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."