Library Leadership Your Way

Author Jason Martin won't tell you how to be a leader. Instead, he’ll give you a roadmap and the tools to find it out for yourself, guiding you to discover why you want to lead, how you can best lead, and what your own unique leadership practice looks like.

Are librarians and libraries relevant in the 21st century? This is a fundamental question and one that presents differing opinions across the many diverse information sectors. If there is a continuing need for libraries and for librarians, then how do library leaders obtain strategic support when there appears to be a lack of clarity or understanding about the very purpose of libraries at a time when economically, libraries are under pressure to develop new business models and be more commercially focussed? Bold Minds: Library leadership in a time of disruption brings together international leaders who frame many aspects of the current library provision and who carry responsibility for the library models of the future to consider how librarians and libraries can be a driving force in a time of disruptive economic, technological and cultural change. Each chapter critically presents a short leadership provocation regarding libraries and their purpose, encompassing impact, service delivery, collections, staff skills and professional training and assessing what it means for leaders, their sectors and organisations, and how they have developed their personal leadership signature. This book will be invaluable to library and information professionals in a range of public and private sector libraries as well as policy makers in services where libraries are a component. It will also be useful for students, educational establishments, and IT professionals with an information management element to their work.

This compilation reveals how followers help an organization get better and how effective followers—leading from the middle—are essential to the best kind of leadership. In "Leading from the Middle," and Other Contrarian Essays on Library Leadership, John Lubans, Jr., argues for democratic library organizations with shared leadership and decision making by leaders and followers. His book distills 15 years worth of leadership essays to advance a theory of a collaborative and empowering leadership, touching on such subjects as teamwork, empowerment, "followership," challenges, values, coaching, self-management, collaboration, communication, and techniques and tools. Lubans's 36 essays draw new and insightful perspectives on leadership from disparate realms: travel, sports, music, retail businesses, and airlines. All of the essays have been edited and revised for this book and many have been extensively updated with new material and epilogues. The essays flow from the author's experience as a manager/leader, his teaching of the topic, and his research into and experimentation with organizational leadership. Insights and suggestions are tempered by a candid reflection on successes achieved and mistakes made.

Leadership in Academic Libraries highlights model examples of the move from leadership theory into actual practice. A consideration of leadership theories provides a working vocabulary to facilitate discussions of abstract concepts, while specific topical investigations and case studies illustrate those concepts and show the manner in which theories play out in practice. Chapter authors speak from experience as well as theoretical grounding, and include practitioners, researchers, and formal and informal leaders. Topics include transformational leadership across generations; developing a research agenda in library leadership; methodologies for studying library leadership; connections between leadership models and library-focused research; engaging with business, psychology, and educational administration literature; leadership styles; organizational culture; the role of mentoring in leadership; and the role of women in academic library leadership. Two chapters highlight the dichotomy between positional leadership and socially constructed leadership roles. The research methods used include case study, survey, and action research. Extensive bibliographies for each chapter provide a solid foundation for further research.

Completely revised with even more contributions added by practicing school librarians, this book further examines the responsibility to lead in many areas and identifies the real-world, day-to-day application of established theory and best practices. In today's educational landscape, school librarians need to lead the way in many areas, including advocacy, literacy, technology, curriculum, vision, collaborative instruction, and intellectual freedom. All of these areas are vital to building and sustaining a school library program that enhances and encourages student achievement, as well as to providing enhanced services to students and faculty. This revised edition of The Many Faces of School Library Leadership offers invaluable insights from recognized leaders in the field of school librarianship that detail leadership roles embraced by accomplished practitioners and consider the research regarding best practices. An essential read for practicing school librarians as well as for pre-service school librarians, it offers today's school librarians actionable advice for strengthening their roles, underlining their value, and protecting their future—all while boosting student learning and achievement. The expert guidance and perspectives in this book will bolster those who are facing enormous challenges to meet them and allow school library staff to protect their jobs and to save school library programs from extinction.

The acclaimed author “richly articulates how the insights of modern science . . . can usher in a new era of human and planetary health” (Systems Thinker). For years, Margaret Wheatley has written eloquently about humanizing our organizations and helping people to work together more effectively and compassionately. She has shown how breakthroughs in chaos theory and quantum physics can enable organizations to function more like responsive, self-organizing living systems, rather than cold mechanisms of control. And she has gradually expanded these ideas into the wider arena of human society. In short, Margaret Wheatley is one of the most innovative and influential organizational thinkers of our time, and Finding Our Way brings together her shorter writings for the first time, touching on all the topics she has addressed throughout her career, showing how she has applied the ideas in her books in many different situations. “However,” she writes, “this is not a collection of articles. I updated, revised, or substantially added to the original content of each one. In this way, everything written here represents my current views on the subjects I write about.” Provocative, challenging, at times poetic, and often deeply moving, Finding Our Way sums up Wheatley’s thinking on a diverse scope of topics from leadership and management to education and raising children in turbulent times; from societal commentary to specific organizational techniques and more. “Wheatley provocatively lays out how managers must operate to be effective in a system that is ‘alive’ . . . Finding Our Way challenges us to see the enterprises we lead in new light.” —Leader’s Beacon

Great leadership isn't a mystery, but a skill that can be learned. Throughout your life, you've always recognized "it" when you saw it--that indescribable, appealing quality that tells you loud and clear this person is a leader, someone you should trust, follow, and learn from. And you've always told yourself, if only you had that "it factor" inside you that could inspire, motivate, and lead others in the same way. Well, you do . . . and you can! Nobody--not even the greatest you have ever seen--comes into the world a natural leader. But somewhere along the way, these people who entered the world in the same you did transformed into the kind of magnetic individuals who inspire others to follow their lead. Success expert Brian Tracy has spent years studying the world's greatest leaders and believes that everyone has it inside them to: Inspire trust, confidence, and loyalty Instill a sense of meaning and purpose in your organization Tap into the motivation and enthusiasm that compels others to commit to your vision Clearly communicate goals and strategies and gain buy-in Build winning teams Elicit extraordinary performance from ordinary people Become the person seen as most likely to lead the organization to victory And more Don't fall for the lie that says some are born leaders and the rest of us are simply their followers. You are just as capable as anyone! Packed with practical, proven methods, Leadership, a indispensable little guide will help you unlock your leadership potential.

Quality leadership is integral to the very future of our profession. And it doesn't only come from the top down. Effective leadership is customer-focused and collaborative, fostering a service culture that invites the involvement of individuals in every part and at every level of the organization, as the authors persuasively demonstrate in this practical new book. Drawing from case studies as well as the literature of business and social sciences, the authors provide guidance on how to apply the values of service leadership to both public and academic libraries. Through the use of examples, exercises, and tools for development, this book walks readers through the steps needed to create a sustainable, service-oriented model by Explaining how a service culture reaches beyond the individual leader with positional authority and extends to all individualsShowing ways to build rapport and trust within an organization, and how to balance encouragement with accountabilityDetailing strategic thinking and planning methods that will lead to improvements in customer service, human resources, organizational development, and trainingHelping library leaders create a sustainable service culture through codifying their organization’s values, with advice on policies and procedures such as recruitment, performance evaluation, compensation, and succession planningDiscussing the environment of change in libraries, showing how a library’s organizational culture is at the center of being responsive and staying relevantThis valuable resource gathers the principles and best practices of leadership, and points the way towards creating a service culture that makes every staff member a library leader.