contributions and roles from your partners. • Model what an effective partnership is to encourage the best from your partners. Take Action! Partner • Develop your interpersonal skills. • Expand your vocabulary of encouraging words. • Ask questions before a responding to an idea. • Share your reasonings with others. Communicate