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."