CMLE libraries: We are passing on this survey you could fill out for the ALA. This committee is looking for your ideas on the kinds of activities they could set up to help everyone develop their supervisory skills.
This is an important topic, and we can all use more training in this to make our libraries, and our profession, even stronger! Continue reading Interested in supervisory training? Share your ideas!
Everyone dreads this. It’s hard, as an employee, to have your performance judged – even when the result is good news. And it’s hard, as a manager, to have to come up with insightful things to say about everyone’s work without constantly repeating yourself.
So is it still valuable to go through the process? For most people: yes!
Ideally, a performance appraisal is not a time to talk about problems – though those should be addressed. When there are performance issues during the year, those can be addressed in the moment and dealt with at the time. They should not build up to wait for the annual review. Instead it is a time for people to reflect on their past performance, and to think about what they want to do over the next year. It is an opportunity to take time out of a hectic schedule, or one that has a lot of repetition from day-to-day and week-to-week, and to see, think, and do some self-evaluation.
Continue reading Giving and receiving: Performance Appraisals (Hiring Series #2)
“This was a great workshop and I hope it is offered again in the future. Although it was only 2 sessions, I really felt the information was good and talking through peoples’ situations helped us process what readiness levels and leadership styles meant and how they worked together.”
CMLE was pleased to offer this two-part series regarding situational leadership and supervisory skills (if you are interested in learning more about using situational leadership, check out this article). We were able to employ the services of consultant Chris Kudrna, who called on his extensive experience to teach and advise our group of library professionals. He covered a lot of information, and we’ve tried to include the main points for your benefit.
Part One of the series focused on the basics of situational leadership, including the steps of leadership, readiness levels, and leadership styles.
The steps of leadership include identifying the task, identifying the person’s readiness for the task, and using the correct leadership style. We discussed the four levels of readiness, and that it is up to the leader to decide which one is correct.
Then, based on the level of readiness, the leader will select (hopefully!) the correct style of leadership, of which there are also four. However, it’s important to recognize that the follower gets to decide the style that is being used. As a leader, if you are unsure you are leading in the style you intend, it is a good idea to simply ask.
Part Two focused on power, the fact that it is a neutral entity, and that we personally do not get to decide how much power we have. The amount of power one has can fluctuate, even on a daily basis.
There are two main categories of power; with several types of power within each category.
Position power comes from your organization (such as your job title). We discussed several types of position power, and how there are effective ways to use each of them. Some types of position power are especially suited for specific professions, like teaching.
Personal power refers to the extent to which followers want to follow you – it takes into account how much they genuinely like you. We discussed the three types of personal power, and the fact that all of them require time to accumulate.
Something to keep in mind is that in order to be a successful leader, you must have one or more of these power types; the more the better! It is also very important to be able to correctly identify the task and readiness of the people or person you are leading. That ensures you will be able to use the correct leadership style to be successful. As always, clear and efficient communication is a necessity of any effective leader.
“I LOVED getting real, concrete examples of how to phrase things and to handle situations. So many light bulb moments happened when a situation was presented and Chris offered a concrete way of handling it.”
We want to thank everyone that was able to attend, your experiences contributed to lively discussion and highlighted the need for events like this one!
Image credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/0Sy4gfZ2RXU (Ross Tinney), licensed under CC0 1.0
Hopefully, I have not already lost you with the “L” word, which might excite you or scare you!
You may not be a principal or a director or a superintendent (traditional leaders), but you are a leader for the public, students and/or colleagues. Leadership has everything to do with how and why you do what you do. It has very little to do with formal titles and degrees.
As K-12 education is changing at warp speed, Elena Aguilar of Edutopia suggests, “…that in order to transform our schools, we’ll need many, many more leaders. We’ll need the leaders who don’t yet think they are leaders and those of us who are apprehensive about embracing the roles and responsibilities of leadership.” I couldn’t agree more.
Are you intrigued, willing to listen, but not sure what to do? Do you struggle even giving good work direction and following through with corrective action if needed? I have a suggestion…come to our Supervisor Nuts & Bolts Workshop. It is a two-part series (the second builds on the first) hosted by CMLE at no charge to you (April 14th and May 12th). If you lead, supervise, or give work direction to others, come to get tips from a professional in the field, CMLE’s treat!
Get all of the workshop details and the registration link here.
Read Elena’s Edutopia post here.
Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/o4dqj4s, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Do you lead, supervise or give work direction to others? Could you use a few tips?CMLE invites you to attend two “after school” sessions from 4 – 6 pm; the first one being Thursday, April 14th, the second being May 12). It is important that you plan on attending both days as the second event builds on the first.
Consultant Chris Kudrna will guide us through strategies, tips and tricks you can use tomorrow to better supervise, lead, and/or give work direction. Enjoy time for sharing and/or Q & A with Chris, and get the coaching you need to be a positive force in your workplace.
Event Details
Who: Academic, K-12, public, and special library staff from Central Minnesota
Cost: Free to you. CMLE will underwrite the consultant costs and refreshments.
Where: In CMLE’s new space in the Central MN Educational Research & Development Council (cmERDC). Located right next to Target East. 570 1st St. SE., St. Cloud, MN 56304
Image credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/0Sy4gfZ2RXU (Ross Tinney), licensed under CC0 1.0