Transcript Moving into Management Instructor: Nancy Bolt [email protected] An Infopeople Workshop Winter 2007-2008 This Workshop Is Brought to You by the Infopeople Project Infopeople is a federally-funded grant project supported.

Moving into
Management
Instructor:
Nancy Bolt
[email protected]
An Infopeople Workshop
Winter 2007-2008
This Workshop Is Brought to You by the
Infopeople Project
Infopeople is a federally-funded grant project
supported by the California State Library. It
provides a wide variety of training to California
libraries. Infopeople workshops are offered
around the state and are open registration on a
first-come, first-served basis.
For a complete list of workshops, and for other
information about the project, go to the Infopeople
website at infopeople.org.
Introductions
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Name
Library
Position
What was the last leadership
position you held in any context:
library, church, community group,
family trip planner, etc?
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Workshop Overview
 What is management?
 Six key roles of effective
management
 Tips for a successful transition
 Personal planning for
management
Myths and Reality
 Myth
 You can get things
done
 People will do what
you tell them
 You just have to
know the subject
area
 Reality
 You are dependent
on others
 Compliance is
based on respect
 You have to know
the subject and the
people and the
organization and
the policies...
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 Myth
 You have to be the
expert
 You learn to be a
manager through
formal training
 Reality
 Your staff and peers
have valuable
knowledge
 You learn on the
job from experience
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What Is Management?
 Dichotomy between leadership
and management
 management is doing things right
 leadership is doing the right thing
 Is this true???
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Why are people
chosen to be
managers?
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“Apart from the relationships, the hardest thing for me was
learning the business of management. I had to go from taskoriented to concept-oriented work; I wasn't ordering books for
patrons anymore, I was creating policies for how to deliver
services. I wasn't dealing with patrons face-to-face as much as
I was advising staff on how to do customer services. Wise
hiring, effective training, fair and reasonable discipline, wellplanned mentoring and coaching, negotiating between staff and
upper management, planning new services, justifying
expenditures, running good meetings, effective and appropriate
delegation...I didn't learn ANY of this in library school. And the
ongoing needs of a department don't go away just because the
supervisor is learning. I didn't think I would EVER catch up that
first year.”
From a Colorado librarian in an email
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Move from Individual Contributor to
Manager
 You were chosen because you do
your job well
BUT
 You don’t do your old job as manager
 Need to learn new skills
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An Effective Manager
 Has competence
 Has confidence
 Takes risks
 Makes a commitment
Competence
 Competence means you have the
skills and expertise to be successful
in your environment.
 Competence comes when you
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complete assignments successfully
overcome adversity or failures
learn from past mistakes
continuously learn both formally and
informally
Confidence
 Confidence comes from
increased feelings of competence
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successfully complete assignments
learn from mistakes
self-reflection
recognition by others
“stretch” yourself
Taking Risks
 Builds on
 competence
 confidence
 Happens when you
 volunteer for stretch assignments
 are willing to make mistakes
 reflect on what worked and didn’t
As virtually every leader I talked with said, there can be no growth
without risks and no progress without mistakes.”
Warren Bemis, On Becoming a Leader
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Why Do People Want to Become
Managers?
 Power to accomplish something
 Better pay
 Bored in current job
 Make a difference in the organization
 Recognition
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What Is Expected of a
Manager?
 By subordinates
 By supervisors
 By peers
 By library users
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Subordinates Want Managers to:
 Meet their individual needs and take
care of their worries
 Deal successfully with outsiders
 Bring back resources
 Protect them from demands from
above
 Provide feedback on their work
 Be fair and equitable
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Supervisors Want Managers to:
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Be accountable
Integrate with the larger organization
Handle problems
Follow policies and procedures
Keep the supervisor informed
Provide good customer service
Be a team leader – and a team player
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Peers Want Other Managers to:
 Represent their unit
 Cooperate
 Share resources
 Negotiate conflicts
 Be a team player
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Users Want the Library to:
 Provide what they came for
 Serve pleasantly
 Offer modern services
 Be a safe and welcoming place
 Be run cost-efficiently
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Managing
your supervisor
Managing
your staff
Managing
yourself
Managing
your peers
Managing
outside
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In Summary
“In some ways it’s an impossible job.
A manager is a jack of all trades, a
chameleon, who has to please
everybody.”
Anonymous quote from Hill, page 41
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Six Key Roles of a Library Manager
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Supervisor
Direction setter
Team builder
Networker
Team player
Administrator
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Manager as Supervisor
What challenges will you face as a
supervisor of other people?
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A New Role and Responsibility
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New role in relation to past peers
Dealing with the new and older staff
Individual vs. team supervision
Dealing with diversity
Delegation
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“My biggest pitfalls: Trying to be friends
with everyone. Since I had been one of
them I wanted to prove that I wouldn't
"turn into management." Big mistake. I
undermined my own authority. I didn't
have to turn into a stuck-up tyrant, but I
also couldn't be the same person I was
when I was shelving or working the front
desk. I had different and more
responsibilities.”
From a Colorado librarian in a personal email
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Dependency
 As in individual contributor you could
do your job
 As a manager, you do your job
through others
 Formal authority is rarely productive
and successful over time
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Manager as Direction Setter
 Set direction for your unit
 Develop goals and objectives for
projects
 Participate in setting direction for the
library
 Involve staff
 Accountability
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Manager as Team Builder
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Show value of team
Make a team assignment
Select a team… and it’s leader
Coach a team
Evaluate a team
“And oddly enough, the more willing you seem to be to
let people participate, the less need they have to
force participation. It’s the threat of being left out
that exacerbates their ego problems and creates
clashes.”
Bennis on Becoming a Leader, p 134
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Successful Teams Have
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A leader
An innovator
A detail person
A people person
How much of each are you?
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Manager as Networker
 Networking: a major key to success
 Must be purposeful and constant
 Network with people:
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you can learn from
you need
who need you
who would oppose you
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Manager as Team Player
 Look at the big picture
 Find “A Place at the Table”
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“If you want to be part of the decision-making process, you have to
have a place at the table.” Kathleen de la Peña McCook, A Place at the
Table
 Never miss an opportunity
 Volunteer
 Seek recognition and visibility
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Communicating with Your
Supervisor
 Emphasize
 impact on larger unit
 networking
 never present a problem without a
proposed solution
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Hold Regular Meetings with Your
Supervisor
 I just wanted to bring you up to date on
what the library (department, unit) has
been doing
 Our plans for the last six months were…
 We accomplished most (all) of this (give
data)
 Our plans for the next six months are…
 Major issues we are facing…
 We need…
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Manager as Administrator
(Enforcing Library Policy)
 Expected by subordinates,
supervisors, and peers
 Eats up time
 Must know policies and procedures –
and when you can ignore them
 Often frustrates
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What Kind of Manager Might These
People Be?
 Cataloger?
 Reference librarian?
 Children’s Librarian?
 IT ?
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Tips for a Successful Transition
 Listening skills
 Decision-making
 Art of asking questions
 Meeting management
 Mentoring
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Why Listen?
 Listen to learn
 Listen to care
 Listen to impress
 Listen to communicate
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Five decision-making options
1.
2.
3.
4.
Decide and announce
Gather input from individuals and decide
Gather input from group and decide
Consensus between you and a group
 be sure you are willing to compromise
5. Delegate with parameters
Make sure the decision-making step is clear to all!
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When to Use Each Option
 Impacted by time available
 Input almost always produces better
decisions
 Input almost always produces
happier subordinates
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BUT – Need to Be Adaptable
 Never have enough information
 “Analysis paralysis”
 Ready, Fire, Aim
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The Art of Asking Questions
 Can you give me some examples?
 Why do you think that happened?
 How do you know that?
 What do you think?
 Why do you believe that?
 What’s next?
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 Can you clarify what you mean? I’m not sure I
understand.
 What will you do?
 Who is in charge of this project and when is
something due?
 Who’s the final decision-maker on this project?
 What are we trying to accomplish?
And be prepared to answer
these questions yourself!!
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Listen to Learn
Find a partner.
The first person picks a topic on which
they have a very strong opinion and
share this with their partner.
The partner asks clarifying question to
better understand. Do not share your
own opinion.
Switch roles.
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Managing Meetings
Why do we hate meetings?
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How to Make Meetings Successful
 Engage in active listening
 Look for ways to participate
meaningfully
 Follow-up on opportunities
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 Ask clarifying questions
What are the goals of a project?
Who’s working on this?
Who’s in charge (or wants to be)?
Can my unit be involved (who wants to
be involved)?
 When is something due?
 Have we decided to proceed?
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Power of the Pen in Meetings
 Volunteer to take minutes
 on a computer in the meeting
 Take notes and study them
 Use notes to refresh your memory
 and others
 Highlight actions and answers
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And If You Hold Meetings
 Make sure you need one
 Have an agenda
 Ask for input
 Make decisions using the options
 to proceed
 who’s in charge
 when is something due
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Mentoring – For You
New managers often are
afraid to ask for help.
Why?
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Finding Your Mentors
 You don’t need just one mentor
 Talk to your boss
 Find peers
 Find an outsider
 Join a professional peer group
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My biggest pitfalls: Not admitting when I
needed help. I was afraid, especially after I
got my MLS, that people would think I wasn't
qualified to do the job if I asked too many
questions. Even though others did look at me
that way (generally long-time "non-MLS'
employees), I needed to have the confidence
that I was qualified. That truly learning my
job correctly and delegating appropriately
were what I needed to do and that those who
were criticizing me were going to do it no
matter how well I did my job.
From a Colorado librarian in a personal email
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Mentoring by You
 Help staff be their best – even if they
might leave
 Increases your network
 Improves the unit’s success
 Makes for more productive and happy
staff
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Some Realities of Moving into
Management
 Those First Months
 must transform from an individual
contributor to a manager
 less control over time and work
 trivial competes with consequential for
attention
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Stress
(The Dirty Little Secret)
 Almost everyone is terrified at first
 There is often emotional upheaval
 Find someone to talk to
 Don’t take things personally –
everyone fears change
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“They expect me to hit the ground running.
I want to do the job well, but I’m so afraid
that I’ll fail. It’s the biggest fear I’ve ever
had and I know I won’t be graceful about it
if I do. It is important to me to be good at
what I do. I have to feel that I’m making a
difference. These days sometimes I feel like
I shouldn’t accept my paycheck.
Hill, p 177
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What to Do in the First 90 Days
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Learn
Observe
Interact
Trust
Evaluate
Reflect
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Factors that Make the Transition
Work. Be Willing to…
 Accept the new role and move from
an individual contributor to a
manager point of view
 Sort through conflicting demands
from staff, peers, and supervisors
 Engage in personal introspection and
learning
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So,
What are the benefits of being a
manager???
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Benefits of Being a Manager
 Personal growth
 Opportunity to contribute to a unit
and thus the library’s success
 Opportunity to make a difference
 Variety of learning experiences
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 Public recognition for
accomplishments
 Ability to train and mentor other
people
 See staff develop and improve
because you challenged them to do
more
 Thrill of risk taking
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Your Personal Plan
How can you prepare NOW to be a
manager?
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Prepare Now for Management
 Build a wide and powerful network
 Volunteer for more responsibility now
 Never miss an opportunity to show
what you can do as a leader/manager
 Show interest in the entire library, not
just your job/unit
 Offer solutions, not problems
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Preparing (2)
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Find a mentor
Be visible
Observe managers at work
Dress the part
Watch out for “second-in-command”
syndrome
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Commitment
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Commit the time
Commit the energy
Do not be dissuaded
Fire in the belly
Reap the results
“The essence of leadership is the communication of
commitment”
Charlie Robinson, Former Director of the Baltimore County Public Library
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In Summary
Confidence +
Competence +
Risk Taking +
Commitment =
SELF AWARENESS AND SUCCESS
“The most powerful drive in the ascent of man is his pleasure in his
own skill. He loves to do what he does well, and having done it well,
he loves to do it better.”
Jacob Bronowski in The Ascent of Man quoted in Bennis, On Becoming
a Leader” p. 135
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Thanks for coming.
Be sure and complete the evaluation
form.
Good luck in your management position!
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