Moving into Management Training

I attended a training course this morning for people who are moving into team leader or management roles. The trainer talked about a variety of things, from leader/manager styles and derailing behaviours of first-time managers to Competing Values Framework. Participants were given the opportunity to develop a transition plan. What I appreciated most was the time to consider my strengths and weaknesses. I enjoy working with people and helping others to develop in their careers. I hate having to tell people when their performance needs improvement. I like being liked, and find it uncomfortable when I am in a situation where people are not going to like what it is I have to say. The term "difficult conversations" came up more than once over the course of the morning. I have been to several courses now that deal with learning and communication styles. Many of them use different terminology, but basically place you in one of four quadrants. I usually score highly in the people and detail quadrants, and not so highly in the innovation and driver quadrants. My problem-solving and decision-making skills are the areas I need to develop.

Thing 23 - Reflection - What next?

A bit late, but finally I have reached Thing 23. Not quite Everest, but a conquest none-the-less. CPD23 encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone and try some new technologies that I have placed on the back-burner for a while. There are a few others that I have committed to trying over summer, as identified in Thing 19 (10 October 2011). There were other things that I knew about, but had let slide, such as becoming more involved in LIANZA and NZLLA. It was good to be reminded to put aside time to reflect on and be more proactive about, my own professional development.

So, what next? I don't envisage any major role changes for myself over the next 2-3 years. While I am studying, it is good to be in a position that not only encourages, but enables me to do so. I don't want to take on extra responsibility that would interfere with my study programme. However, I now realise that there are things that I can do, without over-burdening myself, that will prepare me for the next step when I am ready to take it. I think getting a mentor is probably at the top of that list, as the first thing I need to work out, is where I actually want to go next. Until I do that, it will be impossible to identify any gaps. I need to be more proactive about seeking out and pursuing professional development opportunities that fit within the scope of my current job and that benefit me and my employer simultaneously.

Thing 22 - Volunteering to get experience

The only time I have volunteered for more than a few hours in a professional capacity was prior to gaining library experience. I wanted to start work as a HIPPY tutor (Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters). This is a programme aimed at raising the skills of preschoolers from lower socio-economic areas, so that they are as ready to start school as their more advantaged peers. Tutors teach parents how to work with their child on a daily basis, teaching basic skills such as listening to a story, recognising colours and shapes and working with pencils and crayons. Each centre had to find funding to cover the cost of the programme, including the tutors' wages. As a low-income family, the irregular payment schedule of a HIPPY tutor was problematic, as it interferred with payment of the accommodation supplement we were entitled to. I decided it would be easier to work for nothing (which helped to alleviate some of the funding that required raising by the HIPPY coordinator), than to jump through the hoops put up by Work and Income each week. I worked for nothing (about a year) until my husband landed a better paid job and we no longer required the accommodation supplement. I continued working as a paid HIPPY tutor for about another nine months, before I embarked got my first job in a library.

In the situation I was in, and the position I was volunteering, I do not think I was devaluing the position. However, given the current global economic environment and the treatment that some public libraries are currently undergoing, I can see that allowing people to work in libraries as volunteers provides a temptation for the powers that be to consider why qualified librarians are required at all, and why they should be paid. Few people outside the profession understand what it is that librarians do. I belong to a book circle. We would be considered a fairly typical book circle for Auckland, being white, middle-class, middle-aged women and all fairly well-educated. The question of qualifications came up, with members of my group asking why I needed a masters to work in a library, as they assumed that a librarian is someone who issues and shelves books all day. I explained that (and I speak from a NZ perspective here) a librarian is the equivalent of a manager, and, unless they worked in a very small library, they would probably have very little contact with the books or the patrons of the library. Library assistants are usually the staff responsible for manning the loans desk and shelving books. They asked me what my typical day was like. When I explained my job to them, they were surprised. I think we need to become better advocates for what it is we do, the service we provide to the greater scheme of society and why we deserved to be paid just as much as any other profession.

Looking back, this probably doesn't really address Thing 22 very much, but it is something that I think is relevant at the moment. I guess if I look at the question posed, then I do think we are in danger of devaluing our profession by working for free. It is a two-edged sword - we believe in libraries and the service they provide and want to see the job done, as well as gaining experience ourselves. When I worked as a HIPPY tutor for nothing, there were benefits to me, my employer and the programme. Perhaps we need to make those in control of the budgets more aware of the type of tasks in libraries that could be done for nothing and the type that require qualified, professional people.

Thing 21 - Job Applications and Interviews

Yesterday, I was analysing results of a survey conducted to find out what people want to do for the Library Christmas Party this year. I became quite engrossed, nearly forgot an appointment, and actually forgot to eat, which is a very rare occurrence! At the end of the process, I realised that this is something that I enjoy. I have worked on two research projects, and, although there are the low points along the way - especially as the deadline gets closer - I do enjoy the process as a whole. I enjoy the writing process and presenting at conference where possible, so teaching is also on the list. My attention to detail is one of my strengths. I think I have pretty good communication skills as well. I do enjoy interacting with people, so a bit of a strange mix of people skills and analytical skills - which does coincide with communication style tests that I have done. I must say that I find qualitative research more satisfying than quantitative, so I guess that would be where the people skills will be beneficial. There is another research project on the horizon (other than the great Christmas party survey), the finer details of which need to be worked out, but which will be looking at how legal research is taught in New Zealand and at leading Universities around the world, and whether a high quality legal research programme has any baring on employment opportunities for graduates. The fact that I can't wait to get started on this (although I must, as I need to get through a lot of red tape before beginning) tends to suggest that this I have found something that suits my skill suit and personality type.

We are able to use Research Outputs as a way of keeping track of entries for our revalidation journals. Once the information is in the system, it can be output as a CV as well. We are having some training in that next week. Once that has happened, I will input the rambling above into Research Outputs a more succinct, coherent and professional manner.

Thing 20 - The Library Routes Project

I have added my entry to the Library Routes Project. Reading through some of the other librarians linked there is very interesting. It looks as though I have taken a fairly typical route for other mothers out there - university degree, children, part-time library work, light-bulb moment, post-grad library qualification, full-time librarian. Advice for new librarians - never stop learning; take advantage of any opportunities, new ideas and technologies that come along; read about your new profession, especially if you want to specialise in a particular area, find a mentor and listen carefully to those people who show an interest in you and your career.

Thing 19 - Integrating things

The CPD23 process has been very worth while. I have tried a few new things, of which GoogleDocs has proved to be the most beneficial. We are trialling GoogleDocs as a recepticle for our more complex research queries, so that we can capture the group knowledge of the team. I have also revisited some things I have used before, but which have not worked for me in the past, such as Twitter - which I still don't get - and LinkedIn. My LinkedIn network is building, but I have to admit that it has not been very useful to date, except I have meet up with an old friend for lunch. I also have a "to do" list, which I will work in over the summer vacation, when it is quieter and I will have more time to work on professional development. The list includes working on my online presence (still have to update the photo), finding a mentor, and comparing at Jing and Prezi to the tools that we are currently using.

Thing 17 & 18

These tools in these Things are exactly the sort of thing our team have been looking to investigate, as the PowerPoint slides we currently use are becoming unwiedly. One of my colleagues is using CourseBuilder. After reading the blurp on Prezi, it looks as though it would be a good alternative. We currently use SnagIt and BBFlashback for screen capture and narrated video. I will do a comparison to see what advantages Jing has over these tools. Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to play with them as yet, so will blog about it when I have had a chance to trial them.