We explored our personal educational philosophy and personality traits in the last two weeks, and this week, we moved on to exploring traits of a good leader and how that relates to librarianship. During our online chat, we discussed our influence on those around us, and being aware of other's needs. We also talked about developing a leadership plan, based on our philosophy, vision, and goals as a librarian.
The activities for the week included videos and reading of articles. Watching a 1946 video about library careers was entertaining; many of the aspects of librarianship that were highlighted are still important--liking people of all kinds, a love of reading, meeting the needs of your learning community, evaluating a collection, and organizing materials. Dr. Long pointed out that we do much more than that these days; we serve as instructional leaders, members of various school committees (including the school leadership team), technological use and support, information literacy teacher, club sponsors....the list can go on. (We made a similar list during my MLS program, and came up with three pages of duties that librarians are often called upon to complete.)
We were asked to list ten endings for the sentence "A good leader....". Here are my offerings:
I completed an online inventory of my leadership skills, and had an overall score of 70--which happily came up in the "excellent" range! My lowest areas were in self-confidence (yes, I lack a little, as a librarian with no job yet!), emotional intelligence, and managing performance effectively--I had 70 in all of those areas. My strengths were: positive attitude, compelling vision, motivating people, good role model, and providing support and stimulation.
After watching a few more videos, reviewing the requirements for the TALL Texas Institute (must have five years of experience first!), we were invited to write up our own leadership plan. After looking at the documents, I realized that until I'm in a library, it will be hard to answer some of the questions asked. I already know my philosophy, and my vision for my library is a welcoming, supportive place of inquiry and literacy for my learning community. The specifics, however, will have to be based on the state of the library, and the previous relationship of the program with the community. I will have to know where I'm starting, to set goals for where I need to be. So I will archive the forms for future use...hopefully, in the very near future!
The activities for the week included videos and reading of articles. Watching a 1946 video about library careers was entertaining; many of the aspects of librarianship that were highlighted are still important--liking people of all kinds, a love of reading, meeting the needs of your learning community, evaluating a collection, and organizing materials. Dr. Long pointed out that we do much more than that these days; we serve as instructional leaders, members of various school committees (including the school leadership team), technological use and support, information literacy teacher, club sponsors....the list can go on. (We made a similar list during my MLS program, and came up with three pages of duties that librarians are often called upon to complete.)
We were asked to list ten endings for the sentence "A good leader....". Here are my offerings:
- knows her community.
- has a vision.
- has a leadership plan.
- had good "people skills".
- is proactive, rather than constantly reactive.
- accommodates the needs of all of the community, to the best of her abilities and resources.
- knows when to delegate tasks, especially in her areas of weakness.
- motivates her team and community.
- celebrates with her team and community.
- is honest and transparent in actions and words.
I completed an online inventory of my leadership skills, and had an overall score of 70--which happily came up in the "excellent" range! My lowest areas were in self-confidence (yes, I lack a little, as a librarian with no job yet!), emotional intelligence, and managing performance effectively--I had 70 in all of those areas. My strengths were: positive attitude, compelling vision, motivating people, good role model, and providing support and stimulation.
After watching a few more videos, reviewing the requirements for the TALL Texas Institute (must have five years of experience first!), we were invited to write up our own leadership plan. After looking at the documents, I realized that until I'm in a library, it will be hard to answer some of the questions asked. I already know my philosophy, and my vision for my library is a welcoming, supportive place of inquiry and literacy for my learning community. The specifics, however, will have to be based on the state of the library, and the previous relationship of the program with the community. I will have to know where I'm starting, to set goals for where I need to be. So I will archive the forms for future use...hopefully, in the very near future!
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