Core Library Leaders and Managers Interest Group

It was wonderful to meet so many people during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, including the 20 or so folks who made an appearance at our New Director's Discussion Group gathering.  Hoping everyone had a good conference and safe travels home (I'm actually writing this as Amtrak carries me home through central PA).

Here are some notes from our conversation, with many ideas we can explore through this forum.  Feel free to start a thread on any of these topics. I do suggest that we try to be granular in creating separate threads for individual topics, rather than mashing them all into one.  The archived threads in this forum will be available to new arrivals to our group, so it will be easier to navigate it we maintain some separation.

With that said, I will break my own rule and give a run-down and mashup of the many things I noted from our time together in Philly:

- Moving into the director's role is isolating. There is just one director, so you don't generally have a set of peers in your institution to network, brainstorm, or vent with.
- Ascending to the director's role from lower role in the same institution has additional challenges. You are now the boss for people who used to be your colleagues and peers.
- What are the experiences of serving initially in an interim director role, then being selected for the permanent role?
- How do you deal with competing - and expanding - expectations of board members, direct reports, employees, and patrons?
- Advice on planning, whether it be small bits of planning or a full-blown strategic planning activity including input from external stakeholders.
- Being a director is overwhelming and stressful.  What tools can one use for time management, stress relief, and work/life balance?  (as one participant said, "You need to have a life!").
- Each director's position is different, including varying expectations for doing things, managing other people, and providing leadership and vision to the institution.
- What are good books that a new director should read?  An idea was for someone to start a thread here about one specific title, explaining why they found it useful.  Others could respond with their thoughts on that single title.
- Assessment, surveys, focus groups, and for academics the issues with accreditation.
- Employment and HR issues, how to develop a good job description and how to do constructive evaluations.
- Issues with unionized staff (this came up in several other sessions at the conference, too).
- Developing your personal leadership style. How do you handle meetings and meeting schedules, how do you engage people in decision-making (or do you?), what are the risks/benefits of asking employees about your leadership style (or doing a "360 review")?
- Where can you get additional leadership and management training? Does your institution offer help with an "executive coach" or could you go to a foundation for funds to bring in a consultant to do training?
- What are others' experiences using personality tools when starting as a new director?  Specific tools were mentioned, including Strengths Finder, EQ (emotional intelligence), Myers-Brigg, and DISC.  Are these things used by the director just for self-assessment and personal growth themselves, or can they be used in team-building?

A lot of great ideas here, folks, so feel free to start a thread that interests you!



















------------------------------
Erik Nordberg
Dean of Libraries
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
------------------------------

Hello Erik,

Thanks for hosting the recent meeting at Mid-Winter Phila., it was great meeting all those who attended!  Just wanted to say I found the discussion group and look forward to participation!  Best,  Rich

------------------------------
Richard Jutkiewicz
Head Librarian
Manor College
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Jan 28, 2020 03:53 PM
From: Erik Nordberg
Subject: Ideas from New Directors DG 2020 Midwinter gathering

It was wonderful to meet so many people during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, including the 20 or so folks who made an appearance at our New Director's Discussion Group gathering.  Hoping everyone had a good conference and safe travels home (I'm actually writing this as Amtrak carries me home through central PA).

Here are some notes from our conversation, with many ideas we can explore through this forum.  Feel free to start a thread on any of these topics. I do suggest that we try to be granular in creating separate threads for individual topics, rather than mashing them all into one.  The archived threads in this forum will be available to new arrivals to our group, so it will be easier to navigate it we maintain some separation.

With that said, I will break my own rule and give a run-down and mashup of the many things I noted from our time together in Philly:

- Moving into the director's role is isolating. There is just one director, so you don't generally have a set of peers in your institution to network, brainstorm, or vent with.
- Ascending to the director's role from lower role in the same institution has additional challenges. You are now the boss for people who used to be your colleagues and peers.
- What are the experiences of serving initially in an interim director role, then being selected for the permanent role?
- How do you deal with competing - and expanding - expectations of board members, direct reports, employees, and patrons?
- Advice on planning, whether it be small bits of planning or a full-blown strategic planning activity including input from external stakeholders.
- Being a director is overwhelming and stressful.  What tools can one use for time management, stress relief, and work/life balance?  (as one participant said, "You need to have a life!").
- Each director's position is different, including varying expectations for doing things, managing other people, and providing leadership and vision to the institution.
- What are good books that a new director should read?  An idea was for someone to start a thread here about one specific title, explaining why they found it useful.  Others could respond with their thoughts on that single title.
- Assessment, surveys, focus groups, and for academics the issues with accreditation.
- Employment and HR issues, how to develop a good job description and how to do constructive evaluations.
- Issues with unionized staff (this came up in several other sessions at the conference, too).
- Developing your personal leadership style. How do you handle meetings and meeting schedules, how do you engage people in decision-making (or do you?), what are the risks/benefits of asking employees about your leadership style (or doing a "360 review")?
- Where can you get additional leadership and management training? Does your institution offer help with an "executive coach" or could you go to a foundation for funds to bring in a consultant to do training?
- What are others' experiences using personality tools when starting as a new director?  Specific tools were mentioned, including Strengths Finder, EQ (emotional intelligence), Myers-Brigg, and DISC.  Are these things used by the director just for self-assessment and personal growth themselves, or can they be used in team-building?

A lot of great ideas here, folks, so feel free to start a thread that interests you!



















------------------------------
Erik Nordberg
Dean of Libraries
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
------------------------------

Original Message------

It was wonderful to meet so many people during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, including the 20 or so folks who made an appearance at our New Director's Discussion Group gathering.  Hoping everyone had a good conference and safe travels home (I'm actually writing this as Amtrak carries me home through central PA).

Here are some notes from our conversation, with many ideas we can explore through this forum.  Feel free to start a thread on any of these topics. I do suggest that we try to be granular in creating separate threads for individual topics, rather than mashing them all into one.  The archived threads in this forum will be available to new arrivals to our group, so it will be easier to navigate it we maintain some separation.

With that said, I will break my own rule and give a run-down and mashup of the many things I noted from our time together in Philly:

- Moving into the director's role is isolating. There is just one director, so you don't generally have a set of peers in your institution to network, brainstorm, or vent with.
- Ascending to the director's role from lower role in the same institution has additional challenges. You are now the boss for people who used to be your colleagues and peers.
- What are the experiences of serving initially in an interim director role, then being selected for the permanent role?
- How do you deal with competing - and expanding - expectations of board members, direct reports, employees, and patrons?
- Advice on planning, whether it be small bits of planning or a full-blown strategic planning activity including input from external stakeholders.
- Being a director is overwhelming and stressful.  What tools can one use for time management, stress relief, and work/life balance?  (as one participant said, "You need to have a life!").
- Each director's position is different, including varying expectations for doing things, managing other people, and providing leadership and vision to the institution.
- What are good books that a new director should read?  An idea was for someone to start a thread here about one specific title, explaining why they found it useful.  Others could respond with their thoughts on that single title.
- Assessment, surveys, focus groups, and for academics the issues with accreditation.
- Employment and HR issues, how to develop a good job description and how to do constructive evaluations.
- Issues with unionized staff (this came up in several other sessions at the conference, too).
- Developing your personal leadership style. How do you handle meetings and meeting schedules, how do you engage people in decision-making (or do you?), what are the risks/benefits of asking employees about your leadership style (or doing a "360 review")?
- Where can you get additional leadership and management training? Does your institution offer help with an "executive coach" or could you go to a foundation for funds to bring in a consultant to do training?
- What are others' experiences using personality tools when starting as a new director?  Specific tools were mentioned, including Strengths Finder, EQ (emotional intelligence), Myers-Brigg, and DISC.  Are these things used by the director just for self-assessment and personal growth themselves, or can they be used in team-building?

A lot of great ideas here, folks, so feel free to start a thread that interests you!



















------------------------------
Erik Nordberg
Dean of Libraries
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
------------------------------

Original Message------

It was wonderful to meet so many people during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, including the 20 or so folks who made an appearance at our New Director's Discussion Group gathering.  Hoping everyone had a good conference and safe travels home (I'm actually writing this as Amtrak carries me home through central PA).

Here are some notes from our conversation, with many ideas we can explore through this forum.  Feel free to start a thread on any of these topics. I do suggest that we try to be granular in creating separate threads for individual topics, rather than mashing them all into one.  The archived threads in this forum will be available to new arrivals to our group, so it will be easier to navigate it we maintain some separation.

With that said, I will break my own rule and give a run-down and mashup of the many things I noted from our time together in Philly:

- Moving into the director's role is isolating. There is just one director, so you don't generally have a set of peers in your institution to network, brainstorm, or vent with.
- Ascending to the director's role from lower role in the same institution has additional challenges. You are now the boss for people who used to be your colleagues and peers.
- What are the experiences of serving initially in an interim director role, then being selected for the permanent role?
- How do you deal with competing - and expanding - expectations of board members, direct reports, employees, and patrons?
- Advice on planning, whether it be small bits of planning or a full-blown strategic planning activity including input from external stakeholders.
- Being a director is overwhelming and stressful.  What tools can one use for time management, stress relief, and work/life balance?  (as one participant said, "You need to have a life!").
- Each director's position is different, including varying expectations for doing things, managing other people, and providing leadership and vision to the institution.
- What are good books that a new director should read?  An idea was for someone to start a thread here about one specific title, explaining why they found it useful.  Others could respond with their thoughts on that single title.
- Assessment, surveys, focus groups, and for academics the issues with accreditation.
- Employment and HR issues, how to develop a good job description and how to do constructive evaluations.
- Issues with unionized staff (this came up in several other sessions at the conference, too).
- Developing your personal leadership style. How do you handle meetings and meeting schedules, how do you engage people in decision-making (or do you?), what are the risks/benefits of asking employees about your leadership style (or doing a "360 review")?
- Where can you get additional leadership and management training? Does your institution offer help with an "executive coach" or could you go to a foundation for funds to bring in a consultant to do training?
- What are others' experiences using personality tools when starting as a new director?  Specific tools were mentioned, including Strengths Finder, EQ (emotional intelligence), Myers-Brigg, and DISC.  Are these things used by the director just for self-assessment and personal growth themselves, or can they be used in team-building?

A lot of great ideas here, folks, so feel free to start a thread that interests you!



















------------------------------
Erik Nordberg
Dean of Libraries
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
------------------------------

Please use the "Post a new Message" from the main community page so that folks don't get buried in one giant thread. Click on this link, and look for the dark box labeled "Post New Message"
LLAMA New Directors Discussion Community

------------------------------
Erik Nordberg
Dean of Libraries
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Jan 28, 2020 03:53 PM
From: Erik Nordberg
Subject: Ideas from New Directors DG 2020 Midwinter gathering

It was wonderful to meet so many people during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, including the 20 or so folks who made an appearance at our New Director's Discussion Group gathering.  Hoping everyone had a good conference and safe travels home (I'm actually writing this as Amtrak carries me home through central PA).

Here are some notes from our conversation, with many ideas we can explore through this forum.  Feel free to start a thread on any of these topics. I do suggest that we try to be granular in creating separate threads for individual topics, rather than mashing them all into one.  The archived threads in this forum will be available to new arrivals to our group, so it will be easier to navigate it we maintain some separation.

With that said, I will break my own rule and give a run-down and mashup of the many things I noted from our time together in Philly:

- Moving into the director's role is isolating. There is just one director, so you don't generally have a set of peers in your institution to network, brainstorm, or vent with.
- Ascending to the director's role from lower role in the same institution has additional challenges. You are now the boss for people who used to be your colleagues and peers.
- What are the experiences of serving initially in an interim director role, then being selected for the permanent role?
- How do you deal with competing - and expanding - expectations of board members, direct reports, employees, and patrons?
- Advice on planning, whether it be small bits of planning or a full-blown strategic planning activity including input from external stakeholders.
- Being a director is overwhelming and stressful.  What tools can one use for time management, stress relief, and work/life balance?  (as one participant said, "You need to have a life!").
- Each director's position is different, including varying expectations for doing things, managing other people, and providing leadership and vision to the institution.
- What are good books that a new director should read?  An idea was for someone to start a thread here about one specific title, explaining why they found it useful.  Others could respond with their thoughts on that single title.
- Assessment, surveys, focus groups, and for academics the issues with accreditation.
- Employment and HR issues, how to develop a good job description and how to do constructive evaluations.
- Issues with unionized staff (this came up in several other sessions at the conference, too).
- Developing your personal leadership style. How do you handle meetings and meeting schedules, how do you engage people in decision-making (or do you?), what are the risks/benefits of asking employees about your leadership style (or doing a "360 review")?
- Where can you get additional leadership and management training? Does your institution offer help with an "executive coach" or could you go to a foundation for funds to bring in a consultant to do training?
- What are others' experiences using personality tools when starting as a new director?  Specific tools were mentioned, including Strengths Finder, EQ (emotional intelligence), Myers-Brigg, and DISC.  Are these things used by the director just for self-assessment and personal growth themselves, or can they be used in team-building?

A lot of great ideas here, folks, so feel free to start a thread that interests you!



















------------------------------
Erik Nordberg
Dean of Libraries
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
------------------------------