Paying for People | Budgets & Funding; Library Journal, 2/4/15

Lisa Peet, Library Journal; Paying for People | Budgets & Funding:

"If last year’s budget theme was cautious optimism, LJ’s 2015 library budget survey of U.S. public libraries, distributed geographically by size and type, continues the general upward trend. Libraries of all sizes, across the board, showed an increase in operating and salary budgets, and most, though not all, saw materials budgets rise as well. Of the 416 libraries that responded, 73% reported an increase in their total operating budgets from 2013 to 2014, up from 68% last year and 60% the year before. The overall change in total budgets was a healthy 4.3% increase. Compared to last year’s more modest 1.3% gains, these numbers indicate that libraries nationwide are beginning to find their fiscal footing after some lean years.

It was a good year for library workers. The upward movement was notably reflected in personnel and salary budgets, which also rose by 4.3%. A full 81% of libraries reported an increase in salary and personnel budgets, and only 16% indicated a downturn."

Winning All Over the Map | Budgets & Funding; Library Journal, 2/3/15

John Chrastka and Rachel Korman, Library Journal; Winning All Over the Map | Budgets & Funding:

"On the face of it, 2014 looks like it was a pretty good year for libraries at the ballot box: some 148 libraries reporting for this tally won and 42 lost. About 78% of libraries passed funding, bonds, or authority measures in 2014. Over 1.7 million Americans voted yes for their libraries. Only 22% lost. While unfortunate, it doesn’t seem tragic or perilous. But at EveryLibrary, we’re worried about the 1.1 million Americans who voted no this year.

Nonetheless, we’d like to figure out why winners win and losers lose, in order to help ensure that there are more of the former and fewer of the latter in the future."

Trends; Center for the Future of Libraries, 2015

Center for the Future of Libraries; Trends:

"The Center for the Future of Libraries works to identify trends relevant to libraries and librarianship. This trend library is available to help libraries and librarians understand how trends are developing and why they matter. Each trend is updated as new reports and articles are made available. New trends will be added as they are developed.

If you have thoughts on additional information that should be include in our coverage or additional trends that should be included, please contact the Center. We look forward to having you join this work!"

How to Conduct an Effective Job Interview; Harvard Business Review, 1/23/15

Rebecca Knight, Harvard Business Review; How to Conduct an Effective Job Interview:

"As the employment market improves and candidates have more options, hiring the right person for the job has become increasingly difficult. “Pipelines are depleted and more companies are competing for top talent,” says Claudio Fernández-Aráoz, a senior adviser at global executive search firm Egon Zehnder and author of It’s Not the How or the What but the Who: Succeed by Surrounding Yourself with the Best. Applicants also have more information about each company’s selection process than ever before. Career websites like Glassdoor have “taken the mystique and mystery” out of interviews, says John Sullivan, an HR expert, professor of management at San Francisco State University, and author of 1000 Ways to Recruit Top Talent. If your organization’s interview process turns candidates off, “they will roll their eyes and find other opportunities,” he warns. Your job is to assess candidates but also to convince the best ones to stay. Here’s how to make the interview process work for you — and for them."

Workzone: Encouraging women in leadership to be themselves; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10/26/14

Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Workzone: Encouraging women in leadership to be themselves:

"My belief is that you have to be yourself, and you have to really understand the whole organization [you lead],” said Ms. Imhoff, president of the Community College of Allegheny County’s North Side campus.

It’s all well and good to study different leadership styles, to read all the best sellers on effective leadership. But in the end, you have to find the style that matches your personality and strengths.

Otherwise, you might end up with the incongruity “of what you’re trying to say versus who you are, and your staff will know right away,” said Ms. Imhoff, who gave a presentation this summer on how talented women thrive.

“I think it’s important to study leadership styles, but what’s most important is to be true to yourself. At the end of the day, you have to go home and look at yourself in the mirror,” she said."

Hard Times Ahead for the Library of Birmingham; Library Journal, 1/19/15

Lisa Peet, Library Journal; Hard Times Ahead for the Library of Birmingham:

"The award-winning Library of Birmingham (LB), which garnered applause and approval across the U.K. when it was built in 2013, is about to fall on hard times. After opening to great fanfare a little over a year ago, the library has been finding it hard to keep up with costs, citing a lack of private sponsorship and the Birmingham City Council’s (BCC) failure to raise promised money from land sales. Then at the end of 2014 the BCC announced a round of austerity measures that will cut some £72 million in funding for the arts, parks and recreation, care services, cemeteries, and children’s care services for 2015–16. Approximately £1.5 million will be cut from LB’s annual £10 million operating costs, meaning that 100 of the library’s 188 staff could be eliminated, and its hours reduced from 73 to 40 per week.

Recent reports from the U.K. paint a dire picture of the state of the libraries across the country."

The Ideas That Shaped Management in 2014; Harvard Business Review, 12/30/14

Katherine Bell, Harvard Business Review; The Ideas That Shaped Management in 2014:

"We look forward to the annual task of putting together an end-of-year reading list to keep you busy over the holidays. It gives us an opportunity to look back over all of the ideas and advice we published during the year and see what patterns emerge. We consider which ideas we think will have the best chance of really changing the way people and their organizations work. Which research best answered questions we hadn’t even thought to ask? Of all the ways the world changed in 2014 — economic, cultural, technological, all three — which will matter most to us in 2015? And which pieces of expert advice were most sensible, badly needed, and clearly explained?

So, here’s this year’s list: questions answered, helpful advice, and five themes that came up again and again. We hope you enjoy it."

Siobhan A. Reardon: LJ’s 2015 Librarian of the Year; Library Journal, 1/6/15

John N. Berry III, Library Journal; Siobhan A. Reardon: LJ’s 2015 Librarian of the Year:

"President and Director, Free Library of Philadelphia

She engineered the creation of an ambitious, five-year strategic plan, underpinned by a powerful mission to advance literacy, guide learning, and inspire curiosity through the Free Library of Philadelphia (FLP). Siobhan A. Reardon had been in the director’s chair for less than a month when FLP was handed a 20 percent cut and branch hours were drastically reduced. Library state funding was slashed by 34 percent. In 2010, with funding trickling back into the budget, FLP launched a two-year process to formalize a new strategic plan. “We agreed that we had to stop trying to be all things to all people; we just didn’t have the money,” Reardon says.

Instead, her plan refocused the role of the library, identifying five target populations (job seekers, ­entrepreneurs, new Americans, children under five, and people with disabilities). The plan outlines a cluster model to streamline and enhance neighborhood library services, share resources and staff among neighborhood libraries, and collaborate with community leaders to develop programs and services most needed by residents."

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."