Formula for Charting
Tapping into readers’ desire for content that confirms their existing biases could be a formula for future success. I’m planning more columns that would easily fulfill library workers’ passion for reading and commiserating about bad bosses. These future columns should secure my place at the top of LJ’s “most read article” chart:Another Core Value
If library leaders are truly as bad as the stories library workers share about them, then, as a profession, we need to take this problem seriously. Every profession and industry has its share of toxic leaders. Is it possible that librarianship is somehow even worse? The presence of toxicity in library organizations is certainly not the sole domain of its leaders and managers. Library staff are known to quit jobs just to get away from problem coworkers. Friction between staff and administration is a phenomenon that seems as much a part of this profession as any of its cherished core values. I’ve seen it everywhere I’ve worked at one time or another, no matter the library or my position. Is there a chance we can do better? We must, and it needs to start with our leadership.Choose to Improve
Just as with self-awareness, leaders may think their current leadership style connects with staff, but they can be cluelessly unaware of how badly they may be failing to do so. Here are several suggestions for ways to start doing better:Empathy and Appreciation
Creating a better library organization starts with the leader, but staff have some responsibility here too. The problem, as I’ve experienced it, is that library workers have a tough time seeing how organizations work from a perspective other than their own. Put simply, we all have a tendency to think the boss is a jerk and that we could do a better job running the library. Sometimes it’s true, but it’s also possible the boss is actually getting it right and workers fail to appreciate their leader’s good qualities. Having been on both sides of this fence, I know it’s easy to be critical. There’s no risk in second guessing what the boss does or criticizing perceived flaws. It’s much tougher to have empathy for what leaders and managers do, particularly those hard decisions to make the unpopular yet necessary choice. The boss may be less than remarkable, but as long as they avoid toxicity and demonstrate a commitment to improving their leadership, the result should contribute to a good workplace. As one of those who left a comment on my micromanager column wrote, “I will never again take a good boss for granted.” Though I began by poking some fun at how much library workers dislike the boss, this is no laughing matter. When library organizations are dysfunctional, the ultimate loser is the community member who wants and deserves the best possible library experience. Toxic bosses and disgruntled, disengaged employees is a formula for a user experience disaster. That makes it critical for our profession to figure out if there is a culture of poor leadership that afflicts our service quality and effectiveness. If it is true that librarianship suffers an epidemic of poor leadership and misguided management, then it requires our attention. Despite the availability of more leadership and management programs than can be counted, we may need to take even more radical action to fix a plague of bad leadership. Now I’d like to hear from library workers who truly like or admire their boss. What is it they do to gain your trust and support? We need to know because if our profession is to develop better leaders, library workers need to do more than gripe about what’s wrong in the administrative suite. They need to let current and aspiring leaders know what works, what’s right, and what leadership and management behaviors lead to a workplace populated by engaged, motivated, autonomously driven staff. Our future could depend on it. I hope you’ll reinforce my belief that our profession does indeed have some well-liked, well-respected, even admired bosses by sharing your story as a comment to this column.I dont think librarians take any leadership classes, have mentors, or training in how to be good leaders. The majority of managers I have had have been bad in the past twenty years. Rather than communicating in a respectful manner they will get incredibly nasty. If you ask a question or do something unbeknownst to yourself that is wrong because your new and nobody shows you anything you get deemed out. Zero fave to face conversations and everything done via email. I dont know maybe it's because the majority are woman. But from what I've seen of managers is they don't provide much support, mentoring,or even take a personal interest in their employees. I've seen a lot of unprofessionalism in their communication skills. Getting extremely nasty. Sometimes in something that is a personal matter. When I worked in hotels as a cook. I was never treated in the way or talked to like I have by some of these women librarian managers. And what's ridiculous is it's incredibly stressful sometimes working in a restaurant getting out 100 covers in a 1/2 hour. These libraries arent stressful places to work yet they create a non team atmosphere and toxic and they could care less about you as a person. That's what I see. Another thing some dont know how to delegate or trust their employees.
We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing