Empowering Leadership

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL LIBRARIANS EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP Developing Behaviors for Success EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP Developing Behaviors for Success ISBN: 978-0-8389-8657-8 ePDF: 978-0-8389-8658-5 ePUB: 978-0-8389-8659-2 Kindle: 978-0-8389-8660-8 Single User Statement: Publication downloads available from the American Association of School Librarians are designed for single users only. The Single User License allows the use of e-book titles and materials under a model of one-copy, one user. Contact AASL at <[email protected]> to discuss other types of licensing requests. Published by: American Association of School Librarians a division of the American Library Association 50 E. Huron St. Chicago, Illinois 60611-2795 To order, call 800-545-2433, press 7 <www.alastore.ala.org/aasl> Copyright ©2013 by the American Library Association. All rights reserved except those that may be granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. Printed in the United States of America. ChapterSAectioncknowledgments 11 AASL gratefully acknowledges the following: Written by: Ann M. Martin Educational Specialist Henrico County Public Schools, Virginia <[email protected]> AASL Staff Liaison: Stephanie Book iii AASL Publications purchases fund advocacy, leadership, professional development, and standards and guidelines initiatives for school librarians nationally. STableection of 1Contents INTRODUCTION vii Section 1 People: What Do You Say to That? 1 Chapter 1 Knowing Your Customers 3 Chapter 2 Assessing and Approaching Power Brokers 11 Chapter 3 Building Strong Partnerships 17 Chapter 4 Consensus through Managing Complexity 25 Section 2 Dispositions: Batman Saves the Day 31 Chapter 5 Confidence 33 Chapter 6 Coaching 43 Chapter 7 Humor 49 Chapter 8 Authenticity 57 Section 3 Communication: Reserved for Parties of Three or More 65 Chapter 9 Preparedness 67 Chapter 10 Clarity 81 Chapter 11 Silence 91 Chapter 12 Results 99 v Section 4 Responsibilities: Follow the Leader 107 Chapter 13 Visioning 109 Chapter 14 Empowering 117 Chapter 15 Decision Making 125 Chapter 16 Recognizing Contributions 133 Section 5 Self-Assessment: True North 141 Chapter 17 Reflection 143 Chapter 18 Innovation 151 Chapter 19 Evidence-Based Practices 159 Chapter 20 Understanding the Future 167 CONCLUSION 175 WORKS CITED 177 Appendix A Index 187 Appendix B Learning4Life 189 Appendix C L4L Publications 191 vi Table of Contents SIntroductionection 1 Leadership became the next great frontier for school librarians’ professional growth with the emergence of two important documents from the American As- sociation of School Librarians (AASL): Standards for the 21st-Century Learner and Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs. The secret to successful school library programs seemed to be in how librarians seized leadership opportunities for guiding initiatives and learning in the school community. School librarians wanted to know how to insert leadership into their already-packed days. They found that this additional role was intangible and so significant that it was hard to grasp. In fact, leadership characteristics are both observable and vague. So how do school librarians develop a set of leadership skills that inspires stakeholders’ buy-in for the school library program and leads to success in meeting goals? Throughout the history of school libraries many exemplary leaders have furthered the profession and supported students’ success. Some leaders provided a national vision, some regional vii insight, some local guidance, and many others were models at the building level. Yet in order for librarians as a group to become great leaders they must discover the leaders inside themselves. Leadership has visible and invisible attributes. Many books define the observable aspects of leadership, but Empowering Leadership: Developing Behaviors for Success unveils the hidden qualities that create confident, successful leaders. Each of the five sections explains how leadership applies to school librarians in the way they manage people, develop dispositions, communi- cate, accept responsibility, and reflect on their own skills as leaders. Essential questions provide a framework for each chapter. School librarians can use these questions to pre-assess their own leadership actions and beliefs. Within the text librarians will recognize the hidden leadership opportunities in daily tasks that are central to the profession. At the end of each chapter are suggestions for librarians to put into practice. These tips are concrete actions and suggestions for ways librarians can demonstrate leadership. Every librarian has inherent leadership abilities; this book provides the means to consciously develop qualities that create great leaders. Reading this book takes the mystery out of leadership by illustrating the visible and invisible components of leadership. Reflective strategies in the text and tips at the end of each chapter will bring school librarians to their next level in leadership development. Librarians become great leaders when they create relevance for the school library program as the future unfolds. As leaders they promote library best practices, are proactive, and apply professional skills, dispositions, responsibilities, and assessment in guiding library programs. Empowering Leadership: Developing Behaviors for Success, offers les- sons and examples to improve the leader within and encourage development of each librarian’s unique leadership style. Librarians will lead by example, making visible the very leadership concepts and qualities that seem so elusive and difficult to understand. viii Introduction Section 1 What Do You Say to That? PEOPLE “What do you say to that?” came at the end of an ex- change between a young child and his mother. Leaders contemplate answering the same question when com- municating with colleagues and other stakeholders. In this instance a child was playing, and his mother need- ed him to take a break to celebrate his grandfather’s birthday. The child was having too much fun, and he did not want to stop playing. One excuse after another was forthcoming. Finally, the mother said, “Graydon, your grandfather is the most important person in this world; get in here right now.” Graydon immediately re- plied, “So what about God?” His mother just smiled and said, “What do you say to that?” Without people, leaders and leadership is mean- ingless. An organization is composed of many person- alities with diverse needs. It is leadership of people that creates success or destroys an organization. A leader knows what to say to facilitate positive action. Clearly, knowing what is important to people and mo- tivates their responses into meaningful solutions is a role of a leader. 1 Chapter 1 Knowing Your Customers Leadership ► Is what is being discussed in the school hallways questions related the same as what is being discussed in the to knowing your library office? customers are: ► How do leaders create change? ► How do people in an organization impact communication style? A scholarship applicant recently mentioned that by shelving books she discovered titles she would never have read. Hidden on the shelves, books tend to recede in importance. Every librarian knows that creating book displays encourages interest and in- creases awareness of books by otherwise forgotten authors. When Margot Livesey’s book The Flight of Gemma Harvey created renewed interest in the clas- sic Jane Eyre, librarians marketed both. Putting both books in front of customers drew attention to the similarities of the stories, yet the unique qualities of the characters and the important differences in plot began discussions among readers. Connecting the two books benefited readers and library programs. 3 Just as librarians connect readers to books, leaders connect people in an organization to less tangible and visible goals. To achieve this connection, leaders must get out from behind the desk to gain knowledge of the story, characters, and key issues important to people in the organization. Though many important activities must be done in the leader’s office, the real story lies with the people whose work contributes to the organization. Hidden back in the departments are needs, questions, and concerns. Some of these issues will never be known outside the departments, much less reach the leader’s office. For a school librarian this reality means getting out and meeting formally and informally with administrators, teachers, students, parents, and community members. Creating a communication network is essential for the library leader. Conversation and openness make the school librarian aware of underlying needs of teachers and students. Awareness of needs and understanding people in the school community allow the school librarian to analyze concerns and offer library solutions whenever and wherever appropriate. REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE Recently Talitha Matlin and Amy Jankowski, librarians for San Diego Zoo Global (SDZG) collected data on the use of the library throughout the organization. After tracking reference interactions and library traffic for three months, the data confirmed anecdotal evidence that suggested those employ- ees in closer proximity to the library used the library more. Among the group not using library resources on a regular basis were zookeepers and horticultur- ists who would need to travel forty-five minutes to access the library. Talitha and Amy found that since patrons are dispersed over a large geographical area, the users were not receiving

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