Several days ago, a public library director of my acquaintance asked for my opinion about the value Library Leadership Ohio. I’ve mentored seven times for these leadership institutes (Library Leadership Ohio three times, Snowbird twice, and Canada’s Northern Exposure to Leadership and California’s Eureka once each) so I’m a real advocate. Here’s what I told him:
I’m delighted to (recommend Library Leadership Ohio).
The goal of the program is twofold: self-awareness and an understanding
of basic tenets of leadership. Much of the coursework revolves around
helping students assess their own basic working styles, and to help
decide if that style is a good match for a leadership role. Using a
personality assessment tool called the Enneagram
(http://www.enneagraminstitute.com), which is something like the
Myers-Briggs, students discover some of their own attributes that may
help or hinder their success. And they also learn how to use whatever
style they may favor to lead effectively.
Another aspect of the program is learning some basic ideas about
leadership, especially by comparing and contrasting leadership with
management. Using role-playing and reading assignments, students get a
feel for how to use different techniques at different times. The class
work also covers leadership from any position, from circulation clerk to
board chair.
The best candidate for these programs, in my opinion, is someone who has
a few years of experience, who may be looking for his or her next
assignment, and is still psychologically able to change course. The best
candidates comes into this program with an eagerness to learn more about
themselves and how the world works, and are able to handle challenging
course work and clashing personalities.
The worst candidate is someone who is sent (sometimes involuntarily) to
the program for remediation, or someone who is so stuck in a working rut
that he or she can’t see over the trench, or someone who is
psychologically frail.
The most interesting candidates are the people who are already cocky
about their leadership abilities but have never really had them put to
the test. They tend to come in thinking they are going to show off, and
then learn that humility is also a part of leadership!
I’ve seen new leaders blossom in six days out of this program. I’ve seen
people find the strength within themselves to move out of bad
environments or to make significant changes in their works sites. I’ve
also seen people in tears because they couldn’t take the pressure; some
of these ended up being the class stars, others decided that
“followership” may be a better fit for them than leadership.
The program also seems to work: If you look at the leadership of OLC
right now, I think you will see an number of Library Leadership Ohio
graduates, who have used this experience to reach their potential. And
graduates of Snowbird, Eureka, Tall Texans, Northern Exposure to
Leadership in Canada, and other similar programs are now directors at
public and academic libraries across North America. Mark Winston, one of
the mentors I worked with at Snowbird, wrote an article on this, although
it’s a bit dated now:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/events/pdf/winston99.pdf.
Thanks for asking…as you can tell by the length of my reply, I’m
passionate about these programs!
—George