Presentation about leadership in the 21st century and what it means in library management. Also includes some examples of case studies of library situations faced by library managers and employees. Leadership challenge: now, each person in the organization must have the qualities for effective leadership, and not rely on one appointed person.

1. Trends in Library &
Information Management and
Related Practices
Report by:
L. Base & A.Delgado
LIS 315: Management of Libraries and
Information Centers
September 28, 2012

2. “Most U.S. corporations today are
over-managed and underled.”
LEADERS
 Vision
 What could be
 Align people
 Motivate people
MANAGERS
 Organization
 What is
 Assign people
 Control people
Based on and adapted from John P.
Kotter article in Harvard Business
Review, December 2001

4. Leadership in the 21st Century
 Leadership is an elusive concept. It is easier
to recognize than to describe in words.
 There is a concern on how to identify
potential leaders and provide training they
need to perform successfully.
 Managers should also be leaders, but leaders
need not be managers.
 Leaders are made and not born.

5. 3 Levels of Leadership
1. Individual - leader is mentor, coach,
motivator
2. Group - leader focuses on team-building
and resolving conflict
3. Leader builds an organizational culture
Modern leadership is focused on human
relations and is not reserved for those at the
top and not about control or manipulation.

6. Abilities leaders need
1. Attention: creating a compelling vision
2. Meaning: communicating the vision
3. Trust: the emotional glue that
binds followers to leaders
4. "Deployment of Self": applying
knowledge, persistence, and
risk-taking, commitment, and
challenge, along with the ability
to learn from failure

7. What we want from leaders
 Purpose, trust, optimism, action, and
results.
 They give staff freedom to do their job, have
a personal interest in them, and have
outgoing personalities.
 They let staff be innovators and
allow them to make mistakes
along the way as long as they are
learning.

8. Post-heroic leadership
 In the past, leaders were
heroes who have all the the
answers, followers go
along. The disadvantages
are dependent followers and a
the ‘perfect’ leader who can’t acknowledge
mistakes.
 Post-heroic means shared power and flat,
participative organizations.

9. Before, After

10. 5 Levels of Leadership
Executive
Effective Leader
Competent Manager
Team Member
Capable Individual

11. 10 Facts of Life for 21st Century Leaders
1. The rules have
changed
2. Life is faster
3. Accelerating
change
4. Higher expectation
5. The culture is in
moral decay
6. Servant-leadership
is stretching
7. You are a limited
resource
8. Leadership is
draining
9. More is not the
answer
10.There is hope!

12. Future leaders will be...
 Sensitive to diversity issues
 Interpersonally competent
 Skilled communicators and motivators
 Community builders
 Capable of well-aligned organizational
structures

13. Failure vs. Effective Leadership
 Conflict avoidance
 Oppression of
subordinates
 Micromanagement
 Inaccessibility
 Manic behavior
 Analytical
intelligence
Willingness to meet
challenges
Sociability
Receptiveness to new
ideas
Agreeableness
Dependability
Emotional intelligence

15. Issues & Case Studies
describes a management situation:
setting, organization, people
 Case studies test our decision-making skills
and help us apply them to real situations
 There is no right solution, a problem can be
solved in many ways
 In analysing, note the factors that influence
the situation in individuals, groups, and the
environment. Think of solutions and their
likely results. 

16. #1: The Internal Candidate
Caleb is frustrated that he wasn’t appointed as
associate director even he has worked here longer
than Cassie, who was chosen instead. Jack, the
library director, remains neutral. Soon, Caleb vs.
Cassie is affecting everyone in the library.

17. #1: Recommendations:
 Cassie should acknowledge Caleb’s expected
frustration but propose they work together as
professional colleagues.
 Jack could have prevented this by talking to
Caleb why they haven’t chosen him, based on
his performance and behavior.
 Caleb must learn that advancement depends on
his responsibility for his own behavior.
 Jack can look for other ways to encourage
Caleb

18. #2: It is obvious we don’t matter
Peter, the new head of
the Serials, finds his staff
unresponsive to his
requests for suggestions.
He learns that they have
a silent conflict with the
librarians who take them
for granted. The staff
feels that they don’t
matter. How can Peter
change that?

19. #2: Recommendations:
 Once on the job, the supervisor must work on
building rapport and trust. When asking for
input, explain consequences of ideas rejected
and accepted.
 A recognition program like “Employee of the
Month” and post articles and pictures of his or
her accomplishments.
 It is the librarians’ responsibility to bridge the
gap

20. #3: Let me do my job!
Amanda feels that the board is
trying to take over. Olive, a
board member, hired an
unqualified applicant with no
library experience just
because they were close. They
don’t seem to follow policy.
Another board member wanted a friend’s
collection to be added to the library, unaware of
donation policies and required procedures.
What must Amanda do?

21. #3: Recommendations:
 Amanda can contact a library association to
help conduct a training for board and staff,
and invite speakers such as a national librarian
and government official.
 The differences of the board, the director, and
the staff should be clear.
 Amanda is still a government employee who
needs to respond to community needs.
 She should communicate more with the local
government officials, her real bosses.

22. #4: What is taking those people so
long?
Walter, the reference librarian,
is complaining that needed
books stay too long in cataloging.
Mina, the cataloger, says that
say they take too long to ensure
quality bibliographic standards.
Walter thinks they are making
excuses as they only get most records in the
OCLC. The library director supports Mina.

23. #4: Recommendations:
 Delia must create a strategic plan to reflect the
library’s goals and the patrons, not fight over whose
job is more important or whose training more
prestigious.
 Everyone needs to understand better the work of
other employees. There can be a monthly meeting
where each person explains his work.
 Mina must also be aware of users’ needs. Other
points about bibliographic standards can be put off
for later.
 Direct confrontation intead of complaining to a
colleague solves many problems.

24. #5: Controlling Unruly Students
Joan, a librarian in a school library, has to solve
the problem of rude, unruly, and noisy students.
The attitude problem is also in the classroom, as
teachers have complained. She takes the issue to
the vice principal for discipline but she does not
want to send student after student to him. What
strategy must she implement to reclaim proper
behavor?

25. #6: Accepting a wealthy donor’s
useless collection
In a community college library suffering budget
cuts, the library director Ana relies on fund-
raising. One day, the president says that a donor
is willing to give $500,000 if the library houses his
collection on Latin. Ana’s concern is
the books are not right for the college,
and they have not taught Latin for so
long. The college may gain money
but she is worried about the library’s
resources and facilities.

26. #7: Dealing with pornography in
the library
Alan is assigned at the internet
stations of the reference section
of a public library. Access is
unfiltered because he opposes
censorship. But many patrons
are complaining about some
men accessing porn for all to
see. The director asked Alan to
solve it. He learns that a local
newspaper is interested in the
complaints. How can he stop it
before its too late?

27. #8: Succeeding an unfit director
Colin is the new associate
director of a community
college library. Ken, the
current library director, had
neglected the library and left
staff with low morale. To
Colin’s surprise, the
president called and said
Ken was fired and Colin is
the new director. How can
he create a dynamic and
committed team?

28. CHALLENGE

29. The Leadership Challenge
 There is a leadership crisis in society. In
government, education, corporations, and
even libraries, people are dissatisfied about
leaders and what kind of leadership they
want.
 Few managers possess a
clear vision of the future
and the knowledge of how
to get from here to there.

30. Today: ‘Anti-authoritarian Age’
 It is more difficult for to assume leadership
positions as people now are more likely to
question the leader's authority.
 Today's leader must inspire confidence and
trust for followers who are likely to distrust
any kind of authority
 A leader can’t please everybody, something
always fail to live up to expectations. (A
common pattern is to oust a leader and look
for another.)

31. Leadership is needed!
 Many complain about the lack leadership in
society
 There is a call for better and effective
leadership as the cure for the illnesses of
society and institutions, but...
“We believe in leaders and in leadership,
but… on a personal basis few of us want to
be led.”

32. Leadership Irony
When people's trust
are at its lowest and
those who are
supposed to be leaders
can't be trusted, when
people are tired, angry,
and cynical that a
society needs leaders
most to “transcend the
vacuum”. (Bennis)

33. People-centered Leaders
 A new leadership style with management-
worker unity
 The leader creates a vision and has the
practical ability to do it
 A people-oriented leader
 The leader from ‘cop to cheerleader’
 Leaders are found in every level of the
organization, and they must encourage others

34. 5 Practices of Exemplary Leadership

35. Conclusion
 Effective leaders adapt
their style to the
situation. Choosing is
always a challenge.
 In most modern
organizations, leaders
are found in all levels.
The idea of a leader as
the person only at the
top is outdated.

36. End. Thank you for listening!
-Liza & Allana
