Impact: SLA Leadership & Management Division Blog

Message from LMD sponsor Ebrary

ebrary, a leading provider of e-content services and technology, is very pleased to be sponsoring the Leadership and Management Division and participating on the panel during the Content Buying Roundtable at the Special Library Association Conference. All members are invited and encouraged to attend the Roundtable as well as visit the ebrary booth (#242).

ebrary launches new Engineering and Business e-book databases

During SLA, ebrary is launching two new subscription databases of e-books, manuals and other authoritative content in Engineering and Business. The company aims to help end-users quickly and easily find the relevant and timely information they need to be more productive and innovative.

Designed for corporations, these new databases feature thousands of current, full-text titles from renowned publishers and are available under a simultaneous, multi-user access model. They will continue to grow at no additional cost throughout the subscription term.

Learn more about the new databases

Leader vs. manager

Miki Saxon did a seven part series on "Leader vs. manager" in the Leadership Turn blog.  The series "discussing Warren Bennis’ 13 differences between leaders and managers in light of today’s modern workforce."  If you wonder what might separate a leader from a manager, this series will give you qualities to consider. For example:

The manager administers; the leader innovates

The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.

The series is available at:

• Leader vs. manager 1/7
• Leader vs. manager 2/7
• Leader vs. manager 3/7
• Leader vs. manager 4/7
• Leader vs. manager 5/7
• Leader vs. manager 6/7
• Leader vs. manager 7/7

Mentoring Toolkit from CLRC

Last year, I worked with the Central New York Library Resources Council to create a Mentoring Toolkit for its members.  The toolkit is also available for others to use.  In the toolkit are the following documents:

• What Is Mentoring?
• Common Questions From Mentors
• Common Questions From Mentees
• Mentoring Memo Of Understanding
• Mentoring Activities

In addition, several resources were purchased for their members to use.  All are available through your local library or for purchase through a bookstore.

One thing that really stood out to me, as we researched mentoring, is that the ball is in the mentee's court.  The mentee -- the one being mentored -- is the person who should ask for mentor, who should schedule the meetings, and who should be in the driver's seat.  That does not always occur.  Often a mentee will look to the mentor to drive the relationship, which is not that person's role. 

While working on this, I was also mentoring someone and I found myself changing the relationship.   I decided that  I would be there when the mentee needed me, but that it wasn't my role to lead the relationship.  If a mentee is serious about being mentored, and if the relationship is set up properly, then the mentee should feel comfortable being in the lead.

I hope you'll take a look at the resources.  They were constructed for use by library staff members in a wide range of libraries -- libraries just like yours.

Can a book mentor you? Yes!

I started my consulting business while living in Rochester, NY and quickly found a local association of consultants that provided me with a room full of mentors. The idea of procedurizing (if there is such a word) my consulting did not come from that group, but from a book.  This book, The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It, has mentored many people who have small or micro "businesses".  (I've put the word business in quotations, because I think people who work within a business -- an internal consultant for example -- could benefit from the book.) 

The myth of the entrepreneur is that they  are great businesspeople Michael Gerber, the author, doesn't believe that is true. Instead he believes that entrepreneurs need to be regimented.  mmm...consultants often work on a wide variety of projects, but there must be some commonalities.  Couldn't those be regimented?  And wouldn't we function more efficiently and effectively if we put processes in place that could be followed by others?  It could allow us to hire others or even take vacations, while others took over.

I suspect that you have been mentored by a book at some point.  What was it?  It is a book that you quickly recommend to others, as I recommend the E-Myth to others?  Let us know. 

SLA LMD Division, Consulting Section -- Welcome!

I sent the message below yesterday to members of the Consulting Section.  I am posting it here for others to read (and in case it feel into the sp*m folder for Section members).

---

Rebecca Jones and I are the co-chairs this year for the Consulting Section.  Rebecca is half of Dysart & Jones Associates, based in Toronto, Ontario.  I am the owner of Hurst Associates, Ltd. based in Syracuse, NY.  Between us, we have more than 20 years of external consulting experience and we have both been active in SLA since the 1990s. 

 

As your section co-chairs, we wanted to give you an updated on what's happening in the Section.

 

First of all, the Consulting Section had 169 members.  Looking through the list, we can see that some of us are independent consultants, while others function as internal consultants and some may work on external projects.  We come from many different industries and work for companies of varying sizes.  We are as diverse as SLA itself!

 

One of the topics that was discussed at the Leadership & Management Division Board Meeting in January was the idea of producing a directory of consultants.  After some discussion, Rebecca and I felt that we did not want to duplicate one of SLA's products -- CONSULT Online. As the site says:

The Consultation Services Committee developed CONSULT Online as a directory of SLA members who are library consultants. A search on this database is free and is available to members and nonmembers interested in locating a consultant who may assist, on a normal commercial basis, with such areas as library management, technical services, and subject specialty.

If you are available to do consulting with other organizations, please consider listing yourself in CONSULT Online.  If you are already listed in CONSULT Online, take a moment to review and update your listing. 

 

For those of you who look for external consultants or possible partners on a project, please remember to check CONSULT Online.  It is a resource that we should use and promote.  I know that I have used CONSULT Online to locate resources for projects and have found it useful.

 

The Annual Conference is less than two months away (June 15 - 18).  On Tuesday, June 17, 7:00 - 8:30 a.m., there will be a session geared towards you.

Building Bridges, Creating Partnerships

Speakers: Rebecca Jones, Craig Wingrove

 

Join this interactive session featuring speakers & discussion. The program starts with a consultant from a library consulting firm, which partners with other consultants/consulting firms to gain the specific skills or additional person power for projects and then hears from an internal consultant within a larger company, which partners with other departments and units to get things done. A facilitated discussion over breakfast follows with clear steps to building creative partnerships and building bridges to accomplish more.

This is a ticketed event ($5.00) and food will be available.  Yesterday I heard that more than 30 people had signed up for this session, and we have room for many more.  Please check your conference schedule and consider adding this session.  Not only will the content be excellent, but you will be able to network with others who are interested in or doing consulting.

 

The Leadership & Management Division is sponsoring many other sessions at the Annual Conference.  Be sure to check the program highlights for information on them, including the workshops that will be held.

 

Finally, the Division moved from a paper-based newsletter to an online "newsletter" in early 2007.  The Impact newsletter is now the Impact blog that is updated frequently.  In order to help division members with the transition to an online only "newsletter", the Division is mailing highlights to members on a periodic basis.  You should have received one in March, which also contains information on the Annual Conference.  We hope that you'll read the online version frequently and add it to your RSS reader, so you know when updated occur.

 

You will be hearing more from Rebecca and I this year (including a survey so we can learn more about your needs).  We look forward to seeing you in Seattle!  Please stop us, introduce yourself, and tell us how this Section can help you.

 

Regards,

 

Jill

=---------------------------------------------------------------=
Jill Hurst-Wahl, Co-Chair
SLA Leadership & Mgmt. Div. Consulting Section

Web: http://units.sla.org/division/dlmd/
Blog: http://sla-divisions.typepad.com/sla_lmd/

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Of course, you can experiment!  Try subscribing to this blog in several ways and then decide which one really works for you.  If you are unfamiliar with RSS readers, etc., that could be a great way of becoming familiar.

Changing Directions: The New Information Workforce

With several generations working together in today's work environment, new skills and perspectives are being brought into the information organization.  Rather than allowing these differences to become workplace barriers, leaders need to understand the motivators of their generational counterparts and the value each brings to the information workplace.  Managers, who are used to their one-size-fits-all approach to employee management are finding they need to change their techniques in order to become more effective.  If you're interested in learning more about interacting with a generational diverse workforce, click on this article link. 

Change management / changing yourself / changes ...

The Leadership and Management division is again this year in Seattle putting on several EXCELLENT Continuing Education sessions ... but I wanted to highlight for you here one that features change ... and is especially for YOU if you are on the verge of change, wondering how to make a change, seeking direction ... and can benefit by the wisdom of some top thought leaders from our industry:

Executive Renewal Think Tank

This is an incredible opportunity to learn interactively from Clare Hart (Executive VP Dow Jones), Shahla  Aly (General Manager, Solutions Delivery, Microsoft) and Barbara Robinson (Executive Coach, Robinson & Associates). This isn't a series of presentations - this is a workshop with them! They are going to use a blend of case studies and their own lessons learned to teach attendees how to achieve clarity in their communication, problem-solving and strategic focus, as well as how to influence and gain commitment.  What an opportunity to learn from executives who understand our professional world! Shahla was on the University of Toronto's Advisory Board for the Faculty of Information Studies a few years ago, and has worked at IBM and is now an executive with Microsoft. Clare has worked her way up through Dow Jones and was CEO Factiva, and is an incredible communicator and instructor. Barbara works in the UK and US with all kinds of executives. This type of workshop would ordinarily cost hundreds of dollars, but because Clare, Shahla and Barbara value the information profession so highly, LMD is able to keep the pricing equal to all other workshops. 

Plus as part of the Think Tank, Barbara Robinson (barbara@broeo.co.uk) is offering attendees the Birkman Assessment ( http://www.birkman.com/) plus a meeting with her to interpret your results at a very reasonable rate.  Rebecca Jones reports:  “I've used the Birkman; I highly recommend it as a way of understanding your strengths & your stressors; it  not only helped me understand what I need to be most productive, but to identify the best type of work for me, and how to enlist others in supporting my work/life balance. It's more detailed than other tools I've used (which you've probably used to.....but I'd better not mention here).  When I think about the cost of my career, there was no question that the investment in Birkman was - and is - well worth it!!! Feel free to contact me about my personal use of Birkman.  Barbara is terrific at personalizing it, and it is a tool she uses in all her coaching.”

I’ve signed up already!  See you in Seattle.

Changing Directions...

11 years ago, I found myself frustrated with my work environment.  At the time, we were building a new service and my boss had me reading  Start Up: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Launching and Managing a New Business by William J. Stolze.  The light dawned!  Everything we were doing in order to start this new service was teaching me how to start my own business.  Soon I was making notes at night about what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it.  Along the way, I read more and talked to a few independent consultants.  In February 1998, I quit my job and launched my own business.  I had changed direction.

Changing directions can sound quite scary, when people tell us that we have to do it.  However, when we decide to change directions, it can be liberating, thrilling, adventurous, inspiring, and life-changing.  Unfortunately, we don't always see the clues to tell us that we should change directions OR see the new path being laid out in front of us that we should follow. Looking for the clues or seeing the path isn't difficult, we just need to be aware and open to the "possibilities."

There are books, articles and blog posts about becoming more "aware."  Often the advice is to spend time in quiet, which will help you listen to the voice deep inside you. Perhaps all you need to do is to not dismiss those thoughts about a new idea, a change, or a different direction.

So here's my advice.  Today and for every tomorrow, take time -- in however you decide to do it -- to  be aware of the information around you.  Are there clues to a new direction?  Are you suppose to be changing directions?  Did a book catch your eye, but you dismissed the idea it posed?  Is there a new direction in your future?

Change is a constant

"When the winds of change feel too strong... Close your eyes and let the breeze blow through your hair"
-  Greeting card by Papyrus I couldn't resist buying

Christina's topic of the month reminds me of one of benefits of working in our profession. Our competencies allow us to explore a variety of career experiences from the traditional to the non-traditional, from corporate to non-profit to academic; from small organizations to huge and from local to international.

The information profession (in the library sense) is my second career. My first was as a travel consultant (back when travelling was fun). My interest in finding the best places and deals, organising complex and simple itineraries, as well as the fun of learning about new cultures and places translated easily into the world of special librarianship. I fell into this career through a love of travel and a relatively useless Bachelor in French and German.

I chose my second career drawn by the love of reading, the ability to "do a bit of everything" and working with clients, but not with the public. I have never regretted the change. As an information professional, I have worked in four entirely different organisations from corporate (public and private) to a Crown corporation and to an academic environment. Most have allowed me to learn new things, share my expertise, and have been a delightful challenge. When I didn't change companies, I changed my work environment. Now I am wondering, what other delights await in the wonderful world of the information professional.

What are your experiences? How have you managed your career? Are there natural progressions or paths that I should be following? Is there ever a really wrong move?

- Patricia