NASIG Newsletter

22nd CONFERENCE
STRATEGY SESSION 

From Tech Services to Leadership
Anne E. McKee, Greater Western Library Alliance, Moderator; Joyce Ogburn, University of Utah; Karen Calhoun, Cornell University; Carol Pitts Diedrichs, University of Kentucky
Reported by Rosemary LaSala

The session “From Tech Services to Leadership,” moderated by Anne E. McKee from the Greater Western Library Alliance, was well attended and began with the promise of active participation and discussion.  The speakers, Joyce Ogburn, Director of Marriot Library at the University of Utah, Karen Calhoun, Assistant University Librarian for Technical Services at Cornell University, and Carol Pitts Diedrichs, Dean of Libraries at the University of Kentucky began the discussion by focusing on two aspects:  what leadership is and what it encompasses; and how technical service librarians can rise to be leaders in their fields.  All of the speakers have varied backgrounds and many of them have been NASIG and ALA board members.  The presenters’ talents encompass the profession as a whole and their expertise is what helps determine their varied styles of leadership.
 
The speakers had many ideas for success as leaders and the majority of their ideas were the same. “What is leadership and what does it encompass?” requires many different steps and ideals.  The main themes all the speakers discussed were the importance of honesty, integrity, and the ability to listen.  Some of their ideas for success were:

• Build a coalition; recruit followers that you can help develop to become good leaders in the future.
• Find and adopt good models, steal liberally and share the credit.
• Strive to say yes.
• If you are not sure why you are doing something, ask yourself why. Remember you have an impact on your organization and your staff.
• Have a vision, dream big.
• Remember no mistake is ever final.
• Always be honest, lead with integrity, and be fair. 
• Seek to influence rather than command.
• Have some fun.
• No leader is an island, no one does anything alone, and everything is a group process.
• Leadership is not about power.
• Leadership and management are not the same.
• Be flexible.
• Look for common ground if you’re having difficulty working with different areas of your organization.
• Making good things happen is extremely rewarding.
• Listen to the dissident voice, do not be defensive.
• Do not accept the status quo.
• Be able to talk one-on-one to someone.
• Adjust and manage your style to people’s issues.
• Learn to say you can’t talk about a subject now but when you can you will.

Leadership can be messy; there are times that you will feel resistance.  Always remember that there is value in every point of view.  In an organization, it is vital to know your staff and their personal styles.  You must understand what they are saying and be willing to listen and compromise.  A leader must be willing to be the first one in a messy situation to take responsibility for a mistake.  Furthermore, a good leader needs to accept help from people whom he or she has trusted with responsibility.

The second point the speakers discussed was what technical services has taught them individually about leadership.  All of the presenters spoke about the changes in technical services that have occurred over the last twenty years.  Leaders must find ways to accomplish the goals of their organizations with less money, constant change, tension from employees, and an understanding that one must delegate and be prepared to meet resistance.  A leader must recognize that to emerge successfully after all these changes, one must understand that these changes are difficult for support staff as well.  The help and willingness of the support staff to change is an integral part of success.  Technical service is a team-based approach; they deal with internal and external stakeholders.  Collaboration is the hallmark of technical services.       
       
Leadership takes energy and passion; you must find your own ways to recharge yourself.  Everyone spends so much time at work that it is important to understand that there needs to be a balance between life and work.  Individuals who are in leadership positions need to remember that it is not about themselves, but the organizations that employ them.  During this session one could understand that the speakers embraced this reality as an integral part in their roles as leaders, individuals, co-workers, women, and team players.