What’s Your Personal Mission? | Leading from the Library; Library Journal, 12/3/14

Steven Bell, Library Journal; What’s Your Personal Mission? | Leading from the Library:

"Good leaders need to be focused and consistent. It pushes them to achieve their goals in a way that followers can anticipate and count on. Having a personal mission statement can help leaders stay true to this fundamental approach."

What to Do When Your Boss Doesn’t Like You; Harvard Business Review, 12/8/14

Liane Davey, Harvard Business Review; What to Do When Your Boss Doesn’t Like You:

"Your relationship with your boss is a significant predictor of your experience at work. Good relationships increase the likelihood that you’ll get interesting assignments, meaningful feedback, and recognition for your contributions. Bad relationships mean, well, just the opposite. If your relationship with your manager is prickly, icy, distant, or strained, your work — and your career — will no doubt suffer. The good news is that there are steps you can take to change things for the better."

The Small Personal Risks That Actually Change Behavior; Harvard Business Review, 11/17/14

Peter Bregman, Harvard Business Review; The Small Personal Risks That Actually Change Behavior:

"We often think of leadership in big, active ways: ambitious visions, well-articulated strategies, convincing speeches, compelling conversations.

Those things can be useful tools for a powerful leader. But they are not the essence of leadership. The essence of leadership is having the courage to show up differently than the people around you.

Most people I know — myself included — stop short of what we can accomplish because, simply put, we’re scared. Of looking bad. Of failing. Of being humiliated. We’re hiding, unwilling to be vulnerable, unsure whether to take a risk. But leadership calls us to step forward first and take the risk that others are afraid to take."

Mark Zuckerberg Speaks Mandarin, Blows Everyone’s Mind; Wired.com, 10/22/14

Marcus Wohlsen, Wired.com; Mark Zuckerberg Speaks Mandarin, Blows Everyone’s Mind:

"Zuckerberg’s proficiency would appear to be the positive result of one of his annual self-improvement challenges. Every year, Zuckerberg picks a skill or a goal to pursue with extreme focus. This year, the plan was to write one thoughtful thank-you note every day. In 2010, his aim was to learn Mandarin."

How to Deal with a Mean Colleague; Harvard Business Review, 10/16/14

Amy Gallo, Harvard Business Review; How to Deal with a Mean Colleague:

"Know the limitations When none of the above works you have to consider: Is this uncivil, mean behavior or am I being bullied? If you are in an abusive situation (not just a tough one), Namie and Woodward agree that chances of change are low. “The only time I’ve seen a bully change is when they are publicly fired. The sanctions don’t work,” says Woodward. Instead, you need to take action to protect yourself. Of course, in an ideal world, senior leaders would immediately fire people who are toxic to a workplace. But both Namie and Woodward agree that rarely happens. “Even though the statistics are clear on the impact on morale, retention, performance, it’s very hard for organizations to take action,” Woodward says. If you’re in an abusive situation at work, the most tenable solution may be to leave — if that’s a possibility. The Workplace Bullying Institute has done online surveys that show more people stay in a bullying situation because of pride (40% of respondents) than because of economics (38%). If you’re worried about letting the bully win, Namie says, you’re better off worrying about your own wellbeing."

A Refresher on Storytelling 101; Harvard Business Review, 10/8/14

JD Schramm, Harvard Business Review; A Refresher on Storytelling 101:

"At bedtime, I tell stories to my godchildren, Anna and Noah, when their parents invite me to care for them. Their capacity for stories amazes me. They beg for “just one more” and then “just one more.” It seems we are wired to enjoy a well-told story.

And as we grow up, we do not lose our thirst for stories. I work with future leaders at Stanford to help them develop compelling stories that achieve their management goals — and I’ve developed a seven-part formula for storytelling success in presentations and business meetings...

Stories can be compelling and entertaining. Stories can teach and influence. Stories make our messages memorable. Use these seven strategies to hone and polish your storytelling skills, and achieve the results you seek as a leader and communicator."

Regular Exercise Is Part of Your Job; Harvard Business Review, 10/3/14

Ron Friedman, Harvard Business Review; Regular Exercise Is Part of Your Job:

"When we think about the value of exercise, we tend to focus on the physical benefits. Lower blood pressure, a healthier heart, a more attractive physique. But over the past decade, social scientists have quietly amassed compelling evidence suggesting that there is another, more immediate benefit of regular exercise: its impact on the way we think.

Studies indicate that our mental firepower is directly linked to our physical regimen. And nowhere are the implications more relevant than to our performance at work. Consider the following cognitive benefits, all of which you can expect as a result of incorporating regular exercise into your routine:

Improved concentration

Sharper memory

Faster learning

Prolonged mental stamina

Enhanced creativity

Lower stress

Exercise has also been show to elevate mood, which has serious implications for workplace performance. I’m willing to bet that your job requires you to build interpersonal connections and foster collaborations. Within this context, feeling irritable is no longer simply an inconvenience. It can directly influence the degree to which you are successful."

Phil Mickelson saves best shot for his captain; Associated Press via Yahoo News, 9/29/14

Doug Ferguson, Associated Press via Yahoo News; Phil Mickelson saves best shot for his captain:

"Mickelson didn't call out Watson by name. He just criticized his heavy-handed leadership style.

It needed to be said.

And as bad as it made Watson look — and Mickelson, for that matter — it was the right time and the right place. The message was directed more at the PGA of America, which selected Watson without player input, than it was at the captain. Given the stage, his comments will not be forgotten.

Watson wanted to be captain again, even though it had been 21 years since he was captain, or even attended a Ryder Cup. After watching the meltdown at Medinah, he was tired of the Americans losing. Watson saw a team with a silver spoon that was in dire need of an iron fist.

"This guy is tough as nails. We all know that," European captain Paul McGinley said. "He was going to be strong. He was going to be a very strong captain, and he was going to lead it his way."

That might have worked in 1993. It doesn't work now."

Divided U.S. Team Uncorks Tension in Defeat; New York Times, 9/28/14

Karen Crouse, New York Times; Divided U.S. Team Uncorks Tension in Defeat:

"As Mickelson spoke, Watson stared ahead. The wan smile on his face did not reach his eyes. Hunter Mahan, seated next to Mickelson, looked at him out of the corner of his eye. At the other end of the table, Bubba Watson sat with his arms crossed on his chest. Other players stared at their cuticles or shifted in their seats.

Their fidgeting became more pronounced after a reporter told Mickelson that his comments sounded “like a pretty brutal destruction of the leadership that’s gone on this week.”

Mickelson’s eyes widened, and he said: “Oh, I’m sorry you’re taking it that way. I’m just talking about what Paul Azinger did to help us play our best.” He added, “You asked me what I thought we should do going forward to bring our best golf out, and I go back to when we played our best golf and try to replicate that formula.”

That didn’t happen here? “Uh, no,” Mickelson said. “No, nobody here was in any decision.”

Watson was asked what he thought of Mickelson’s remarks, and the room grew so still, it was as if even the air had stopped circulating.

“I had a different philosophy as far as being a captain of this team,” he said. “You know, it takes 12 players to win. It’s not pods. It’s 12 players.”

Or, it appeared, 12 angry men.

Asked if he perceived Mickelson as disloyal, Watson said: “Not at all. He has a difference of opinion. That’s O.K. My management philosophy is different than his.”"

Managing People from 5 Generations; Harvard Business Review, 9/25/14

Rebecca Knight, Harvard Business Review; Managing People from 5 Generations:

"For the first time in history, five generations will soon be working side by side. But whether this multi-generational workplace feels happy and productive or challenging and stressful is, in large part, up to you: the boss. How should you relate to employees of different age groups? How do you motivate someone much older or much younger than you? And finally: what can you do to encourage employees of different generations to share their knowledge?"

Understanding the Culture or Establishing It | Leading From the Library; Library Journal, 9/24/14

Stephen Bell, Library Journal; Understanding the Culture or Establishing It | Leading From the Library:

"“Don’t expect to change anything unless you can do it within the constraints of the organization culture” is a piece of advice often given to leaders. Perhaps leaders are better off ignoring it and establishing a new culture.

When I was a graduate student working towards my degree in higher education administration, in one course we read a book called The Invisible Tapestry. You probably are more familiar with the author, George Kuh, than with the content of this publication. Kuh is well-known as a higher education researcher for his work related to the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The book is subtitled “Culture in American Colleges and Universities,” and the “invisible tapestry” refers to an institution’s culture as the intangible fabric that weaves together the experience of belonging to that particular academic community. Kuh and his coauthor Elizabeth Whitt deftly blend theory and cases to demonstrate how institutional culture plays a role in not only differentiating colleges but establishing a set of properties (norms, rituals, icons, myths, etc.) that define what it means to be a member of the community. The book’s big takeaway is that if, as an academic administrator, you want to effect some change within an institution it must be done within the constraints of the culture. Attempts to force change that conflicts with the culture are doomed to failure. In other words, implementing conservative-minded programs at a place like Oberlin College would probably be an ill-fated move."

5 Tips for New Team Leaders; Harvard Business Review, 9/22/14

Jeanne DeWitt, Harvard Business Review; 5 Tips for New Team Leaders:

"I’ve been a new manager five times in my career: once as a first-time manager at Google going from being a teammate to leading peers, three times as I was promoted within Google, and most recently as the new Chief Revenue Officer for UberConference, a teleconferencing startup in San Francisco. What I’ve found is that success out of the gate is normally tied to being truly open to learning, communicating openly and honestly, and ultimately being prepared to take action when you know where the team needs to head.

To that end, here are the key things I’ve learned along the way:"

Center for an Urban Future Re-Envisions New York’s Branch Libraries; Library Journal, 9/19/14

Lisa Peet, Library Journal; Center for an Urban Future Re-Envisions New York’s Branch Libraries:

"From the Andrew Carnegie–era temples of learning to the small cinderblock “Lindsay boxes” built during Mayor John Lindsay’s administration from 1966–1973, New York City’s 207 library branches are as varied as its population. And like much of the city, they are feeling the crunch of budget cuts and neglect. The Center for an Urban Future (CUF), a New York City-based public policy think tank, published a detailed report September 15 titled Re-Envisioning New York’s Branch Libraries. The 56-page report, funded by the Charles H. Revson Foundation, focuses on the physical and economic challenges facing the buildings that make up New York City’s three library systems: New York Public Library (NYPL), which serves Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island, Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), and Queens Library (QL). It lays out the many design, space, and infrastructure problems that need to be addressed, and explains the difficult processes required for the city’s libraries to secure funding and carry out various building and renovation projects. In addition, the report offers “20 actionable steps that city government and the libraries themselves could take to address these needs.”"

Most People Don’t Want to Be Managers: But if you're young, gay, black, or a man, the odds are higher that you do; Harvard Business Review, 9/18/14

Nicole Torres, Harvard Business Review; Most People Don’t Want to Be Managers: But if you're young, gay, black, or a man, the odds are higher that you do:

"Of the thousands surveyed, only about one-third of workers (34%) said they aspire to leadership positions – and just 7% strive for C-level management (the rest said they aspire to middle-management or department-head roles). Broken down further, the results show that more men (40%) hope to have a leadership role than women (29%), and that African Americans (39%) and LGBT workers (44%) are more likely to want to climb the corporate ladder than the national average.

The online survey polled a nationwide sample of 3,625 full-time workers in government and the private sector, across salary levels, industries, and company sizes. It’s the first time CareerBuilder has asked about leadership aspirations in a worker survey (they now plan to track it semi-annually or annually), so we don’t know if these numbers signal an increase in people who don’t want to be leaders. But past research shows this sentiment is nothing new. Many people don’t want their boss’s job – for reasons that range from generational differences to being happy in their current positions to concerns about responsibility and work-life balance.

And even without these issues, leading others is – and has always been – just really, really hard. Managers have the inherently alienating task of balancing conflicting interests of the worker and the corporation, as a young Warren Bennis summed up in 1961. So it’s no wonder there are more people who dislike being in charge than people who like it."

The Creative Benefits of Boredom; Harvard Business Review, 9/9/14

David Burkus, Harvard Business Review; The Creative Benefits of Boredom:

"“Gasper and Middlewood suggest that boredom boosts creativity because of how people prefer to alleviate it. Boredom, they suggest, motivates people to approach new and rewarding activities. In other words, an idle mind will seek a toy. (Anyone who has taken a long car ride with a young child has surely experienced some version of this phenomenon.)

Taken together, these studies suggest that the boredom so commonly felt at work could actually be leveraged to help us get our work done better…or at least get work that requires creativity done better. When we need to dream up new projects or programs (divergent thinking), perhaps we should start by spending some focused time on humdrum activities such as answering emails, making copies, or entering data. Afterward, as in the Mann and Cadman study, we may be better able to think up more (and more creative) possibilities to explore. Likewise, if we need to closely examine a problem and produce a concise, effective solution (convergent thinking), perhaps we should schedule that task after a particularly lifeless staff meeting. By engaging in uninteresting activities before problem-solving ones, we may be able to elicit the type of thinking we need to find creative solutions.""

What New Team Leaders Should Do First; Harvard Business Review, 9/11/14

Carolyn O'Hara, Harvard Business Review; What New Team Leaders Should Do First:

"Getting people to work together isn’t easy, and unfortunately many leaders skip over the basics of team building in a rush to start achieving goals. But your actions in the first few weeks and months can have a major impact on whether your team ultimately delivers results. What steps should you take to set your team up for success? How do you form group norms, establish clear goals, and create an environment where everyone feels comfortable and motivated to contribute?"

The Best Leaders Are Insatiable Learners; Harvard Business Review, 9/5/14

Bill Taylor, Harvard Business Review; The Best Leaders Are Insatiable Learners:

"So what is the opposite of boredom, the personal attribute that allows individuals to keep learning, growing, and changing, to escape their fixed attitudes and habits? “Not anything as narrow as ambition,” Gardner told the ambitious McKinsey strategists. “After all, ambition eventually wears out and probably should. But you can keep your zest until the day you die.” He then offered a simple maxim to guide the accomplished leaders in the room. “Be interested,” he urged them. “Everyone wants to be interesting, but the vitalizing thing is to be interested…As the proverb says, ‘It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.’”...

It takes a real sense of personal commitment, especially after you’ve arrived at a position of power and responsibility, to push yourself to grow and challenge conventional wisdom. Which is why two of the most important questions leaders face are as simple as they are profound: Are you learning, as an organization and as an individual, as fast as the world is changing? Are you as determined to stay interested as to be interesting? Remember, it’s what you learn after you know it all that counts."

Chattanooga Library official resigns, another suspended after audit findings; Times Free Press, 9/5/14

Joy Lukachick, Times Free Press; Chattanooga Library official resigns, another suspended after audit findings:

"After two top Chattanooga Library officials were reported to the state for suspected fraud, one official has resigned and another will be suspended.

Library Systems Administrator Meg Backus has resigned and Administrative Director Nate Hill will be suspended, Executive Director Corinne Hill said this morning...

Sewell reported her two top staffers, Nate Hill and Backus, to the state's comptroller's office after he found they took multiple paid speaking and consultant jobs on library time and took weeks of unreported vacation time. When questioned, Backus also deleted evidence and lied to auditors. The total excess reimbursements that Corinne Hill and her staffers received and the amount of mismanaged funds are estimated in the auditor findings at nearly $3,000."

Curiosity Is as Important as Intelligence; Harvard Business Review, 8/27/14

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Harvard Business Review; Curiosity Is as Important as Intelligence:

"3) CQ: CQ stands for curiosity quotient and concerns having a hungry mind. People with higher CQ are more inquisitive and open to new experiences. They find novelty exciting and are quickly bored with routine. They tend to generate many original ideas and are counter-conformist. It has not been as deeply studied as EQ and IQ, but there’s some evidence to suggest it is just as important when it comes to managing complexity in two major ways. First, individuals with higher CQ are generally more tolerant of ambiguity. This nuanced, sophisticated, subtle thinking style defines the very essence of complexity. Second, CQ leads to higher levels of intellectual investment and knowledge acquisition over time, especially in formal domains of education, such as science and art (note: this is of course different from IQ’s measurement of raw intellectual horsepower). Knowledge and expertise, much like experience, translate complex situations into familiar ones, so CQ is the ultimate tool to produce simple solutions for complex problems.

Although IQ is hard to coach, EQ and CQ can be developed. As Albert Einstein famously said: ““I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”"

How diversity actually makes us smarter; Washington Post, 7/6/14

Gregory Rodriguez, Washington Post; How diversity actually makes us smarter:

"Successful navigation of this country’s diversity has always required extra thought, and more brainpower. The more diverse the location, the more brainpower required by the people who live there.

In more homogenous parishes, towns, states and countries, residents aren’t necessarily obliged to take that extra intellectual step. In places where the overwhelming majority of residents share a common background, they are more likely to maintain an unspoken consensus about the meaning of institutions and practices. That consensus, Dutch philosopher Bart van Leeuwen reminds us, is enforced “through sayings and jokes, in ways of speaking and moving, and in subtle facial expressions that betray surprise or recognition.” In other words, the way things are is so self-evident that they don’t require a second thought.

Diversity, however, requires second thoughts. When the consensus is challenged in a homogenous place by the presence of new people, things get interesting. The familiar signs and symbols that undergird our implicit understanding of the world can change in meaning. The presence of conflicting worldviews causes confusion, uncertainty, and alienation for holdovers and newcomers alike. These feelings can either cause people to draw back into themselves — or force them to articulate and justify themselves to those who don’t share their view of the world. Or both...

So it should follow that operating in a diverse environment makes you smarter. Not that that makes it any easier. Diversity doesn’t require us simply to learn how to celebrate our differences. It requires us to tax our brains by questioning our worldviews, our beliefs and our institutions."

Payday | LJ Salary Survey 2014; Library Journal, 7/3/14

Laura Girmscheid and Meredith Schwartz, Library Journal; Payday | LJ Salary Survey 2014:

"For many, salary discussion is the last taboo. But without knowing how their peers are compensated, it can be hard for librarians to make their case for better pay—and hard for library leaders to make the case to funders that higher salaries are necessary to attract and retain the best candidates. Even in public institutions, where salaries are often a matter of public record, figuring out who in another institution is the right apples-to-apples comparison for benchmarking can be a challenge.

There is some information already out there. The American Library Association (ALA) did a salary survey in 2008; its Allied Professional Association provides a database through 2011; and the U.S. Department of Labor shares some data but doesn’t get very granular in terms of specialty or title. There are cross-field crowdsourced sites like Payscale (the source of the numbers underlying Forbes’s controversial contention that the MLIS is the country’s worst graduate degree). LJ has, for years, conducted its annual Placements & Salaries survey (see “The Emerging Databrarian,” LJ 10/15/13, p. 26–33), which focuses on recent Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS and equivalent degree) graduates, to dig into what beginning librarians earn in their first positions and what trends those salaries reveal about the field as a whole. Now, with the help of more than 3,200 public, academic, school, special, government, and consortium librarians from all 50 states, we take a deeper look at the range of the field’s salary potential.

It’s not possible to provide an exact match to the unique set of circumstances each librarian brings to the negotiating table—the educational qualifications, the job responsibilities, the years of service, the size of the system, and the regional context all combine in too many different ways.

Nonetheless, LJ’s inaugural salary survey for U.S. ­librarians and paralibrarians will help readers get closer to understanding how their salary compares with those of their peers.

Click here to view all tables below as data instead of images (link will open in a new window)...

Education counts

In the academic and public arenas, holding an MLIS made a major difference to compensation. Those holding MLS degrees made nearly 50% more than those working in academic or public libraries without an MLS. This debunks the skepticism expressed by a number of respondents about the worth of the degree—one even wrote, “If anyone said to me that they were thinking of getting an MLIS, I would do everything in my power to convince them not to.”"

Penn Hills woman elected president of American Library Association; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 7/4/14

Stephanie McFeeters, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Plum librarian takes lead at American Libraries Association:

"Today's libraries offer patrons much more than books, says Courtney L. Young of Plum, who was inaugurated this week as president of the American Libraries Association. Providing Internet access, career resources and meeting spaces, libraries serve a several different needs, and in her new position Ms. Young plans to boost their role in communities across the nation.

As president of the 56,000-member association, Ms. Young, who is head librarian at the J. Clarence Kelly Library at Penn State Greater Allegheny in McKeesport, said she will emphasize career development, diversity and community outreach. Ms. Young was sworn in Tuesday at the Chicago-based association'‍s annual conference in Las Vegas...

Another of her priorities is ensuring that the association membership is diverse. In addition to strengthening the association'‍s Spectrum Scholarship Program, which helps students from underrepresented backgrounds pursue degrees in library sciences, Ms. Young said she aims to increase minority retention.

As libraries change, collections, too, are becoming increasingly diverse. Besides books and electronic resources, some libraries now lend tools, baking pans and fishing lures, and libraries provide entrepreneurs with meeting spaces as they get their businesses off the ground, Ms. Young said."

Leadership Is About to Get More Uncomfortable; Harvard Business Review, 7/1/14

Georg Vielmetter and Yvonne Sell, Harvard Business Review; Leadership Is About to Get More Uncomfortable:

"Among our findings is that leadership in the future will involve increased personal and business-level discomfort. Leaders will have to cope with the blurring of private and public life – and they will have to forge new relationships with competitors and employees. This requires new skills and mindsets. Ego is on its way out...

Leaders motivated by power over others will not thrive in this new world.We will see more “altrocentric” leaders, who understand that leadership is a relationship and will therefore primarily focus on others rather than themselves. Adept at engaging rather than commanding, they see themselves as just one integral part of the whole. Altrocentric leaders will be capable of long-term vision encompassing both global and local perspectives.

David McClelland points out that both emotionally intelligent leaders and their egocentric counterparts tend to be motivated by power; they enjoy having an impact on others.The difference is in the type of power driving them: Egocentric leaders tend to be concerned only with personalized power – power that gets them ahead. Altrocentric leaders, on the other hand, derive power from motivating, not controlling, others.

The altrocentric leader who is intrinsically motivated by socialized power, and who draws strength and satisfaction from teaching, teambuilding, and empowering others, will be able to handle the increased pressure of tomorrow’s business environment."

Pennsylvania libraries feeling pressures of continued funding cuts; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/28/14

Matt Nussbaum, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Pennsylvania libraries feeling pressures of continued funding cuts:

"The cuts are not unique to the rural counties of the southwest. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have lost almost 50 percent of their state library funds in recent years. A program run by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the Free Library of Philadelphia that serves blind and handicapped residents statewide has not seen a funding increase in over 12 years, according to Mary Frances Cooper, director and president of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh has been able to maintain relatively steady levels of funding because of an advantage most places do not enjoy: In 2011, Pittsburgh voters endorsed a Carnegie Library Tax to be added to their property tax bills. In 2013, that 0.25-mill tax generated about $4 million for the library. Money from Allegheny County's 1 percent Regional Asset District sales tax has also protected Pittsburgh and its suburbs from the worst of the cuts.

"The property tax was really never meant to supplant the revenue streams we've had in the past," said Ms. Cooper. "Years ago, states recognized that this was an important institution and that there was some obligation on the part of the state" to fund it.

While surrounding counties' librarians might cast an envious eye toward Allegheny County, officials pointed out that Pennsylvania is disadvantaged compared with neighboring states, just as surrounding counties are disadvantaged to Allegheny.

Ohio's state budget provided public libraries with about $344 million in 2012.

"Ohio has amazingly great state funding," said Ms. Cooper.

The 2013-14 Pennsylvania budget provided a $53.5 million public library subsidy, marking the ninth straight year in which the subsidy had held steady or fallen. Gov. Tom Corbett has proposed an increase, which would bring it to just over $54 million."

Make It a Place They Want to Work | Leading From the Library; Library Journal, 6/24/14

Steven Bell, Library Journal; Make It a Place They Want to Work | Leading From the Library:

"We look to our leaders to enable us to get things done. We look to them for vision and inspiration, but we also want leaders who make progress and get our organization to the place where the vision becomes reality. What sometimes gets overlooked is the need to create a workplace where people want to be while all the work is getting done...

Start With the Core

Prior research has led Schwartz to identify four areas that leaders need to recognize if they want to develop the right conditions for a better workplace. He identified these four core needs as:

Sustainability – Think of it as physical preventive maintenance. What does the employer do to make sure that employees are in physically good condition – or does it wear them into the ground with stress and lack of support for wellness.

Security – Mental well-being is equally important so employees need to feel recognized, valued and appreciated. According to Schwartz, only one in ten employees believe they are perceived as vital to the organization.

Self-expression – Fulfillment is derived from having the ability to apply individual skills and talents to complete work in a way deemed optimal by the employee. Leaders need to avoid micromanaging, parental treatment and other bad behaviors that make employees feel they are being constantly watched and controlled.

Significance – Believing their presence and work makes a difference can make all the difference in employees’ attitude. They also want to believe that the organization they work for stands for something significant and that they contribute to its cause in a meaningful way.

Leaders must take responsibility to determine whether or not, or to what extent, these core values exist in the organization. If this core is non-existent or only partially in place, the leadership needs to rethink its current policies and behaviors and determine what it can do to shift the culture. Schwartz has some suggestions for how to turn things around...

Zappos and Southwest Airlines are good examples of organizations that have achieved success by putting employees first through empowerment and engagement. Schwartz recommends four things leaders can do to start changing the culture."

Departing Pitt library director ‘‍finessed’ the system into 21st century; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6/26/14

Stephanie McFeeters, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Departing Pitt library director ‘‍finessed’ the system into 21st century:

"Mr. Miller believes these transformations have been largely positive. As director of Pitt’s libraries, he was always ahead of the curve and excited about modernization, planning in a way that involved the entire staff, his colleagues said.

When Mr. Miller arrived at Pitt in 1994, he judged the libraries to be disorganized and overcrowded. He set out to restructure the system and make it more efficient, closing half a dozen libraries, shipping books to a new storage facility and re-engineering back-room operations.

Tim Deliyannides, the university’s head of information technology, said Mr. Miller was forward-thinking and quickly shifted the library’s focus.

“From the very first time he came to Pitt, he had the vision and foresight that the role of the library would be completely redefined by information technology,” Mr. Deliyannides said. “He’s very bold in committing to a new activity and re-allocating resources, and sometimes that means we stop doing things we have always done because we’re moving in a new direction.”"

LLAMA Webinar Explores New Methods of Collecting Building Use Data: July 23, 2014 1:30 PM - 3 PM (CDT)

Library Leadership & Management Association (LLAMA); LLAMA Webinar Explores New Methods of Collecting Building Use Data:

As the use of library space continues to evolve rapidly, the collection of building use and space data has become increasingly crucial for all types of libraries. The Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA) will present “Beyond the Gate and Counting: Collecting and Organizing Building Use Data in Public and Academic Libraries,” on Wed., July 23, at 1:30 – 3:00 PM (Central time).

Description: Organized by the LLAMA MAES Data Collection for Library Managers Committee,this webinar will feature two presentations exploring multiple aspects of collecting space and building use data.

The first presentation will focus on the sampling methodology used to gather space utilization data within an academic library. In order to have a better understanding of physical space usage, detailed examinations of physical space usage were performed in the Thomas Cooper Library, at the University of South Carolina's Columbia campus. In that study, a correlation method was devised to assist in the data collection of reference statistics, avoiding the need for daily tallies.

The second presentation will review the latest iteration of the data collection process at The University of Arizona Library (UAL). Formed in 2011, the Library Space Usage Assessment project sought to answer questions about how public spaces in the library were being utilized. Using iPads and a newly developed online data collection form, they gathered observational data on customer activity throughout the library. This presentation will demonstrate the tools used, the lessons learned, and how data collection has been incorporated into ongoing customer needs assessment and strategic planning.

By the end of this webinar participants will:

Understand methodologies used to collect building use data.

Be familiar with the tools used to collect building use data.

Learn the various types of building use data that can be collected.

Know how to organize the building use data that is collected.

Presenters:

Presentation 1: Daniel S. Dotson, Mathematical Sciences Librarian, Science Education Specialist, The Ohio State University, University Libraries; Joshua Garris, ILS Administrator, University of South Carolina

Presentation 2: John C. Miller-Wells, Library Information Analyst, Access & Information Services Team, University of Arizona Library

Target audiences: librarians who collect data on building use or those who are interested in learning more about this topic

Fees:

LLAMA member: $49

Non-LLAMA member $59

LLAMA group rate (5 or more people at one site) $199

Non-LLAMA group rate (5 or more people at one site) $239

Register online: http://tinyurl.com/3zhtecm

Register with a purchase order or by mail: registration form (PDF, 1 pg.).

For questions about this webinar or other LLAMA programs, contact Fred Reuland. freuland@ala.org

About the Library Leadership and Management Association

The Library Leadership and Management Association (www.ala.org/llama) advances outstanding leadership and management practices in library and information services by encouraging and nurturing individual excellence in current and aspiring library leaders. LLAMA is a division of the American Library Association.

Unblinking Eyes Track Employees: Workplace Surveillance Sees Good and Bad; New York Times, 6/21/14

Steve Lohr, New York Times; Unblinking Eyes Track Employees: Workplace Surveillance Sees Good and Bad:

"A digital Big Brother is coming to work, for better or worse.

Advanced technological tools are beginning to make it possible to measure and monitor employees as never before, with the promise of fundamentally changing how we work — along with raising concerns about privacy and the specter of unchecked surveillance in the workplace.

Through these new means, companies have found, for example, that workers are more productive if they have more social interaction. So a bank’s call center introduced a shared 15-minute coffee break, and a pharmaceutical company replaced coffee makers used by a few marketing workers with a larger cafe area. The result? Increased sales and less turnover.

Yet the prospect of fine-grained, digital monitoring of workers’ behavior worries privacy advocates. Companies, they say, have few legal obligations other than informing employees. “Whether this kind of monitoring is effective or not, it’s a concern,” said Lee Tien, a senior staff lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco."

Don’t Do What You Love; Do What You Do; Harvard Business Review, 6/17/14

Charlotte Lieberman, Harvard Business Review; Don’t Do What You Love; Do What You Do:

"Miya Tokumitsu has critiqued Do What You Love (DWYL), the “unofficial work mantra of our time,” as elitist and untenable, “a worldview that disguises its elitism as noble self-betterment” and “distracts us from the working conditions of others while validating our own choices.” Tokumitsu’s overarching argument is, well, relatively inarguable: the idea that we should all embrace the notion of DWYL makes the false assumption that getting a “lovable” job is always a matter of choice. (The DWYL framework ignores those who work low-skill, low-wage jobs – housekeepers, migrant workers, janitors. These individuals are not simply failing to acquire gratifying work that they “love.”) The idea of DWYL, as Tokumitsu points out, privileges the privileged, those who are in the socioeconomic position to perpetuate this “mantra” as a way to rationalize their professional success and most likely, also their workaholism.

To explore these ideas further I talked with Sharon Salzberg, author of a new book entitled Real Happiness at Work, in which she describes a myriad set of actionable ways to find “real happiness at work” – even at “jobs we don’t like.” By practicing techniques of concentration, mindfulness, and compassion, Salzberg argues that that work is “a place where we can learn and grow and come to be much happier.” When we practice the art of mindfulness, we can tap into what is an opportunity for learning and growth on the job...

So try out the mantra “Do What You Do” (DWYD) – and maybe love will emerge from different places, professional or personal, at different times."

Manage a Difficult Conversation with Emotional Intelligence; Harvard Business Review, 6/19/14

Susan David, Harvard Business Review; Manage a Difficult Conversation with Emotional Intelligence:

"Emotions cannot be ignored. In fact, research suggests that suppressing your emotions – deciding not to say something when you’re upset – can lead to bad results. Have you ever yelled at your spouse or child after a frustrating day at work – a frustration that had nothing to do with him or her? That’s what psychologists refer to as “emotional leakage.” When you bottle up your feelings, you’re likely to express your emotions in unintended ways instead, either sarcastically or in a completely different context. Suppressing your emotions is associated with poor memory, difficulties in relationships, and physiological costs (like cardiovascular health problems). Emotions matter.

When Karl came to me with questions about his upcoming meeting, I walked him through a plan based on the principles of emotional intelligence. This plan would help him acknowledge logic and emotion during the meeting...

Emotionally intelligent leaders are aware of what causes their emotions, and they also think through what outcomes are most desirable...

Emotions aren’t just the result of a workplace conflict. In fact, emotions usually are the conflict. They need to be acknowledged and planned for. Recognizing emotions, assessing their impact on thinking, understanding them, and managing them is a roadmap for navigating through those often-murky (and anxiety-provoking) waters."

2014 Gale/LJ Library of the Year: Edmonton Public Library, Transformed by Teamwork; Library Journal, 6/11/14

John N. Berry III, Library Journal; 2014 Gale/LJ Library of the Year: Edmonton Public Library, Transformed by Teamwork:

"For 101 years, Alberta’s Edmonton Public Library (EPL) has galvanized its ever-growing city. From its beginnings above a meat and liquor store in 1913 to its current configuration as a massive, team-driven enterprise, EPL has served as a pioneering gathering place, connecting people and expanding minds. In the process, it changed the parameters of what it means to be a public library and transformed itself. Having the spirit and creativity to do that meant taking risks, innovating, and embracing change. It made EPL a model for all public libraries and the winner of the 2014 Gale/Library Journal Library of the Year Award. A place where “Europeans and Aboriginals always met and traded,” today, people come “to start fresh, build something new, try something out, and make their mark,” says EPL’s entry for this award."

In Silicon Valley, Searching for Diversity in an Algorithm; Fox Business, 6/9/14

Jennifer Booton, Fox Business; In Silicon Valley, Searching for Diversity in an Algorithm:

"Mountain View, Calif.-based Google said its 46,000-person workforce is “miles” away from where Google would like to be. It blamed education, and touted its efforts to try and fix the problem such as sending engineers to historically black colleges to reinvent IT curriculums and investing in education for girls...

“My concern is the 99% of other companies who want and need diverse teams but don’t have the team to recruit them,” Bischke said. “This could help level the playing field.”

What Entelo provides is more than 20 million profiles of potential employees filled with publicly-available data pulled from sites like Twitter (TWTR) and LinkedIn (LNKD).

Its proprietary algorithms then sort through this information using big data, predictive analytics and social cues, to determine the likelihood that people fall into a number of demographic subsets: female vs. male, white vs. black, etc.. It also identifies U.S. military veterans.

"We realized we could do this with a high degree of accuracy,” Bischke said.

The idea is that it would help companies to more cost-effectively and efficiently scour a wider group of potentially ethnically-diverse and qualified candidates, freeing up resources to focus on innovation, training, and ideally develop these people into future industry leaders."

Managing Two People Who Hate Each Other; Harvard Business Review, 6/9/14

Liane Davey, Harvard Business Review; Managing Two People Who Hate Each Other:

"Managing people is never easy, but when the animosity between two of your direct reports escalates to the level of hatred, how do you minimize the drama and keep your team on track? Before you call for a professional mediator, remember that this is a fundamental part of your job as a manager. If you can get to the root of your employees’ fear, you can help them rebuild their relationship. And if you do it the right way, the shared vulnerability will start to foster trust in place of hate. Try the following approach to get at the root of the problem and resolve the conflict once and for all:...

When you are ready, relentlessly provide feedback whenever you see symptoms of the poor relationship. For example: “When Giselle spoke, you rolled your eyes. For me, that demonstrated a lack of professional maturity. What caused your reaction to what Giselle was saying?”

Take every opportunity to call out bad behavior and don’t hesitate to provide feedback on the absence of behavior either, as in: “I noticed that you didn’t say anything during Giselle’s presentation. What was going on for you?” In each case, ensure that your feedback ends with an open-ended question that gets the person talking."

National Library management 'no confidence' threat; BBC, 5/20/14

BBC; National Library management 'no confidence' threat:

"National Library of Wales workers have threatened to pass a motion of no confidence in the institution's management.

The move comes after the library's board gave two members of the executive team responsibility allowances equal to a 10% payment.

It comes as unions are unhappy more than 200 of their members have not had a consolidated pay rise since 2009...

A Prospect Cymru spokesman said its 170 or so members felt that management - consisting of the library's board and chief executive Aled Gruffydd Jones - were not treating all staff equally and there was no transparency in its decision making.

She said members were aggrieved, adding: "In February we were unable to support the most recent pay offer because it did not deliver the living wage."

One Reason Cross-Cultural Small Talk Is So Tricky; Harvard Business Review, 5/30/14

Erin Meyer, Harvard Business Review; One Reason Cross-Cultural Small Talk Is So Tricky:

"A good way to prepare is to ask yourself whether the new culture is a “peach” or a “coconut”. This is a distinction drawn by culture experts Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner. In peach cultures like the USA or Brazil people tend to be friendly (“soft”) with new acquaintances. They smile frequently at strangers, move quickly to first-name usage, share information about themselves, and ask personal questions of those they hardly know. But after a little friendly interaction with a peach, you may suddenly get to the hard shell of the pit where the peach protects his real self and the relationship suddenly stops.

In coconut cultures such Russia and Germany, people are initially more closed off from those they don’t have friendships with. They rarely smile at strangers, ask casual acquaintances personal questions, or offer personal information to those they don’t know intimately. But over time, as coconuts get to know you, they become gradually warmer and friendlier. And while relationships are built up slowly, they also tend to last longer."

Buildings and Books; New Yorker, 6/2/14

Ian Frazier, New Yorker; Buildings and Books:

"Observers could be excused for finding the plan too complicated and strange to think about at first. The library’s management and board of trustees developed the C.L.P. without the public’s knowing much about it, but as the time for construction approached, and more public meetings were held, it became clear that the C.L.P. represented a major retrenchment. Anyone with experience in household austerity and the cost of modern real estate could get the picture. The main research building was like the elderly but still healthy parent; the Mid-Manhattan Library and SIBL were the grownup offspring. Pressed for cash, the family was selling the kids’ apartments and moving the kids in with the parent. To make room, some of the parent’s belongings would have to be put in storage in New Jersey. When the sacrifices that the C.L.P. would entail sank in, thanks in particular to reporting in The Nation and n+1, library users began to object loudly and persistently. The protests, the new mayor’s lack of support, and the fact that the financial projections did not add up eventually undid the C.L.P.

The biggest problem was the money...

The Schwarzman Building stands on the site that once held about half of the Croton Reservoir. Massive stones from the reservoir’s walls make up part of the building’s foundation. The reservoir stored much of the city’s water, carried by an aqueduct system for many miles from upstate. New York City has created visionary civic projects in the past; its public library is chief among them. America now has the highest level of income inequality in the developed world, and New York’s is among the worst in America. The public library has always been a great democratizer and creator of citizens, and a powerful force against inequality; it must not retrench, especially now."

Does the New York Times Know How to Fire Someone?; Harvard Business Review, 5/16/14

Ben W. Heineman, Jr., Harvard Business Review; Does the New York Times Know How to Fire Someone? :

"In many organizations, top leaders have issues that emerge from 360-degree reviews or other systematic (and fair-minded) assessments. Often, boards or senior executives try to be clear about areas where a leader needs to improve. Assuming that leader has other very positive qualities (clearly so in Abramson’s case), he or she is then given a real opportunity over a reasonable period of time to address those issues, customarily with some guidance or assistance. And given that Abramson had worked for the paper for 14 years before her promotion to Editor, it would seem unlikely that her flaws – everyone has some – would be totally unknown to her bosses.

If the Times and Sulzberger want to make “management” the issue, then they have an obligation not to hide behind a vague sentence or phrase — or a non-disparagement agreement — but to explain what the problems were and whether Abramson was given a fair chance to correct them. At this point, with the expected media scrum — and with important issues very much in the public eye — Abramson shouldn’t be complicit in the silence.

This is a big story about an important event at a national institution: The firing of one of the most senior leaders in journalism. The Times would never let another major institution off the hook with such a cursory account of its reasoning."

NYPL: Why We’re Changing the Central Library Plan; Library Journal, 5/13/14

Anthony Marx, Library Journal; NYPL: Why We’re Changing the Central Library Plan:

"The Library’s trustees patiently explored all of these issues, listened to concerns and critics, studied all options and, based on the new facts on the ground, decided to alter the plan. This is as it should be: when the facts change, the only right thing to do as a public serving institution is to take a look with fresh eyes and react to the facts as they present themselves.

But we also know that our goals of a renovated Mid-Manhattan Library, better protection for our research collection, and more access to the Schwarzman Building were the right ones. That’s why we have announced changes to the plan that deliver on those goals at less cost, and with greater flexibility and less risk. Instead of removing the Schwarzman stacks and placing the Mid-Manhattan Library in that space, we’ll renovate the Mid-Manhattan Library at its current site. This renovation will add much-needed computer labs and an adult education space, and an inspiring, comfortable space for browsing our largest circulating collection."

The Best Leaders Are Humble Leaders; Harvard Business Review, 5/12/14

Jeanine Prime and Elizabeth Salib, Harvard Business Review; The Best Leaders Are Humble Leaders:

"In a global marketplace where problems are increasingly complex, no one person will ever have all the answers. That’s why Google’s SVP of People Operations, Lazlo Bock, says humility is one of the traits he’s looking for in new hires. “Your end goal,” explained Bock, “is what can we do together to problem-solve. I’ve contributed my piece, and then I step back.” And it is not just humility in creating space for others to contribute, says Bock—it’s “intellectual humility. Without humility, you are unable to learn.”

A recent Catalyst study backs this up, showing that humility is one of four critical leadership factors for creating an environment where employees from different demographic backgrounds feel included. In a survey of more than 1500 workers from Australia, China, Germany, India, Mexico, and the U.S., we found that when employees observed altruistic or selfless behavior in their managers — a style characterized by 1) acts of humility, such as learning from criticism and admitting mistakes); 2) empowering followers to learn and develop; 3) acts of courage, such as taking personal risks for the greater good; and 4) holding employees responsible for results — they were more likely to report feeling included in their work teams. This was true for both women and men."

Stacks of problems: New N.O. libraries quickly in financial peril; WWLTV.com, 4/24/14

David Hammer, WWLTV.com; Stacks of problems: New N.O. libraries quickly in financial peril:

"Lacking leadership?

In December 2011, the New Orleans Public Library Foundation, a nonprofit that collects donations in support of library services, hired consultant Louise Shaper to assess the system’s performance.

New Orleans Public Library “is an underperforming organization that sorely lacks the leadership, clarity of purpose, and resources needed to provide even average library services,” Shaper wrote. “This state of affairs is a chronic condition, predating Hurricane Katrina.”

Charbonnet said that since the new libraries have opened, residents have been largely unaware of the underlying fiscal problems because of the spacious reading areas, interesting artwork, banks of new computers and the host of librarians.

But if the city can’t find new money soon, Library Director Charles Brown said he will be forced to cut back on staff, reduce hours of operation and cut back on maintenance.

Library leaders have not hidden their financial struggles, appealing each of the last few years at City Council budget hearings for at least some city general fund money. But with court-ordered costs for police, firefighters and the jail taking center stage, the libraries’ needs have received little public attention."

Beware the Next Big Thing; Harvard Business Review Magazine, May 2014

Julian Birkinshaw, Harvard Business Review Magazine; Beware the Next Big Thing:

"Where do new management practices come from? A few emerge fully formed from the minds of academics and consultants, but the vast majority come from corporate executives experimenting with new ideas in their own organizations. A case in point is the online retailer Zappos, which is replacing its traditional hierarchy with a self-organizing “operating system” known as holacracy.

Zappos’s experiment is getting a lot of attention. Like many management innovations before it, holacracy has an exciting zeitgeist appeal. At least a few executives in other firms are no doubt asking themselves, given today’s pressure to innovate and the changing nature of the workforce, is this the management idea of the moment? Could it give my company a competitive edge? What are the risks of trying to import it?

For decades, executives have been asking similar questions whenever management innovations burst onto the scene...

But importing ideas is risky. Even the most obviously useful theory or practice can go wrong if a company is unprepared to act on the insights it offers. And the value of most management ideas—and where they might take you—is far from obvious...

Publicity also has a downside: It raises the risk of hype, disappointment, and, sometimes, a repudiation of the idea. (See the sidebar “The Inevitable Hype Cycle.”) This magazine, for example, has debuted ideas that are now part of the management canon—and ideas that have been relegated to the dusty archive shelves. Your goal as a manager couldn’t be more different from those of the media and academia. You’re not trying to ride the next wave; you’re looking for the perfect wave."

Seeing Your Future Self: Do You See a Library Director? | Leading From the Library; Library Journal, 4/23/14

Steven Bell, Library Journal; Seeing Your Future Self: Do You See a Library Director? | Leading From the Library:

"At some career stage librarians may contemplate moving to an administrative leadership position with the goal of becoming a director or dean. Here are some things to consider as you dwell on your administrative leadership potential.

Deans and directors aren’t the only ones who lead in the library. If leadership is about the ability to influence others and get them engaged with an idea or vision, then leaders can emerge all around the library. However, the scope of your influence, particularly as the architect of a much broader vision for a library organization, will amplify in magnitude as a director. It is regarded as the optimal way to influence thinking at a larger scale, particularly if it requires support from stakeholders beyond the library. More than that, moving into library administration offers the opportunity to implement a personal and unique vision for how a library organization should operate and how it can impact community members."

Leadership Is Not Command; Library Journal, 4/9/14

John N. Berry III, Library Journal; Leadership Is Not Command:

"It took me decades TRULY to understand the qualities that make for great leadership. I finally learned what they are but only after observing more models, mentors, and lessons than I can count. I am still surprised at how slowly I realized that the key strengths of great leaders are not command, control, or management skills, as so many top administrators misleadingly “teach” us. Part of the problem is that while it is easy to state what makes a great leader, it is very difficult and even risky to practice great leadership.

A great leader must have the ability to spot and hire excellent people; build a passionate, committed team; liberate everyone on that team; and then trust them with the autonomy and authority to make decisions, innovate, and test their inspirations and ideas in practice.

The leader brings a vision and broad outline of services and programs to a library and supplies the environment, the culture, and the attitudes through which the services are offered. But members of the team will come up with most of the ideas and often make the decisions and strategies to execute them. It takes a carefully supportive and wide-open mentality on the part of the administration to stimulate staff to enlist and participate in the process. Too few library leaders possess the willingness to trade command and control for participation, creativity, and innovation."

Without more tax dollars, Miami-Dade library system would fire more than half its full-time staff; Miami Herald, 4/10/14

Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald; Without more tax dollars, Miami-Dade library system would fire more than half its full-time staff:

"Without more tax dollars, Miami-Dade County’s library system would fire 56 percent of its full-time staff and bring on part-time workers to operate branches that will see hours cut by an average of 35 percent, according to a document released Thursday.

The draft budget assumes no increase in the coming fiscal year in the special property tax that funds the library system, which has been relying on cash reserves since 2010. The tax currently generates $30 million, but the library’s current budget is $50 million and cash reserves are forecast to be gone by the fall. Mayor Carlos Gimenez says he will not endorse higher taxes without a referendum, leaving library administrators to map out how they would manage a 40 percent drop in funding.

The plan assumes no branch closings. Gimenez instructed library director Raymond Santiago to fashion a $30 million budget with all 49 branches, after facing a firestorm last year when the mayor proposed saving money by closing some of the less-popular branches."

ALA Releases 2014 State of America’s Libraries Report Including List of Most Challenged Books of 2013; Library Journal, 4/14/14

Gary Price, Library Journal; ALA Releases 2014 State of America’s Libraries Report Including List of Most Challenged Books of 2013:

"The full text report (HTML) is available here."

Consortium of foundations bids to buy August Wilson Center; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4/8/14

Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Consortium of foundations bids to buy August Wilson Center:

"A consortium of local foundations has stepped forward with a bid to buy the beleaguered Downtown property with the goal of preserving its mission as a center of African-American arts programming.

Led by the Pittsburgh Foundation, the local group submitted a joint bid last week to conservator Judith Fitzgerald, the former bankruptcy judge charged with selling the building to pay off a $7 million delinquent mortgage and other debts.

"The Pittsburgh Foundation is among a small group of local foundations that is developing a joint initiative in efforts to preserve the August Wilson Center and to safeguard its purpose as the pre-eminent community resource for African-American arts programming," John Ellis, a Pittsburgh Foundation spokesman, said in a statement...

"The foundation consortium's primary objective is to explore opportunities to save the August Wilson Center in hope that it may reopen and remain operating for the long term fulfilling its essential role as a community hub for African-American arts and culture.""

The Found Art of Thank-You Notes; New York Times, 4/4/14

Guy Trebay, New York Times; The Found Art of Thank-You Notes:

"While researchers leave open the matter of which format is best for rendering thanks for small favors, courtesies, presents or a tuna casserole supper, there is a growing sense that the old, reliable handwritten note is making a comeback — and not just as a prop on “Tonight.”

For Martin Nowak, director of Harvard’s Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, thanking is a form of cooperative reciprocity with roots in primate behavior. For Paula Madden, a real estate developer in Portland, Ore., “Good manners are the basis of civilization.”

This truth is not, alas, universally acknowledged, added Ms. Madden, who manages a portfolio of family-owned properties and also oversees Portland’s Friday Evening Dancing Class for children, a social institution now in its 92nd year. “As you grow older, it becomes more important when someone recognizes the effort you have made on their behalf and reciprocates in the form of a written acknowledgment,” she said.

A text message just doesn’t cut it, Ms. Madden said, for the simple reason that conveying emotion in digital formats is a lost cause."

Queens Library Board votes not to suspend big-spending director Thomas Galante; New York Daily News, 4/3/14

Caitlin Nolan, Chelsia Rose Marcius, Tim O'Connor, New York Daily News; Queens Library Board votes not to suspend big-spending director Thomas Galante:

"Elected officials called for the library board to shelve Thomas Galante while city and federal investigations probe his eye-popping salary, luxury office renovations and undisclosed side job. Following a five-hour meeting, much of it behind closed doors, the library’s board voted 9-9 not to force him to take a leave of absence. The tie meant the motion to suspend did not carry...

One board member, Terri Mangino, arrived from Florida at the last minute to cast her vote, said a source with knowledge of the proceedings.

“They waited for her to fly in because they knew she would vote to keep Tom,” the source said. “They knew she would tie it up.”

Galante smiled as he left the library late Thursday, his eye-popping $392,000-a-year job intact."

Carnegie Library back on solid financial footing; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/26/14

Mackenzie Carpenter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Carnegie Library back on solid financial footing:

"In 2009, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh was teetering on a precipice, faced with a dramatic drop in state revenues and the prospect of shuttered branches, shorter hours and fewer users because of competition from the Internet.

Today, the library system is on solid ground again, thanks to revenues from two new funding sources -- a new property tax of 0.25 mill approved by voters in 2011 and money from a casino gambling tax.

"We feel we're in a position of strength and stability when it comes to finances," the library's president and director Mary Frances Cooper said Wednesday, hours before a "State of the Library" public meeting at the East Liberty branch...

For 2014, there are two big priorities: increased community engagement -- more teen and children's services, for example -- and expanded digital initiatives. The library has hired Toby Greenwalt as its new director of digital strategy and technology integration to help fully link the library's physical services with the virtual world."

Movers & Shakers 2014; Library Journal,3/10/14

Library Journal; Movers & Shakers 2014:

"Welcome to the 2014 LJ Movers & Shakers. The 50 individuals recognized here are passionate about what all types of libraries can do to enhance lives—for adults, teens, schoolchildren, infants, and toddlers. If there’s a common theme among their profiles, it’s that as much as the library is a place to go, it is also a place on the go—to wherever patrons or potential patrons are.

The Class of 2014 brings the total number of Movers to over 650. It was difficult to select just 50 people to honor from the more than 225 nominations we received. There’s not one Mover, however, who hasn’t told us that they couldn’t succeed without their colleagues, so, in effect, the Movers & Shakers represent hundreds more who work in and for libraries."

De Blasio Picks More Liberal Activists Than Managers for City Posts; New York Times, 2/28/14

Nikita Stewart, New York Times; De Blasio Picks More Liberal Activists Than Managers for City Posts:

"In any case, Mr. de Blasio’s mayor’s personnel choices are just one means by which he appears to be easing the mayoralty from the practical details of governing into a platform for the kind of social change usually achieved on the streets and in the courts.

It is a far different approach from that of his predecessor, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who favored agency heads and staff members with button-down business backgrounds.

“Old habits die very hard,” said Mark Green, a former public advocate and mayoral candidate, and no slouch himself as a liberal. “Giuliani was a prosecutor, Bloomberg was a C.E.O., and so far, Bill’s a political labor activist...”"

Mr. Green, who was Mr. Bloomberg’s opponent in the 2001 election, warned that New Yorkers needed “more of a leader and manager than activist and advocate.”

“He’s been preparing for years to run for mayor but not to be mayor,” Mr. Green said. “The most-asked question I get from earnest citizens is, ‘Can he manage the city?’"

Looking for and Learning From Leadership Stories | Leading from the Library; Library Journal, 2/26/14

Steven Bell, Library Journal; Looking for and Learning From Leadership Stories | Leading from the Library:

"There are many ways to learn about leadership. One we may overlook is stories of great leaders—and sometimes leaders who faltered. If great leaders are learners, leadership stories have much to offer...

Leadership stories can come from anywhere. What makes Collins’ work, and that of other notable authors who mine this territory, worth reading is the sheer creativity that goes into uncovering and sharing great stories. He then artfully connects them to the research that lends credibility to the findings...

Library leadership stories

Perhaps the best leadership stories are the ones that happen in our own profession. While none of them may find their way into the general leadership literature, we know the good ones when we see them. They feature library leaders who have turned around difficult situations and created library success stories in their communities. It may be the story of a frontline librarian who recognized the need for a valuable service, and combined newfound resources with persistence to make it happen. Perhaps it’s just a story about taking a stand for what’s right. They may lack the glamour of the stories of great leaders past and present, but we take inspiration from them. They encourage us to take risks and perform acts of leadership courage in our own libraries. They give us the strength to persist for a good cause. They drive us to be better for those we lead. Those are the stories that stay with us."

How To Say “This Is Crap” In Different Cultures; Harvard Business Review, 2/25/14

Erin Meyer, Harvard Business Review; How To Say “This Is Crap” In Different Cultures:

"Managers in different parts of the world are conditioned to give feedback in drastically different ways. The Chinese manager learns never to criticize a colleague openly or in front of others, while the Dutch manager learns always to be honest and to give the message straight. Americans are trained to wrap positive messages around negative ones, while the French are trained to criticize passionately and provide positive feedback sparingly.

One way to begin gauging how a culture handles negative feedback is by listening to the types of words people use. More direct cultures tend to use what linguists call upgraders, words preceding or following negative feedback that make it feel stronger, such as absolutely, totally, or strongly: “This is absolutely inappropriate,” or “This is totally unprofessional.”

By contrast, more indirect cultures use more downgraders, words that soften the criticism, such as kind of, sort of, a little, a bit, maybe, and slightly. Another type of downgrader is a deliberate understatement, such as “We are not quite there yet” when you really mean “This is nowhere close to complete.” The British are masters at it. The “Anglo-Dutch Translation Guide”, which has been circulating in various versions on the Internet, illustrates the miscommunication that can result."

What to Do When You Can’t Control Your Stress; Harvard Business Review, 2/20/14

Srini Pillay, Harvard Business Review; What to Do When You Can’t Control Your Stress:

"A recent study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Raio and colleagues (September, 2013) explains why, when your stresses build up, it becomes more difficult to get your anxiety under control. In a well-designed experiment, investigators found that people who had acquired a conditioned fear response (think Pavlov, or if that’s too obscure, think of “boss-panic” or “board meeting-freeze”) were able to suppress these associations and calm themselves down only if they did not enter the situation under stress. If they were already under stress however, this threw the “fight or flight” system off, and controlling their thoughts was much more difficult...

The moral of the story then is this: If you are having a stressful day at work or come to work in an irritable frame of mind and have to enter a potentially anxiety provoking meeting, “reset the needle” on your brain’s anxiety center by closing your eyes for 5 minutes and trying out the breathing technique I described above. It will likely be much more successful than trying to talk yourself out of your anticipatory anxiety or impending freak-out."

Leadership lessons from the Olympics; Washington Post, 2/14/14

Tom Fox, Washington Post; Leadership lessons from the Olympics:

"Like many of you, I love watching the Winter Olympics for both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Beyond witnessing these incredible athletes perform super-human feats, I also consider the whole event a metaphor for leading in government.

For roughly two weeks, athletes who often toil in anonymity are thrust into a very public spotlight where every action, every response to their win or loss, is endlessly analyzed. If you have a bad day, you’re considered a disappointment. If you handle any outcome — good or bad — less than graciously, you may be labeled arrogant, self-centered or even a poor representative of your country.

Looking at the Olympics through this leadership lens, I see the connection with federal managers."

Saundra Pelletier, on Embracing ‘Organized Chaos’; New York Times, 2/8/14

Adam Bryant, Corner Office, New York Times; This interview with Saundra Pelletier, chief executive of WomanCare Global, a nonprofit provider of health care products, was conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant. Ms. Pelletier is also C.E.O. of Evofem Inc., a biotechnology company; Saundra Pelletier, on Embracing ‘Organized Chaos’ :

"What career advice would you offer new college graduates?

This might be unpopular. But it’s O.K. to play it safe. I think we get very caught up these days in the idea of following your heart and your dreams and don’t settle for less. But thinking you can bring your wildest dreams to life without paying dues is “cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.” It’s great that you want to start an organic farm in Guatemala. It’s wonderful to have those aspirations, and it’s great to deliberately work toward whatever it is you want. But there’s value in pragmatism.

It’s O.K. to be safe out of the gate, to start building a foundation to get where you eventually want to be. Don’t worry that it doesn’t make your heart sing. Don’t worry that you don’t get up every day and think, “Wow.” You’ve got to learn things and make mistakes and pay your dues and do different jobs. Sometimes those steppingstones teach us the best lessons. I’m not trying to squash anyone’s dreams. The point is that you have to be practical and reasonable. I think more kids need to hear that."

Website to raise funds for Wilson Center: Founders, others hope to resurrect debt-ridden center; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2/8/14

Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Website to raise funds for Wilson Center: Founders, others hope to resurrect debt-ridden center:

"More than 50 people filled a conference room and another 20 spilled into the main part of the Downtown branch of the Carnegie Library Saturday to plan a strategy to save the debt-strapped August Wilson Center for African American Culture...

One of the center's founders, former city councilman Sala Udin, told the gathering that the founding group is working to reverse the course and has retained an attorney to determine the legal framework for fundraising.

Support is being built for pledges on the website www.savetheaugustwilsoncenter.com."

The rise and fall of the August Wilson Center; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2/8/14

Elizabeth Bloom, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; The rise and fall of the August Wilson Center:

"The August Wilson Center for African American Culture had so much promise.

The organization dreamed big, staged provocative programs and sold out shows. It also alienated allies, changed its vision and failed to raise the funds necessary to even heat the building.

The center's downward slide culminated in January with a court order to liquidate its dwindling assets. It was not yet five years old.

How the August Wilson Center came to this point is a hard lesson in poor management meeting bad luck."

Kindness in Librarianship; Library Journal, 2/6/14

Cheryl LaGuardia, Library Journal; Kindness in Librarianship:

""I’ve seen polls in which folks were asked, “would you rather work with someone who’s really smart and difficult or someone who’s not so smart but is nice and easy to work with?,” and the results show that people generally prefer the latter. I’m with them. [And before you say it, let me note that the ideal would, of course, be to work with folks who are really smart and really nice. When you get such an environment, cherish it!] The good news is that it seems that being nice to each other may be a trending quality in work environments; a quick look around the web found articles in a number of different sources that are basically talking about the value of being kind to one another in the workplace:

Buggey, Hattie, “Small acts of kindness,” Training Journal, April 2013, p. 33-36.

Butler, Kelley M., “You get what you give,” Employee Benefit News, April 2013, Vol. 27, Issue 4, p. 18-19.

Feintzeig, Rachel, “When Co-Workers Don’t Play Nice—Hostile Work Environments Cost Companies in Productivity, Creativity; Using the ‘No Venting’ Rule,” Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition [New York, N.Y], August 28, 2013, p. B.6.

Goulston, Mark, “Daring to Care,” Leadership Excellence, May 2013, Vol. 30, Issue 5, p. 9-10.

Kozlowski, R. “Best Places to Work in Money Management,” Pensions & Investments, 2013, vol. 41, no. 25, p. 28.

Lauer, Charles S., “The power of nice,” Modern Healthcare, October 10, 2006, Vol. 36 Issue 42, p. 22-22."

Talking leadership with Georgetown’s president; Washington Post, 2/5/14

Tom Fox, Washington Post; Talking leadership with Georgetown’s president:

"John J. DeGioia became president of Georgetown University in 2001 after holding a variety of senior administrative positions at the institution, including senior vice president and dean of student affairs. DeGioia spoke about the challenges of leading a major university with Tom Fox, a guest writer for On Leadership and vice president for leadership and innovation at the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service. Fox also heads up their Center for Government Leadership...

Q. Have you found certain communication techniques more effective than others?

A. There is no substitute for face-to-face encounters. This year, I will deliver about 230 speeches to a mostly Georgetown audience of one size or another. Probably most important for me are a regular series of town halls were I report out on the issues, challenges and progress to date and take questions from the members of our community. We’ve also tried to use social media in a way that enables us to reach a broader audience. We have found Facebook to be particularly effective to share some of the activities that I am personally engaged in and that characterize what the university is doing."

Leadership Qualities That Matter the Most: Lessons from Davos 2014; HuffingtonPost, 2/4/14

Jeffrey M. Cohn, HuffingtonPost; Leadership Qualities That Matter the Most: Lessons from Davos 2014:

"We all know the story by now. The world is more complex, global, latticed, networked and unforgiving. Countless CEOs I sat down with at the World Economic Forum this year reinforced this message. Yet, this begs a very central question. What are the implications for leadership? What qualities will CEOs need to succeed in this more demanding world? And just as important, what qualities should future CEOs begin to develop now, before they are handed the keys to the kingdom?

A small handful of must-have qualities always rise to the surface: empathy, judgment, self-awareness, adaptability, integrity, passion, courage and resilience. Leaders that possess these core attributes -- or underlying drivers of success -- have a remarkably higher probability of performing well, regardless of what context they are thrown into. Interestingly these same qualities matter outside of the corner office -- in politics, sports, entertainment and the military. In that sense, there's a nice lesson for all of us aspiring to be better leaders."

The Most Undervalued Leadership Traits Of Women; Forbes, 2/3/14

Glenn Llopis, Forbes; The Most Undervalued Leadership Traits Of Women:

"It’s impossible to respect, value and admire great leadership if you can’t identify what makes a leader great. Because of this, the identity crisis I have written about that exists in today’s workplace is something that women leaders in particular have been facing for much too long. While the tide is changing and more women are being elevated into leadership roles, there is still much work to do. As of July 2013, there were only 19 female elected presidents and prime ministers in power around the globe. In the business world, women currently hold only 4.6 percent of Fortune 500 CEO positions and the same percentage of Fortune 1000 CEO positions. As women continue their upward trajectory in the business world, they have yet to be fully appreciated for the unique qualities and abilities they bring to the workplace."

Military Makes Ethics a Priority; Wall Street Journal, 2/2/14

Julian E. Barnes, Wall Street Journal; Military Makes Ethics a Priority:

"The U.S. military is intensifying its focus on ethics training in the wake of a series of investigations of military brass, the Pentagon's top uniformed officer said.

Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that as part of this new emphasis, the military needs to place more importance on officers' character when weighing promotions...

In addition, the Joint Staff has pushed the military services to overhaul how they prepare future leaders. Pentagon officials have been developing a new kind of performance review that will use peer and subordinate comments to provide feedback to officers.

Known as 360-degree reviews, these evaluations are controversial within the military. Legal restrictions likely will block the use of anonymous comments by subordinates in consideration of promotions. But Col. Thomas said that the reviews would help officers identify and correct behavior that could cause problems later in their careers.

The recent ethical lapses, Gen. Dempsey said, weren't directly related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But he said the high rate of deployments of officers and the need to focus on training for the next tours of duty have resulted in the military spending less time reinforcing professional standards.

"It is not the war that has caused this," said Gen. Dempsey. "It is the pace, and our failure to understand that at that pace, we were neglecting the tools that manage us as a profession over time.""

Allegheny County library systems look to cooperate; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2/2/14

Kaitlynn Riely, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Allegheny County library systems look to cooperate:

"Starting last month, the Allegheny County Library Association and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh began what the organizations anticipate will be a six-month, countywide conversation about the future of library service. Both groups hope the discussion will include input from the people who use the county's 45 library systems and the communities where they are based.

"The question is, how can we create a comprehensive 21st century library service to best serve the citizens of Allegheny County?" said Diana Bucco, vice president of the Buhl Foundation, which is facilitating the discussion.

That question is already being asked. A website -- located at www.countycitylibraries.org -- has been launched to explain the initiative and to obtain the ideas and opinions of community members.

Library users are asked to complete by Feb. 14 a survey that poses questions such as what libraries can do to support communities and patrons and what ideas should be considered for funding and structuring library services in the community.

The ideas are expected to build on some of the collaborative initiatives already in place, such as the Electronic Information Network, or eiNetwork, that provides city and county libraries with their technology structure."

More branches, fewer books for Indy libraries?; Indianapolis Star, 1/29/14

Jon Murray, Indianapolis Star; More branches, fewer books for Indy libraries? :

"As the Indianapolis Public Library faces an increasingly wireless and digital future, its leaders want to get serious about taking books out of library branches.

With fewer bookshelves, the nearly two dozen outposts would have more space for users to relax and plug in devices to peruse the growing digital collection; to gather for events put on by community partners; or to attend workforce training seminars.

After years of belt-tightening, the library system's new strategic plan calls for an ambitious — and potentially costly — building expansion drive to accommodate the plan's goals.

Its leaders were set to unveil the plan to the public Tuesday, but that meeting was postponed because of the cold weather...

Update: The Indianapolis Public Library is going ahead with community feedback meetings at all 22 branches and the Central Library about its proposed strategic plan for 2015 through 2020. The first is today from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Spades Park branch, 1801 Nowland Ave. (The schedule is available on the library's website.)

The library system had postponed a Tuesday kickoff event at the Central Library because of cold weather. Library spokesman Jon Barnes says that event may be rescheduled as a wrap-up meeting in March, after the final branch meeting, but officials will make that decision later."

The Right Way to Answer “What’s Your Greatest Weakness?”; Harvard Business Review, 1/17/14

David Reese, Harvard Business Review; The Right Way to Answer “What’s Your Greatest Weakness?” :

"Responses like these tell me little about how a candidate faces challenges and immediately implies a lack of sincerity. It doesn’t demonstrate to me how they think — beyond their ability to creatively avoid being honest or self-critical. It indicates to me that they’re not willing to stand up and say what’s not working — the opposite of what a startup needs. That’s why my recent interviews with college graduates have all started to follow the same pattern. I start with two sentences: “Forget what your career center has taught you about interviews. I want to have a real conversation with real answers, and I promise to do the same.” The candidates take a minute to evaluate whether I’m somehow tricking them. If they lean into their discomfort and take me at my word, the level of conversation improves dramatically — we have a great time getting to know one another in an authentic way. I’m not really looking to find out whether their organizational skills could use improvement, or that they struggle with presenting to large groups or even leading large teams. I’m trying to find out whether they have self-awareness; whether they are able to be critical; and most importantly, whether they’re able to tell the truth — when it’s difficult.

For those candidates who don’t buy in, however, I spend the majority of the interview trying to pry off their layers of canned responses. I leave the interview wondering: Who are you? And what’s worse — I’ll never know. Because they’ll never get the job."

Simon Sinek on why good leaders are "fundamentally like a parent"; CBSNews.com, 1/27/14

Shoshana Davis, CBSNews.com; Simon Sinek on why good leaders are "fundamentally like a parent" :

One person with no problem reaching a large audience is Simon Sinek. He is an author and leadership expert. His TED Talk, "How Great Leaders Inspire Action," has more than 14 million online views. His new book focuses on those same issues. It's called "Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t..."

He said that when workers “feel safe” and that leaders keep their employees interests in mind, the natural human reaction is to “look out for each other. We work harder. We’re more innovative. We offer our ideas and our best talents.”

If You’re Not Helping People Develop, You’re Not Management Material; Harvard Business Review, 1/23/14

Monique Valcour, Harvard Business Review; If You’re Not Helping People Develop, You’re Not Management Material:

"Good managers attract candidates, drive performance, engagement and retention, and play a key role in maximizing employees’ contribution to the firm. Poor managers, by contrast, are a drag on all of the above. They cost your firm a ton of money in turnover costs and missed opportunities for employee contribution, and they do more damage than you realize.

Job seekers from entry-level to executive are more concerned with opportunities for learning and development than any other aspect of a prospective job. This makes perfect sense, since continuous learning is a key strategy for crafting a sustainable career. The vast majority (some sources say as much as 90%) of learning and development takes place not in formal training programs, but rather on the job—through new challenges and developmental assignments, developmental feedback, conversations and mentoring. Thus, employees’ direct managers are often their most important developers. Consequently, job candidates’ top criterion is to work with people they respect and can learn from."

Wilson Center sale gets go-ahead from judge; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/28/14

Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Wilson Center sale gets go-ahead from judge:

"Judge Lawrence O'Toole of Allegheny County Common Pleas Orphans' Court issued an order Monday that allows a court-appointed conservator to sell the Downtown building to pay off a $7 million mortgage and other outstanding debt, stating he found "no other reasonable or cognizable option."

In doing so, the judge rejected a request by prominent Pittsburgh attorney E.J. Strassburger to serve as a new conservator on a voluntary basis in one last bid to save the near-broke center, named after the famous playwright who grew up in the Hill District...

At the same time, Ms. Fitzgerald stressed that the go-ahead on the liquidation did not preclude a savior stepping forward with a plan to save the center, which opened in 2009.

"I will listen to any and all reasonable proposals. If the African-American community or whoever comes up with something that works or makes sense under the circumstances, I'm going to consider everything," she said. "If there's a way the community can rally to keep the center here, I hope that somebody will come up with that kind of plan."

Beverly Weiss Manne, attorney for Ms. Fitzgerald, cautioned that any new plan would have to be "well thought out" and viable.

"They have to resolve all the issues. It can't be a kick-the-can-down-the-road plan. That's been the problem with the center the last few years," she said."