Opening Keynote for the 2018 PaLA Academy of Leadership Studies (PALS) given on 6/3. This presentation focuses on the five actions (i.e. Act, Communicate, Empower, Enable, & Unify) that every leader should take when facing a difficult situation.

1. Library Leadership in the Internet
Age the What, Why, & How
John D. Shank
Head of the Boscov-Lakin Information Commons @ the Thun Library
2018 Pennsylvania Academy of Leadership Studies
This presentation is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 international license.
Please note that some materials used in this presentation have more restrictive licenses..

2. When you think about
leadership what words come
to mind?

4. A Formal Definition
What

5. Why
Scarcity Abundance

6. How
A Case Study
The unexpected
closure of the library
for an indeterminate
amount of time in the
middle of the Fall
Semester while the
rest of the campus
operates as usual.

7. Leadership Takeaways
Act
Identify
Challenges

8. Leadership Takeaways
Empower
Find
Solutions
...but don’t let
perfect be the
enemy of good

9. Leadership Takeaways
Communicate
“The single biggest
problem in
communication is
the illusion that it
has taken place.”
- George B. Shaw

10. Leadership Takeaways
Encourage
Stay
Relentlessly
Positive
…focus on what
you can control

11. Leadership Takeaways
Unify
Remember
that
Together,
Everyone
Achieves
More

12. Leadership on the ‘Far Side’
1. Act
2. Empower
3. Communicate
4. Encourage
5. Unify
What did
they do
right?
What did
they get
wrong?

13. “Leadership is as Leadership does.”
- Forrest Gump
“Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.”
- Yoda

14. PALS Self-Reflection
Think of a future priority, goal, or
opportunity and apply the five leadership
actions.

15. John D. Shank
www.linkedin.com/in/blendedlibrarian/
twitter.com/IDLibrarian

16. Image Attributions
● Slide # 1 Andy Saxton
● Slide # 5 Victor Korniyenko
● Slide # 5 George Hodan
● Slide # 7 Quinn Dombrowski
● Slide # 9 Brian.Abeling
● Slide # 10 Teak Sato