Defining Leadership 2

I recently found conference notes from a session on leadership that I attended during the Ontario Library Association's Super Conference in 2008:


Leadership is a relationship of influence between at least two people who strive toward a shared purpose and which results in meaningful and substantive change.


Schein's Organizational Culture and Leadership (394): Leaders are perpetual learners because tomorrow is different, complex, more fast paced, and culturally diverse.


Change requires learning. Leaders are the first learners and believers in new learning.

Leaders seek opportunities.

Leaders set goals: What am I going to do tomorrow to advance this outcome? In the next week/month/3 months/6 months?


I also found notes from a session on how to conduct a reference interview. As I look at them today, I see that some phrases are also useful for developing my leadership skills in team building, accountability, and coaching:

"What information seems to be missing?"

"Yes! I can help you with that!"

"I may have some ideas to help you solve your problem."
"Here are some ideas."
"What do you think of..."

Opportunities

For the past two weeks, I have been thinking about and pursuing the next step of my Emerging Leader commitment and professional development -- leadership involvement in a local or national organization.

My first lead was from a connection I made at ALA with the outgoing chair of the Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT). This contact has also led me to the Editor of the EMIE Bulletin. I am currently bouncing ideas off him for a potential article.

A former YSU professor also encouraged me to pursue involvement in the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (OCTELA). I submitted the PLYMC project I completed in February which paired 105 picturebooks to Ohio's early learning science standards. While my handouts will not be published, the President-Elect encouraged me to submit a presentation proposal for their March 2010 Conference.

I am also working with my employer to assess my ability to attend future ALA conferences. This helps me to fill out their committee volunteer forms and gives me an idea of how I can be involved on the national level.

Overall, I am very excited about these opportunities.

Who knows what will happen next?

Leadership Development: A Personal Plan

Notes from an Emerging Leader Activity. It is encouraging to revisit my strengths as library funding declines, and I wait to see how my job will be effected.

I am strong in:

Motivation
Decision Making


I need to develop:

Team Building"What do you mean by ____?"
Create group synergy
"What is our goal?"

Accountability issues
How to get people on the same page and participate

Coaching
"How can I help you?"

Report to the Ohio Library Council

Learning: Emerging Leadership

On July 11, 2009, the Emerging Leader Team A presented our "Lift Every Voice and Read: A Personal Library for Every Child" project to the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee. Our team's journey as well as our final proposal and products can be accessed at the Emerging Leader wiki. During this process, I also kept a professional blog relating my individual experiences in the Emerging Leader program.

While our July 11 presentation may mark the end of my official status as an "Emerging Leader," it also signifies the beginning or emergence of my professional involvement.

The Emerging Leader program has given me valuable experiences in virtual committee work. It has provided me with a more solid framework of what leadership requires. Most importantly, it has shown me the value of communication, particularly through the cultivation of my networking skills.

Though I have been able to communicate successfully to serve the public in the library environment and have been equally comfortable communicating with colleagues via email and listservs, I did not feel as practiced in connecting with colleagues during a conference setting. While I have always been interested in broadening my professional network, the Emerging Leader program has given me the insight, practice, and push needed to accomplish this goal.

Since July 11, I have contacted Alan Bailey, first chair of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards newly conceived Web Committee, who had expressed interest in making our Emerging Leader project ideas a reality. I have also been in contact with various members of the American Library Association's Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table as I discover new ways to continue to be involved in the library world on a national level. Additionally, I have plans to pursue other professional opportunities and contacts made during my Emerging Leader experience.

Thank you, Ohio Library Council's Board of Directors, for supporting my Emerging Leader experience and bringing me to a new level in my professional library involvements. I greatly appreciate this opportunity and look forward to working with you in the near future!