View
86
Download
0
Category
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
The Advancing Public Library Leadership (APLL) Institute:. Launched by SOLS in the fall of 2008, with assistance from an LSDF grant from the Ministry of Culture In response to a training needs assessment conducted in 2006 The growing complexity of the environment in which libraries operate - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Citation preview
Grooming the Next Generationof Public Library Leaders
Lindsay Brock, Middlesex County LibraryJulie DeVries, Middlesex County Library
Anne Marie Madziak, Southern Ontario Library Service
OLA SuperConference 2010
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
The Advancing Public Library Leadership (APLL) Institute:
• Launched by SOLS in the fall of 2008, with assistance from an LSDF grant from the Ministry of Culture– In response to a training needs assessment
conducted in 2006– The growing complexity of the environment
in which libraries operate
• New cycle starts in September 2010
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
Program Design:
• A two year certificate program blending online learning with 2-day classroom sessions twice a year
• A strong focus on peer learning, going through the program as a cohort, learning together and from each other
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
Program design (cont’d):
• Public library community engaged as course reviewers, project evaluation team, mentors, role models, etc.
• Courses developed and delivered by experts in the public library, municipal and not-for-profit sectors
• Courses include Strategic Financial Management, Staff Development, Planning, Developing a Healthy Board CEO Relationship, Succeeding in the Municipal Environment
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
Program design (cont’d):
• Participants are also required to undertake local library projects; something of concrete benefit to the library; projects evaluated by 3 library practitioners
• Other leadership topics explored during classroom sessions, eg. creative thinking, intelligent decision making, True Colors, change leadership, etc.
• Program endorses a practice based approach to leadership, promoting 9 leadership practices
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
APLL leadership practices:
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
APLL
• Interest in APLL program
• Buzz in library world
• Suggested by mentor
• Workplace encouragement
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
APLL Participants
• Libraries across Ontario
• Range of management experience
• Varying aspirations
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
Intensives
• Offered a vibrant community of practice
• Opportunity to share best practices
• Discuss issues -> Finding solutions
• Building a community
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
Projects – Year 1 and Year 2
• Guided by CEO to find an appropriate project
• Year 1 - Plan
• Year 2 - Implementation
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
Organizational Commitment
• MCL employs best practices
• Organization is using APLL as a tool
• Support from organization
• Created a culture!
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
Reflection and Development
• APLL vs. Northern Exposure to Leadership Program
• Longitudinal leadership development
• Opportunities for reflection
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
Working Together
• Opportunity for discussion and collaboration
• Mutual support for projects and ideas
• Contrast of leadership techniques
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
Overall Commitment
• Hours spent at work
• Hours spent at home
• Approach to work
• Benefits the library as well as ourselves
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
What has APLL done for us…
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
What we know about leadership development:
• It happens best when it’s understood as a process that is collective, contextual and continuous
• There is a correlation between leadership and learning and an environment conducive to leadership development and a learning organization; leadership can even be understood as the capacity to learn your way out of unforeseen situations
• It requires a balance of challenge and support
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
What we know (cont’d):
• A practice of critical reflection is crucial to leadership development
• Conversation is a powerful means of cultivating leadership at every level of the organization
• Leadership development is both an organizational imperative and a personal responsibility
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
Organizational strategies:
• Conversation aimed at generating an organizational understanding of leadership
• An organizational commitment to learning individually and collectively
• Coaching• Mentoring• Job shadowing/ exchanges • A variety of training and development (build
in opportunity to reflect on learning)• Special projects
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
Personal practices:• Take responsibility for your own development• Get good at reflecting on and learning from your
own experiences (good and bad)• Present yourself as worthy of mentoring and seek
out mentoring relationships• Seek out peers with whom you feel comfortable
learning and sharing perceptions, experiences, etc.
• Adopt a framework that allows you to see your own progress, eg. APLL practices/ self-assessment
• Cultivate your own sense of purpose and commitment to that purpose
A Program of Southern Ontario Library Service
To paraphrase Lao Tzu, ‘the wicked leader is he whom the people despise. The good leader is he whom the people revere. But the great leader is he of whom the people say, ‘We did it together.’ Co-creation is the process of leaders and employees working together to build a supportive environment.
Gretchen M. Spreitzer
Recommended