Academic Libraries And Toxic Leadership

Academic Libraries and Toxic Leadership examines a phenomenon that has yet to be seriously explored. While other so-called feminized professions, such as nursing, have been studied for their tendency to create toxic leadership environments, thus far academic librarianship has not. This book focuses on how to identify a toxic leader in an academic library setting, how to address toxic leadership, and how to work toward eradicating it from the organization. In addition, it discusses which steps can be used to prevent libraries from hiring toxic leaders. Presents original research based on a two-phase study about toxic leadership in academic libraries Demonstrates how to identify toxic leadership in libraries Shows how toxic leadership can manifest itself, providing the reader with steps to eradicate it

"Academic libraries are full of inspiring collections, resources, and services, but libraries are special because of the people who run them. And what people believe about and face in their culture impacts ideas, plans, and outcomes. Academic library workers face many contemporary challenges that contribute to toxic work cultures--the rapid change of higher education, diminishing resources, lack of diversity, power hierarchies--and addressing these problems requires innovative solutions, ongoing professional development, and effective leadership. Toxic Dynamics: Disrupting, Dismantling, and Transforming Academic Library Culture provides practical solutions for confronting these complex issues and innovative ways to promote a healthy and sustainable work culture. It addresses critical and timely challenges such as faculty versus staff or us versus them mentality, unionization, gendered labor, organizational change, self-care, tenure, and promotion. Authors from all sizes and types of academic libraries provide evidence-based solutions to mitigate the negative effects of toxicity, change management strategies, and ways to confront and challenge values that harm library workers and their well-being. By understanding the root causes of toxic cultures, recognizing their impact, and implementing solutions, leaders can create a more supportive and positive work environment and improve morale, retention, and productivity. Toxic Dynamics is an important resource for anyone interested in improving workplace culture and addressing issues related to toxicity and inequity, and for library leaders at all levels." --

Organizational Transformation in Academic Libraries: Discourse, Process, Product helps inform discussions in academic libraries on organizational patterns and divisions of labor. The book gives librarians leverage to think outside traditional bureaucratic structures and re-think how libraries serve their patrons. It examines existing structures and proposes new organizational models and lays out a process for planning organizational transformation and implementing a new organization. Seven chapters offer a radical vision of library transformation, proposing a collaborative process for changing academic libraries into organizations fit for the second quarter of the twenty-first century and beyond. Academic libraries are changing in the face of information technologies, economic pressures and globally disruptive events such as the current pandemic. As a result, practical solutions for transforming organizational and workflow structures for the future are desperately needed. The title analyzes existing organizational structures and proposes new ones that can be adapted to individual libraries. It discusses the challenges posed by virtual learning environments, digital initiatives and resources, changes to cataloging standards and succession planning, as well as changes brought about by the current pandemic. Presents a clear analysis of organizational patterns and divisions of labor in the future of the academic library Gives specific organizational models and presents a process for planning and implementing organizational transformation Advocates for, and supports the radical transformation of, library organization and workflow structures Proposes a collaborative process for transforming academic libraries into future-ready organizations Considers current challenges and aims to support the design of new organizations ready for the second quarter of the 21st century and beyond

Frankly, it’s not something we like to talk about. There is an unfortunate stigma to acknowledging workplace dysfunction, let alone trying to grapple with the problem. But negative behaviors such as incivility, toxicity, deviant behavior, workplace politics, and team and leadership dysfunction not only make the library a stressful workplace, they also run counter to the core values of librarianship. An important tool for library leaders and managers as well as library staff, this book examines these negative relationship-based issues and suggests practical, research-based solutions by discussing the importance of understanding oneself as related to the library workplace;identifying attributes specific to libraries that foster personal success;showing how organizational dysfunction is rooted in problems such as poor communication, inadequate leadership, and lack of employee engagement;breaking down relatable scenarios to analyze what’s behind them and how to defuse them, ranging from a gossipy coworker who fails to contribute to the organization to workplace bullying and mobbing;exploring causes, results, and potential solutions in the areas of cyberloafing, fraud, theft, and sabotage;delving into the importance of conflict management, surveying a variety of approaches and applications;examining the use of teams in libraries and the impact of favoritism, nepotism, and sexism; andproviding techniques for successful collaboration, leadership, organizational communication, and other key management topics. By tackling the dysfunctional library head on, managers as well as library workers who find themselves in a toxic situation will be poised to better meet library goals and move the library forward.

A companion to The Next Library Leadership (Libraries Unlimited, 2003) this text focuses on the needs of the library and information sciences field, rather than on applying techniques taken from other disciplines. The articles discuss effective attributes and the development of leadership qualities, strategies and dispositions. They consistently distinguish between leadership and management, while explaining the close relationship between the two activities. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) -- Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, LLC.

Libraries as Dysfunctional Organizations and Workplaces expands the "dysfunctional" concept in the professional and academic LIS discourse by exposing the internal problematics of libraries, especially at the social and organizational levels. Including contributions written by LIS professionals and scholars, the book demonstrates that although many libraries do well at attending to users and managing external information they often fail at taking care of their own employees and addressing internal workplace issues. Acadia and the contributing authors explore the problem of dysfunctional libraries so that the LIS profession can come to terms with the systemic dysfunction in their institutions and begin solution-oriented progress toward new and sustainable functionality. The book analyzes the dysfunctional nature of modern libraries, while simultaneously proposing solutions to reduce and alleviate dysfunction. Through theory and application, it takes an explicit practice-based approach with the intent to inform and explain dysfunction as experienced in the library workplace at individual and structural levels and perspectives. Libraries as Dysfunctional Organizations and Workplaces brings the dysfunction discourse to the attention of LIS academics and scholars so that further theoretical and empirical research can proceed from and subsequently be addressed in library and information schools. The book will also be essential reading for librarians and LIS students currently working or preparing to work in public, college, and university libraries.

Toxic Leadership: Research and Cases presents research and cases on toxic leadership that emerged from qualitative research on the followers of toxic leaders. The goal is to help students, researchers, and academics understand how toxic leadership emerges, how leaders can spot toxic leadership within their organizations, and discuss what they can do to stop toxic leaders from destroying organizational value. The book pulls together various theories, models, and names (e.g., bad leadership, destructive leadership) for toxic leadership. The authors cover how power, culture, personality disorders, and followers contribute to the toxic leadership phenomenon. Readers will learn how toxic leaders impact organizations, the types of toxic leaders, signs of toxic leaders, and the environments they create. The authors share case studies for each toxic leader type to illustrate themes, coping strategies, and organizational outcomes. Each case is accompanied by a series of questions for reflection, study, and leadership development. This book will be useful for students, researchers, and academics to help uncover signs of toxic leaders that are often hidden from upper management. It will also be helpful for leaders to develop organizational strategies and for followers to develop coping strategies.