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Developing the Leader in You
by Barbara J. Arnold
Leadership is an important component of any library and information science professional’s career. As the Admissions and Placement Adviser for the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I look for evidence of leadership or leadership potential in the applicants for our school. Our New Student Orientation program introduces professional and student organizations, and everyone is encouraged to get involved.
Students that get involved by volunteering to help on committees or serving in one of the group leadership capacities are recognized by the faculty. They are the ones asked to serve on faculty committees, honored with awards and nominated for the international honor society Beta Phi Mu. They are the people that are remembered when jobs are advertised and when an organization is looking for student representatives to attend a conference.
Not everyone is naturally cut out to be a leader, and there are times in one's personal and professional life when leadership roles may need to be shelved for a while. Leaders, however, are not born. They are developed through determination, training, reading, reflecting and practicing. Developing management and administrative skills is a place to start.
Early in my career, shortly after library school, I took advantage of the UW Extension Management Institute's continuing education opportunities. I took the Women New to Supervisory Management workshops; a management and decision making short course; how to deal with difficult people; a program on how to run an effective meeting and an intensive grants and proposal writing workshop. My employer paid for some. I paid for the others. I considered it an investment in my professional development.
Now, there are lots of opportunities for leadership development through the Special Libraries Association's (SLA) Learning Connections and its Diversity Leadership Development Program. The concept and practice of leadership has been the focus of ALA’s LAMA (Library Administration & Management Association) for the past two years. The summer 2004 issue of their Library Administration & Management journal was devoted to leadership, and the LAMA National Leadership Institute is meeting in Palm Springs, November 18-20, 2004. The Association for Research Libraries (ARL) is hosting a Leadership Symposium on January 15-16, 2005 in Boston, in conjunction with ALA's Midwinter meeting.
Developing Your Leadership Skills
I would recommend thinking strategically about your position and about your interests and strengths. Start by learning how to run an effective meeting. Volunteer for a committee which will use your talents and will let other staff know that you are interested and dependable and that you will do what you have said you will. Is there a new service or topic that interests you that could potentially improve your library’s services? Why not become an expert in blogging or zines, or on a local author, or reference 24X7? Share what you have learned with other staff, or offer to teach a professional development workshop. Write up your findings for publication. Leaders are people with vision and something to say.
Fellowships and Mentors
Post-master's fellowships, internships, or exchange programs can provide a boost to your leadership development. Often there are professional organization connections and activities associated with these appointments. The two year post-master's fellowship program at North Carolina State University, for example, provides training to enhance professional career opportunities. The program is structured so one of the work assignments is a project that can be reported in the professional literature and presented at meetings.
If moving to take advantage of a fellowship or internship isn't an option, finding a mentor to help with your leadership assessment and networking connections can help. Your mentor can be someone local, a fellow library school alum, or a unit member from one of the LIS professional organizations. You can ask your mentor to help you create a leadership development plan. Ask your mentor for advice on where to put your energies. Use your mentor's connections to get nominated for an office or appointed to a committee or task force. Leadership skills grow through taking risks and through practice.
Opportunities to Push Your Limits
I really enjoyed the undergraduate speech classes that were required for my bachelor’s degree, and had fun acting in high school. The Dean of Students’ Office put out a call for academic staff interested in interpersonal communication skills to be trained as a trainer in a communication process model that had been promoted on the campus, and helped underwrite the cost of the training. My obligation was to teach or consult with two campus units in the year following the training. I team taught the model to another group of campus trainers and did a workshop for the Madison Area Library Council. I introduced other campus units to my school, met people from the Madison area in the library field, and use the communication skills in my job every day.
This summer, the YWCA’s "Our Voice: Eliminating Racism, Empowering Women," newsletter had an article on a fall forum to be held in conjunction with the 3rd Annual Racial Justice Forum. The Community Outreach and Racial Justice Program Manager asked for volunteers to facilitate table discussions following the keynote address. The volunteers were asked to participate in two facilitator training sessions and to commit to doing two additional facilitations over the course of the year as part of "It's Time to Talk" forums.
The UW-Madison SLIS has a commitment to increasing the diversity of our school and our profession. I have not been able to commit to some of the more time-intensive racial institutes that offer training on campus and in Madison, but this was a timeframe that I could handle. I enjoyed the training sessions I have attended, and am looking forward to the luncheon discussion. I have met people from the community that I would have never met otherwise, and I am planning to have one of the facilitations hosted by our school next spring. I am building on my past skills and training and pushing my comfort limits, meeting new people, and working towards one of the goals of my school.
We Graduate Leaders
"We graduate leaders" is the motto under photos of our alumni of the year award winners. We look to our alumni for role models and follow the careers of those in leadership positions. You are probably better prepared for developing the leader in you than you realize. There are many rewards and much satisfaction in chairing an effective committee or taking charge of a project, doing a good job, and celebrating your success through publication or professional conference presentations. You can develop the leader in you.
Barbara J. Arnold is a candidate for Vice-President President Elect of the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) and she is finishing her term on the WLA Foundation Board by serving as board president. She works as the Admissions and Placement Adviser for the UW-Madison SLIS and would be happy to hear other suggestions from you.