Lauren Corder

University of  Washington

Distance Master of Library and Information Science

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Leadership

Leadership has been a strong area for me in my past. I was a high school teacher for six years, and every day was an exercise in leadership. Developing my skills as a leader in a library setting will be a new challenge for me. I provided some leadership in my iSchool group experiences; however, most of that work was collaborative. I became somewhat of a leader in my U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary flotilla by agreeing to be the flotilla web master.

I believe that I yet have some growing to do in this area. This quarter, I will be doing my directed fieldwork at the Port Angeles Public Library. I will look for opportunities during this internship to enhance my leadership abilities.

Group Work

Though my group work at the iSchool was collaborative, I feel that I exhibited leadership skills at times when one of my groups seemed to be searching for direction. For example, in my chats with other group members I would suggest avenues of study or dates and deadlines if other members of the group seemed to be struggling with coming up with something. In this way, it was a kind of "collaborative leadership," which is a valuable skill to learn in itself.

Unlike teaching, where I had the authority and control over my students, this collaborative leadership is more exploratory and tactful. Instead of telling group members, "This is what we are going to do...," I would probe with phrases like, "How about we get all of our resources to each other by the end of the week? What do you all think?" I believe that most work settings are moving to a more collaborative approach to carrying out projects, so I think such skills will serve me well in my future work environment. Of course, a purely collaborative situation can have its downside as I explain in this essay on management that I wrote for LIS 580. It is advantageous for someone to step forward and take a leadership role to keep the momentum of the project going.

In LIS 587, we discussed often how to include employees in the system migration process. Important there is to involve them in decision making and to recognize each individual's different learning style. Some employees might have a difficult time learning a new system. A good systems librarian will tactfully work with those employees to bring their skills up for the new system. Important is to respect their years of experience and never to humiliate them.

We also discussed different management styles, and the class seemed to agree that a style that keeps employees "in the loop" about changes occurring in the system is better for morale. When employees do not know what is happening and how those changes might affect their jobs, this situation can breed fear and distrust--which hampers them in their job performance.

Growth | Technical Skills | Teaching | Leadership | Service | Goals