Tag Archives: management skills

Academic, Public, Training

Webinar: “Movin’ on Up: Advancing into Academic Library Middle Management”

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Webinar
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
 
2pm Eastern (11am Pacific | 12pm Mountain | 1pm Central)
 
Register: https://goo.gl/DTk8qO
Description:  
Can an academic librarian who has only worked on the front lines compete with those who have supervisory experience for middle management positions? What traits are hiring committees looking for in middle managers for public services, especially in applicants with no prior supervisory experience?

This webinar presents the findings of a qualitative study consisting of interviews with academic librarians who have served on hiring committees for middle-management positions, and with public services librarians who have recently made the transition from the front lines to their first supervisory position; and an analysis of the preferred and required qualifications in job ads for middle-management public services positions in academic libraries from the last five years. The presenters use these results to provide guidance on the steps frontline academic librarians can take in order to successfully translate their abilities, knowledge, and skills into their first supervisory position.
 
About the Presenters:
Megan Hodge is a Teaching & Learning Librarian at Virginia Commonwealth University. A former ALA Emerging Leader, Megan currently serves as an ALA Councilor-at-Large and is a doctoral student in educational research and evaluation.
Nicole Spoor is the Business Librarian at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She currently serves as the Leadership Development Director for ALA New Members Round Table and is a doctoral student in educational leadership.
Can’t make it to the live show? That’s okay. The session will be recorded and available on the Carterette Series Webinars site for later viewing.
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To register for the online event
1. Go to registration page: https://goo.gl/DTk8qO
2. Complete and submit the form.
3. A URL for the event will be emailed to you immediately after registration.
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Contact a member of the Carterette Series planning team with questions or suggestions:
carteretteserieswebinars@gmail.com

 

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Performing marshmallows: the keys to a great team

working_together_teamwork_puzzle_concept
Together We Achieve More!

Teamwork! It is always a complicated topic in libraries, and yet so very important for us to function together.

Maybe part of the problem with this is that few people are ever taught HOW to be part of a team. Assuming that one person will lead it all, and everyone else can hang back and criticize, is terrible teamwork. (Project Runway is starting their newest season, and you can watch it for some great examples of people who have no idea how to work together – despite that their professional lives literally depend on it!) (And, there is sewing. It’s not all management lessons!)

Many people have studied teamwork, in an effort to figure out how we can be better at it, and get better results. In 1965 Bruce Tuckman developed a model of team development that has provided a good road map for teams to follow as they develop. He suggested a few defined stages:

  • Forming: the initial coming together, good behavior by everyone, not yet really together
  • Storming: conflicts arise as the group gets organized, with different ideas and strategies bumping against each other; this does not mean things are going badly – it is part of the growth!
  • Norming: moving past the conflicts and everyone is feeling like a team – ready to wear matching shirts or other signs of team harmony
  • Performing: getting down to the action, with everyone ready to move the team forward toward the goal
  • Adjourning: this stage was added in 1997, working with Mary Ann Jensen; this describes that when the team purpose has ended, there is a sadness everyone feels that needs to be acknowledged.

Even just knowing that there are stages and paths to better team action can be helpful to people who may feel doubtful about participating. I have spoken with many library managers and directors who are not happy with the way their staff works in teams; more experience in how a good team can work would be helpful to everyone!

So, what does this have to do with marshmallows? Tom Wujec is here to explain! Watch his TED Talk and see how he gets teams to collaborate, and how they can get started on big projects.

Have you done a marshmallow test? Try it out before you read all about it – you don’t want to spoil your experience! If you have a team project coming up, or want to help your staff teams start off with a fun experience (that’s one of those “cheery-fake” activities that annoys people), try a marshmallow problem to get everyone working together.

Think about the teams in your library. You may work with a team of people who do what you do (preservation, kid books, cataloging, and more), and you also work with a larger team of people who all are interested in the work of your library (Board members, teachers, students, and more). Getting everyone to work together and master the performing stage is a challenge; but working with some structures that help to guide people into more effective teamwork can help make it a better experience for everyone involved!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Adjourning