How to Develop Leadership Skills in Any Library Role

About ten years into my career, my supervisor encouraged me to move into library administration. She recognized that I was driven and ambitious and asked me to consider how I could assume an administrative role. 

The only problem? 

I never wanted to be in library administration. In fact, I can’t think of a role I’m less suited for. The skills needed to manage a library—and staff—are well outside my wheelhouse. And while my supervisor was understanding, she seemed confused that I did not want to advance my career in that way. 

I wasn’t interested in being a manager, but I was interested in growing my career. And I often stepped into leadership roles by chairing committees, guiding big projects, and writing and administering grants. 

Luckily for me, there are lots of ways to be a library leader. No matter what type of library you’re in or what role you have, anyone can lead. As Shin Freedman and Jim Freedman state, “Leadership can mean influencing anyone in your…organization whether above, beside, or below you on the organizational chart.” And though Cragg and Spurgeon note that “leadership is an often misunderstood, nebulous concept, difficult to define and frequently contested,” we’re here to simplify it for you. 

Leadership vs. Management

Looking back, it’s clear I saw a difference between leadership and management, even if I couldn’t articulate it at the time. 

Freedman and Freedman have a simple definition of leadership: “the ability to influence the behavior of others to achieve team, group, or organizational goals.” 

Matt Gavin differentiates leadership from management by saying, “Whereas managers set out to achieve organizational goals through implementing processes, such as budgeting, organizational structuring, and staffing, leaders are more intent on thinking ahead and capitalizing on opportunities.” He breaks it down using Warren Bennis’s list of key differences: 

• Managers administer; leaders innovate.
• Managers maintain; leaders develop.
• Managers focus on systems and structure; leaders focus on people.

Doc Norton agrees, saying, “Manager is a title. It is a role and a set of responsibilities. Having the position of manager does not make you a leader. The best managers are leaders, but the two are not synonymous. Leadership is the result of action. If you act in a way that inspires, encourages, or engages others, you are a leader. It doesn't matter your title or position.” 

Freedman and Freedman note that leaders often tackle the “why” of an issue, while managers focus on the “how”. Given this, all organizations need managers and leaders. Sometimes, this is the same person. Other times, leaders emerge in teams, projects, or other endeavors. The point is, the best managers aren’t the only library leaders. And people in non-management roles can play a significant role in shaping how your library operates and succeeds.

Who Can Be a Leader? 

Let’s look at some of the ways leadership shows up in libraries. 

Library Directors. Deans and directors can be the most obvious library leaders. As my former supervisor demonstrated, library administration is often synonymous with leadership. Most come to their positions after years of education and experience. They bring deep knowledge of libraries and connections to the community. Many have also been managers, so they’re well-versed in “how” to get things done. Ideally, to be true leaders, they’re also able to set the library’s vision—the “why” of what needs to be done.

Library staff. All libraries have hierarchies, but they tend to be fairly flat organizations compared to many other industries. For most patrons, a “librarian” is anyone who works in the library and most libraries give frontline staff the ability to make decisions to best serve patrons. That means your volunteer shelver or circulation desk student could play a leadership role. In fact, they’re likely seen as leaders by patrons—whether they think of themselves that way or not. So, if you are a manager, dean, or director, encourage leadership development among staff, student employees, and volunteers. It can pay dividends—especially in terms of customer service.

Library Trustees. If a governing board runs your library, they can be the ultimate leaders in the organization. Though not involved in the library's day-to-day operations, they hire the director, approve budgets and policies, and participate in strategic planning. And, of course, they represent the community and advocate for the library. Trustees may be leaders in their fields, but many will be new to libraries and can benefit from training to quickly learn the basics so they can focus on the best interests of the organization.

Library Leadership Competencies

In 2016-2017, the Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA) of ALA (now part of CORE: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures) developed a list of 14 competencies for library leaders and managers. The competencies were foundational and applied to “all leaders and managers, regardless of the type of organization in which they work, their role in the organization, or their tenure or experience as leaders.”

Though LLAMA's original iteration no longer exists, the competencies are interesting and often appear in librarian leadership training programs. At Niche Academy, many of the competencies align with the professional development tutorials (and tutorial series) we’ve created. Let’s look at a few and see how we support them at Niche Academy. 

Communication Skills. LLAMA noted that written, verbal, non-verbal, and active listening skills are all necessary to clearly and effectively share information and build understanding. Several of our tutorials, including Active Listening, Writing a Professional Email, and Telephone Skills, explicitly build communication skills. Many others incorporate communication skills to improve customer service, reference interviews, and partnership building.

Team Building. Teamwork is essential in libraries, and staff often work with teams across the organization. Working on a team isn’t the same as leading one, though. That's why we’ve created tutorials like Setting and Aligning Team Goals to help managers balance staff skills with organizational needs in a way that benefits everyone. And since many managers step into that role without much preparation, our Equitable Workplace Practices series helps develop key skills for building a high-functioning team. 

Collaboration and Partnerships. Working with community and campus partners was one of my favorite things about being a librarian, and I’ve loved writing tutorials to help others develop these skills. Our team has created tutorials on building partnerships, working with faculty, community mapping, and collaborating with social workers to help frontline staff, programming and outreach librarians, faculty liaisons, and directors start and sustain key relationships. 

Conflict Resolution. The ability to manage and resolve conflicts is one of the key leadership qualities reflected in administrative and management jobs. Whether you’re dealing with conflict in your current job or looking to step into a leadership role requiring these skills, we’ve got you covered with our tutorial on Conflict Resolution for Managers. And our tutorial on Encouraging a Speak-up Culture helps you create an environment where conflict can be avoided by openly sharing information, ideas, and concerns.  

Critical Thinking. LLAMA asserts that critical thinking is key for breaking down problems so you can find solutions. While not explicitly focused on leadership development, our Critical Thinking Skills series has over a dozen tutorials to help you think through problems, search information sources, and communicate more effectively with others. 

Ethics. Librarianship has a strong ethical foundation. And while patrons see every staff member as a librarian, some staff may not have the ethical grounding taught in an MSLIS program. Our Code of Ethics series helps staff learn and apply ethical foundations to their interactions with patrons and coworkers. The series is also an excellent resource for trustees, who can use it to firmly ground their leadership in professional ethics to support privacy and intellectual freedom.  

Of course, these tutorials aren’t the only way we address leadership issues. Our popular webinar series offers free professional development led by key voices in the field. Some of the leadership topics we’ve covered include: 

• Building conflict management and de-escalation skills
• Teaching critical thinking to college students
• Building community and partnerships
• Creating relationships with students
• Communication for customer service
• Managing change across the organization 

Develop Your Leadership Skills Today

At Niche Academy, we agree with Cragg and Spurgeon, who encourage readers to “remember leadership skills can be developed. Just because you don’t excel in a given competency today doesn’t mean you can’t acquire it in the future.” 

No matter where you are in your leadership journey, we’re here to help. If you’re a current Niche Academy platform subscriber, check out our Marketplace for tutorials on all the topics mentioned above and many more. 

If you’re not a platform subscriber, start a free trial. You’ll get access to the hundreds of tutorials in Marketplace, including many that focus on developing your leadership skills regardless of your role. A trial is a great way to explore how you can develop your skills and help train your staff, board, and volunteers so they can build their skills. 

Finally, if you’re ready to explore leadership further, we invite you to join our 12-week Leadership Development Program for live coaching and networking. Freedman and Freedman write that “leadership is a bundle of skills and competencies that can be learned and developed using deliberate practice.” This program allows you to practice leadership skills and receive feedback to maximize your learning. We’ll also help you set goals and build capacity. 

Gavin says, “Leadership is a quality that needs to be shaped” and “leadership skills can be developed at any stage of your career.” So whether you’re an administrator, manager, or regular librarian like I was, you can build the skills that will help you lead from anywhere, moving your library, community, and career forward. 

References

Cragg, R. and Spurgeon, P. (2007). Competencies of a Good Leader. In How to Succeed as a Leader, ed. Chambers et al. Taylor & Francis.

Freedman, S., and Freedman, J. (2017). The Road to Effective Leadership. Charleston Conference.  

Gavin, M. (October 31, 2019). Leadership vs. Management: What’s the Difference? Harvard Business School Online.

What Makes a Good Leader? Key Differences Between Management and Leadership. (November 21, 2017). Forbes.