A short presentation based on the ideas of Presentation Zen for the Flat Classroom Workshop at the 21st Century Learning Conference in Hong Kong in September 2009
Ritualising your brand: how establishing meaningful, ownable behaviour can cr...Jon Howard
Inspired by the intersection of two areas of interest I have written about previously (stories & archetypes and behaviour change), this is a work in progress that explores the ways in which embedding ritual into your brand can build lasting loyalty. I am interested in any thoughts you might have.
(If you would like me to present this or similar to your organisation, please feel free to get in contact)
There's a movement brewing built upon leveraging the transformative power of creativity to help us work and create better so that we can produce work infused with meaning. Discover how by knowing your Why, instilling tiny habits to cultivate your creative spark, and finally, fomenting creative collaboration based on the tenets of improv and open spaces, you can take the spark of Creativity (R)Evolution and use it as the impetus to push you, your teams, and your companies to create betterness.
A short presentation based on the ideas of Presentation Zen for the Flat Classroom Workshop at the 21st Century Learning Conference in Hong Kong in September 2009
Ritualising your brand: how establishing meaningful, ownable behaviour can cr...Jon Howard
Inspired by the intersection of two areas of interest I have written about previously (stories & archetypes and behaviour change), this is a work in progress that explores the ways in which embedding ritual into your brand can build lasting loyalty. I am interested in any thoughts you might have.
(If you would like me to present this or similar to your organisation, please feel free to get in contact)
There's a movement brewing built upon leveraging the transformative power of creativity to help us work and create better so that we can produce work infused with meaning. Discover how by knowing your Why, instilling tiny habits to cultivate your creative spark, and finally, fomenting creative collaboration based on the tenets of improv and open spaces, you can take the spark of Creativity (R)Evolution and use it as the impetus to push you, your teams, and your companies to create betterness.
Sometimes making choices in our career paths is difficult. Wouldn't it be helpful to have guidelines to help us make decisions that open up your options rather than shut them down? Discover how choosing creativity, a growth mindset, finding your Flow, and being a Maker puts you on the path of having infinite possibilities in your career, creating a clear path to a future where you can not only be awesome, but also do meaningful work.
Sometimes making choices in our career paths is difficult. Wouldn't it be helpful to have guidelines to help us make decisions that open up your options rather than shut them down? Discover how choosing creativity, a growth mindset, finding your Flow, and being a Maker puts you on the path of having infinite possibilities in your career, creating a clear path to a future where you can not only be awesome, but also do meaningful work.
Building Together: Nurturing Leadership through Communities of Practice - LMI...Virginia Pannabecker
In the current era of never-ending change, effective library organizations must be nimble and flexible. Formal committee structures and reporting lines often get in the way of making changes quickly and may not provide opportunities for leadership development. Communities of Practice (CoPs), as realized at Arizona State University Libraries, provide a flexible model to gather employees from diverse areas and levels of an organization to address a common interest, project or problem. The issues and projects addressed by CoPs at ASU Libraries have benefited overall organizational dynamics and promoted management/staff interpersonal relations, leadership skills, self-awareness, and increased involvement from employees of all areas. Many who participate in these groups go on to participate in further leadership roles in formal groups within the organization. In this workshop, participants will learn about CoPs as an organizational and leadership development resource, including discussion of the theory behind the practice, resources useful for these collaborative working groups and an interactive discussion break-out time for an opportunity to consider how such groups might work in individual organizations.
The Creativity (R)Evolution - UX Week 2014Denise Jacobs
There's a movement brewing built upon leveraging the transformative power of creativity to help us work and create better so that we can produce work infused with meaning. Discover how by instilling tiny habits to cultivate your creative spark, and finally, fomenting creative collaboration based on the tenets of improv and open spaces, you can take the spark of Creativity (R)Evolution and use it as the impetus to push you, your teams, and your companies to create Betterness.
Induction presentation for psychology students at the University of East London. Covers top ten things about library services and some general hints and tips about literature searching.
Social Media for Lawyers & Law Firms : Chicago Bar AssociationKevin O'Keefe
Presentation before the Chicago Bar Association on 4/13/11. Review of principals of blogging and other forms of social media for professional and business development with high level discussion of
First Steps in Project Planning for LibrariesEmily Clasper
Slides from a Project Management workshop for the RAILS library consortium October 27th, 2016. Focus on Project Planning fundamentals for library Project Managers.
Think Like a Project Manager... Act Like a Library LeaderEmily Clasper
Think Like a Project Manager... Act Like a Library Leader
A presentation for the Annual Meeting of the American Library Association 2015, San Francisco, California. Presentation Date: Monday, June 29th, 3:00 - 4:00 pm. http://alaac15.ala.org/node/29859
Full presentation forthcoming
#alaac15
Building a Learning Culture From the Inside Out - ALA Annual 2014Emily Clasper
ALA Annual 2014 Presentation by Emily Clasper and Toby Greenwalt
Session Information: http://ala14.ala.org/node/14451
Libraries are quickly moving from being repositories for content to full-fledged incubators for new ideas. Using technological tools, innovative spaces, and creative programming, libraries are well-positioned to become an even bigger part of the community’s creative process.
Join a panel of library change agents as they examine strategies for kickstarting a culture of innovation in your library - for your staff and patrons alike. We’ll look at examples both in and out of libraries, address challenges, and discuss what it takes to bring creativity out in the open. Audience participation will be involved.
Sponsored by PLA (Public Library Association)
This fun little presentation was put together by Emily Clasper, Tim Sicurella, and Nicole Turzillo for the Public Libraries Luncheon at the Innovative Users Group 2014 meeting in Deroit, MI. This rapid-fire presentation showcased a variety of fun, useful mobile apps attendees might be interested in.
What Staff Training Program? Minimum Investment, Maximum Impact Staff Education Strategies
Providing staff with the training and support they need to excel is one of the hardest challenges faced by library managers, especially when time is precious and funds are low. At this session, participants will join in lively discussion and get practical advice for building effective staff training and development programs with limited resources.
Presentation for the Alaska Library Association Conference 2014 #akla
Technology Trends for 2014 and Beyond: What’s Hot, What’s Cool, What’s Coming Up Next
Feel like you can’t keep up with the latest and greatest in tech trends? What do we, as information professionals, need to pay attention to in the world of technology? What can we expect to impact us in the coming months and years? Join us to discuss some of the newest tech trends, get a sneak peek at some things we may encounter soon, and try to make sense of what this could mean for the future of our libraries.
Presented for Alaska Library Association Conference 2014 #akla
Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That: 5 Things You Need to Stop Doing in Your LibraryEmily Clasper
ALA Midwinter 2014 Ignite Session
Don't have the time to try something new at your library? I hear ya. So why not find some things you can STOP doing? Remove some of these time drains and suddenly you can add activities that will really make a difference!
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
Biological screening of herbal drugs: Introduction and Need for
Phyto-Pharmacological Screening, New Strategies for evaluating
Natural Products, In vitro evaluation techniques for Antioxidants, Antimicrobial and Anticancer drugs. In vivo evaluation techniques
for Anti-inflammatory, Antiulcer, Anticancer, Wound healing, Antidiabetic, Hepatoprotective, Cardio protective, Diuretics and
Antifertility, Toxicity studies as per OECD guidelines
June 3, 2024 Anti-Semitism Letter Sent to MIT President Kornbluth and MIT Cor...Levi Shapiro
Letter from the Congress of the United States regarding Anti-Semitism sent June 3rd to MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corp Chair, Mark Gorenberg
Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
This Congress will not stand idly by and allow an environment hostile to Jewish students to persist. The House believes that your institution is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the inability or
unwillingness to rectify this violation through action requires accountability.
Postsecondary education is a unique opportunity for students to learn and have their ideas and beliefs challenged. However, universities receiving hundreds of millions of federal funds annually have denied
students that opportunity and have been hijacked to become venues for the promotion of terrorism, antisemitic harassment and intimidation, unlawful encampments, and in some cases, assaults and riots.
The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, antisemitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism. Investigations into campus antisemitism by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Ways and Means have been expanded into a Congress-wide probe across all relevant jurisdictions to address this national crisis. The undersigned Committees will conduct oversight into the use of federal funds at MIT and its learning environment under authorities granted to each Committee.
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
• The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the sources of funding and other support flowing to groups espousing pro-Hamas propaganda and engaged in antisemitic harassment and intimidation of students. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the US House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
• The Committee on Ways and Means has been investigating several universities since November 15, 2023, when the Committee held a hearing entitled From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing. The Committee followed the hearing with letters to those institutions on January 10, 202
Instructions for Submissions thorugh G- Classroom.pptxJheel Barad
This presentation provides a briefing on how to upload submissions and documents in Google Classroom. It was prepared as part of an orientation for new Sainik School in-service teacher trainees. As a training officer, my goal is to ensure that you are comfortable and proficient with this essential tool for managing assignments and fostering student engagement.
Acetabularia Information For Class 9 .docxvaibhavrinwa19
Acetabularia acetabulum is a single-celled green alga that in its vegetative state is morphologically differentiated into a basal rhizoid and an axially elongated stalk, which bears whorls of branching hairs. The single diploid nucleus resides in the rhizoid.
Model Attribute Check Company Auto PropertyCeline George
In Odoo, the multi-company feature allows you to manage multiple companies within a single Odoo database instance. Each company can have its own configurations while still sharing common resources such as products, customers, and suppliers.
Honest Reviews of Tim Han LMA Course Program.pptxtimhan337
Personal development courses are widely available today, with each one promising life-changing outcomes. Tim Han’s Life Mastery Achievers (LMA) Course has drawn a lot of interest. In addition to offering my frank assessment of Success Insider’s LMA Course, this piece examines the course’s effects via a variety of Tim Han LMA course reviews and Success Insider comments.
11. 1. Don't be afraid to fall in love with something & pursue it
with intensity.
2. Know, understand, take pride in, practice, develop, exploit,
& enjoy your greatest strengths.
3. Learn to free yourself from the expectations of others and
to walk away from the games they impose on you.
4. Find a great teacher or mentor who will help you.
5. Don't waste energy trying to be well rounded.
6. Do what you love and can do well.
7. Learn the skill of interdependence.
- E. Paul Torrence, Creative Manifesto for Children (1983)
13. Removing barriers to Creativity
• Practicing convergent & divergent thinking
• Pursuing new experiences
• Seeking out differing Points of View
• Incorporating opportunities for Collaboration
• Making time to think and study
• Making time to engage in exploration,
discussion, & play
15. Leaders should encourage
experimentation and accept that
there is nothing wrong with failure
as long as it happens early and
becomes a source of learning.
― Tim Brown, Change by Design: How Design Thinking
Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation
18. Leaders who value good outcomes
more than assertion of their own
authority understand that serious
errors are avoided by the use of
Intelligent Disobedience.
― Ira Chaleff, Intelligent Disobedience: Doing
Right When What You're Told to Do Is Wrong
26. Empathy is a strange and powerful thing. There
is no script. There is no right way or wrong
way to do it. It’s simply listening, holding
space, withholding judgment, emotionally
connecting, and communicating that incredibly
healing message of “You’re not alone.”
― Brené Brown, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable
Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
34. Source: Discovering the Leader in You. Sara N. King, Robert Altman, and Robert J. Lee. San Francisco,: Josey-
Bass, 2011.
Adapted from materials in Leading to the Future Leadership Institute, The American Library Association, 2017.
VISION VALUES
SELF
AWARENESS
BALANCE
When I first became a librarian, it very quickly became evident to me that librarianship is not about doing a job – it’s about practicing a profession.
And a big part of the responsibility involved in practicing a profession is actively and intentionally seeking out and participating in opportunities to enhance, refresh, and grow our skillset
With the many demands placed upon our time and resources, it is often easy to frame this in the sense of engaging in library-centric professional development (taking classes in library topics, attending a conference or two a year, etc)
But we sometimes forget that there are vast bodies of knowledge out there across many diverse disciplines to help us grow and develop our skills
Librarianship is inherently interdisciplinary, and we can use that to great advantage
In order for each of us to become stronger leaders and practitioners of our profession, there are a lot of skills we can draw from other disciplines and professions
In order to be truly successful and effective in our professional practice, we need to develop multiple intelligences
Often Framed in terms of IQ/EQ or Technical skills vs People skills
The skillsets often categorized in the world of professional development as Hard Skills and Soft Skills
But it’s not a dichotomy, and as leaders in our field we need to look at the way we integrate different skill sets
Intersection of skillsets
What makes each of us here a successful library professional and leader in our field is the way we can synthesize skillsets and use them in conjunction with one another
Reference
Knowing how to use the tools
Engaging in an effective reference interview
Being able to communicate
Assessment skills
Everyone here has a set of skills I will refer to as Library Skills – gained through education and experience
Technical skills unique to our profession, centering around the organization and provision of access to information
Often this includes transferrable skills, but the things I count as “Library skills” are usually somewhat limited in their direct application outside the library field
Often professional development and continuing education focuses on these skills,
But Training that only applies to the direct responsibilities of an employees’s current role is not enough.
Another part of the puzzle is what I often hear referred to as “Business Skills”
These are the kinds of skills that are truly transferrable between professions, although their particular applications may vary
Hard Skills – the brick in the wall
Learned in formal setting
Objective
Measurable
certifications
Rules stay the same regardless of company/library
Programming languages
Data analysis
Accounting
Engineering
Library – Using reference resources (must be combined with ss reference interview)
Maybe the skills you build the foundations of your business practice on, but that foundation is not made of bricks alone. It is only as strong as the mortar that joins them together
And it is in this mortar where we find the so –called “Soft” skills that join hard skills together in conjunction with out library skills
Data from several recent reports (Business News Daily, Udemy report) tells us 72 % of companies focus on hard skills development
BUT
This does generally not help at all with developing Soft Skills
Additional research has revealed that employers consistently rank so-called “soft skills” as the most desirable skills they look for in hiring new talent, as well as being the skills companies most wish to see their workers develop. Other research has indicated employers rank SSs as the most difficult to develop in their employees
Soft Skills
Sometimes seem easy, taken as a given, underestimated, under appreciated
Often not supported enough
Intangibles, difficult to measure and assess, difficult to learn and improve
Best developed as a practice
Development of Soft Skills may be reaching a point of being more important than ever – and essential in libraries
Librarianship is a customer service based profession – and in a profession like that, essential hard skills are nothing without the soft skills
The robots are coming
AI, Automation, etc are predicted to have a very significant impact on the workplaces in general within the next ten years
Some experts are predicting a “Fourth Industrial Revolution” where a new wave of rapid automation takes over another level of jobs and responsibilities in many fields.
But a People Profession such as ours cannot rely on machines alone.
We need a renewed focus on Soft Skills in order to keep libraries providing services that continue to align with our core values
Let’s look at some specific Soft skills important in any profession but essential in libraries.
The way I think of them is in four main categories that are all interrelated
Cognitive
Organizational
Personal
Interpersonal
Today I’m doing the short version of this talk, so I will be focusing on Cognitive and Interpersonal Skills, but I will quickly mention a few from the other two categories as well
Organizational Skills such as Time Management and Values Based Goal Setting
And
Personal Skills such as confidence, assertiveness, motivation and adaptability
Not unimportant, essential in their own right, inseparable from the others
Some of the most sought after qualities listed by hiring employers in 2017
Included in the long version online
Making Connections
Creativity
Critical Thinking
Problem Solving
Judgement
Includes analytical behaviors and thought processes
One of the “Soft Skills” foundational to developing others
Also one of the most difficult to learn
Boils down to a willingness to take risks, and enabling creativity in ourselves and in others requires breaking down barriers that prevent us from taking risks – done in an active and deliberate manner
E. Paul Torrence “Father of Creativity” (Creative Manifesto for Children – 1983)
Advice that has stood up - not only in an educational setting, but in the development of more modern business practices. Educators influenced by his work used it to educate a generation of students who then brought those teaching into the workplace
Creativity is not a focus in schools today - STEM
Good advice for growing as individuals, learners, innovators, and leaders
Focus on mentoring, identifying talents, and risk taking has been influential
Translates well into a modern business environment where Soft Skills are more and more valuable
Especially when education has more recently been steering away from SS
More recently, the work of Sir Ken Robinson delves into the areas of creativity, risk taking, and curiosity and the relationship of these to educational and business success, and to innovation
Educators focusing on Creativity today
Identification of and Examination of barriers to creativity
From tradition and habit
Perceptual blocks
Emotional blocks
Resource constraints
And look for ways to remove these barriers through
Practicing of convergent and divergent thinking
Pursuing new experiences
Seeking out differing POV
Incorporating opportunities for Collaboration
Making time to think and study
Making time to engage in exploration, discussion, and play
Our mission as leaders within our field is to identify ways we can remove barriers to our own creative development, and provide others with the same freedom
Within the bounds of the practical constraints of the workplace and in alignment with the core values of our profesion
More recently, the work of Sir Ken Robinson delves into the areas of creativity, risk taking, and curiosity and the relationship of these to educational and business success, and to innovation
Identification of and Examination of barriers to creativity
From tradition and habit
Perceptual blocks
Emotional blocks
Resource constraints
Our mission as leaders within our field is to identify ways we can remove barriers to our own creative development, and provide others with the same freedom
Within the bounds of the practical constraints of the workplace and in alignment with the core values of our profession
Creating an environment where people can safely take risks
Development of creativity is closely related to the ongoing development of critical thinking and problem solving.
The more individuals are able to develop their creativity, the more they are able to engage in critical thought processes and apply their creativity to solving problems
Critical thought takes what we learn form engaging in a creative practice and ties it back to the constraints we removed to get into our creative mode
Harnesses creative thought within the bounds of what’s practical and leads us to finding smarter, more innovative alternatives to solve real life problems
Work being done to help encourage more of this in business and professional development
Methods for performing qualitative analysis or outcomes analysis
Logical analysis techniques (deductive reasoning, etc)
Argument analysis
Design thinking
Design thinking –
Approaching problems as non-linear (opens possibilities)
Engaging in a cycle of revisiting and revision as a way to make progress
“Fail fast” mentality
Tim Brown – creating a structure that makes it easier for people to bring non-linear, creative thought into a framework that allows for connections to be made between creative inspiration and practical situations
G David Hughes (professor of business, UNC Chapel Hill specializing in sales & marketing, business education, advocate for incorporating creativity into business practice) –
suggests models for decision making that REQUIRE looking for alternate solutions as part of the process
Recommends taking the problem solving process out of the office & into “innovation spaces” to encourage creative solutions (take your meeting to a zoo or museum)
Take creativity and Critical Thinking/problems solving skills and add an element of experience and incorporated feedback --- Judgement
But judgement is not only a function of experience
Judgement can not be exercised or practiced without a structural framework that supports both coming up with new ideas and solutions, but also for supporting critical feedback
Organizations looking for their employees to exercise judgement must establish an environment where suggestions, solutions AND criticism are actively encouraged at all levels
Developing better judgement by critically examining the way we make decisions
Decision Making
A good model for thinking about how people make decisions –
Chris Argyris, building on the work of S.I. Hayakawa and Alford Korzybski, and articulated further by William Isaacs and Rick Ross
The fundamental problem here is that the Ladder carries us rapidly away from our actual, lived experience into a cloud of abstraction, where it can be extremely difficult for reality to penetrate
This ladder of inference shows...that the evaluations or judgments people make automatically are not concrete or obvious.
They are abstract and highly inferential.
Individuals treat them as if they were concrete because they produce them so automatically that they do not even think that their judgments are highly inferential." [Overcoming Organizational Defenses, pp 88-89]
Work from bottom up, then return to beginning – Reflexive Loop
Use this to become more aware of the decision making process and examine it critically
What is influencing our decisions – recognizing this helps us identify logical fallicies and other flaws in our decision making process
Intelligent disobedience – Ira Chaleff
An important part of developing good judgement is the practice of ID
Defying authority with good reason
Often encountered in reference to training service animals
Now used as part of business technique – risk management strategy
In order to have an organization the benefits from ID, leaders must create a culture where ID is accepted and criticism is welcomed as part of a healthy feedback and improvement process
Empower people to speak up
Invite candor
Train people to be assertive without being aggressive
Management needs to pay attention
Chains of ID – multiple people speaking up in support of one another
A responsibility to speak
Communication
Teamwork
Partnerships
Project Management (overlaps with Organizational Skills)
Includes
“Oral and Written Communication Skills”
Public speaking
Networking
Documentation
Non Verbal communication
Brainstorming and elements of collaboration
Communication paths
Communication networks
(All channel)
Wheel, circle, chain , hierarchy – all with pros and cons depending on the circumstances
Must cover all of the possible paths – complicated enough on its own
Also consider
Communication types Oral, Written, Collaborative, electronic medium
Communication styles
Language, jargon, and cultural influences
Clarity
Self disclosure
Degree of emotional involvement
What we say, who we say it to, when we say it, why it’s said, how it’s said
Also who what when why how we hear, respond, and act on information
Bottom line – communication is extremely complex, and we are not as great as it as we may think – as information professionals, there is always room to improve how we handle information via the complexities of communication
Developing communication skills – not just practice of what we already do, but also incorporating new ideas and challenges
Alda Center for communicating Science – SBU School of Journalism cross disciplinary
New ways to help intellectuals (scientists) become better communicators of information
Incorporating writing, drama, performance skills, audiovisual methods – all of develop new and
Flame Challenge – Answer the question “What is Energy” in a way 11 year olds can understand and identify with. 21K 5th graders are the primary judges - $1K prizes to encourage creativity in communication
We, too are intellectuals who need to learn to use our voices better, and we should learn from this example of creative risk taking
Experiment with different mediums, techniques, give ourselves challenges to learn from
As much as the scientists gained from the exercise of communicating the meaning of Energy, maybe we could benefit from explaining what a library is or what information is to 11 year olds
Effective communication does not happen without empathy – understanding and sharing in the feelings of others
The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner
Empathic Communication
Valuable tool to consider: Non-Violent Communication techniques
Active listening
Recognition of
Empathic Communication – studied a lot in relation to medical professions, counseling, etc
Takes a lot of self awareness and practice
Close, active listening
Empathic Communication models stress the roles of
Active Listening
Acknowledgement
Discerning needs
All based on a strong level of Emotional Intelligence
Methods from Non-Violent Communication have proved valuable for me for Conflict Resolution, Change Management, Professional Relationships
Marshall Roseberg and Others
Observing without Evaluating
Mirroring
Self disclosure
Formulating Requests
Resources from the center for NonViolent Communication
Working effectively with others within our professional environment towards a common goal
Absolutely dependent on
Communication
Shared Values
Clearly defined goals
Cooperative sense of motivation
Trust
Finding relationships within our communities where values, goals, and desired outcomes overlap
Leveraging these areas of overlap for mutual benefit of everyone involved
While there are some exceptional examples of this, it’s an area of our profession that will not develop without intentional focus on identifying these opportunities and developing creative ways to connect the dots and create interorganizational efforts programs that help meet mutal goals
Many unexplored opportunities to develop partnerships between different kinds of libraries (academic, public, special, school) with overlapping stakeholders and community aspirations
We need to make space and create a framework that supports activelycreating these opportunities
Red billed oxpecker
For me, this is the discipline that has helped bring all of this together
PM is a complex discipline
Not just the delegation of tasks, or making to do lists
Not about software
Methodologies for getting things done efficiently
Managing overlapping and sometimes conflicting demands and constraints
Synthesis of hard and soft skills
Hard skills from other areas of Business expertise (accounting, budgeting, it stuff, estimation, etc) but with a LOT of SS mixed in
Requires the mastery of many of the skills listed individually here today
Includes time management, risk assessment, exercising creativity, judgement and critical thought processes, loads and loads of interpersonal skills
In order to become a certified PM, experience and success developing soft skills must be documented and demonstrated (not just course work, test)
In order to become a certified PM, experience and success developing soft skills must be documented and demonstrated (not just course work, test)
PMI “Talent Triangle”
The ideal skill set — the Talent Triangle — is a combination of technical, leadership, and strategic and business management expertise.
Technical: skills, competencies, and behaviors related to performing a job in the specific domains of project, program, and portfolio management
• Requirements gathering
• Project controls and scheduling
• Risk management
• Scope management
• Agile tools and techniques
Leadership: Leadership is the ability to articulate a vision and guide or influence others to help achieve that objective
• Communication
• Negotiation
• Conflict management
• Motivation
• Giving/receiving feedback
• Influencing
• Problem solving
• Team building
• Emotional intelligence
• Creating a vision
• Aligning the team to a vision
• Ethics
Business and Strategic: overall understanding of business context.
• Business acumen
• Finance
• Operational functions—for example, marketing, legal
• Strategic planning/alignment
• Contract management
• Complexity management
• Customer insight
• Go-to-market strategy
• Decision making
I personally enjoy delving into this field (for many reasons) – but primarily because it is such a challenging discipline due to the necessity of mastering and coordinating so many soft skills and joining them with “hard” skills for the overall impact
With these (and other) soft skills in mind, we have an opportunity within our profession to enhance our skillsets far beyond simply focusing on Hard Skills
As librarians, we are not doing a job, we are practicing a profession
We need to incorporate active modes of continuous learning into this practice, and make that ongoing quest to improve our skills more interdisciplinary
Approaching the development of these skills as a practice
Self identifying areas you wan to work on and devoting time and energy to intentionally peruse the development of these skills
Developing a leadership practice
For the growth of your own skill set
To provide a framework for helping others to do so as well
Creating a culture of leadership where development of soft skills has as high a priority and level of support as “hard” skills
Don’t just send people for classes
Give opportunities to learn through practice
Create an environment where every stakeholder is encouraged to work on soft skills in an intentional way
Intentional Leadership – for personal growth and development
Sara King, Robert Altman, Robert Lee
Personal leadership model w five elements
Vision (personal)
Values (core values)
Self Awareness (continual assessment)
Balance (integration between leadership practice and other aspects of personal and professional life)
Changing context and demands
Provides a developing a personal leadership practice that operates within the context of ever changing demands and expectations
Self assessment is key to incorporating this model into a practice of professional growth
Professional Development is not about so called “hard skills” alone – and perhaps less and less of the focus should be on that
We don’t want robots, we want human beings who can do things AI and automation can NOT do
To be effective and reach our goals, we need humanity.
It’s our responsibility as leaders in our profession to build our own set of “Soft” skills and to empower those around us to do so as well in a collaborative and supportive way.
Lucky for us that, although this is a complex and difficult challenge, we have strategies and communities to help us do this. We just have to be intentional about finding them and using them.