What makes a good leader? This is a question we hear quite often in articles, videos, and popular culture. It is a question with many different answers for different people. For me, the answer to this question is growth, a person has to be willing to change, adapt, and grow in order to become an effective leader. In the LIS field, we are fortunate enough to turn to established leadership competencies that we can learn from to grow as leaders. The Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA) makes note of 14 foundational competencies for library leaders and managers. Some of these competencies include communication skills, change management, team building, problem solving, and emotional intelligence, (just to name a few) (LLAMA, n.d.). I'm highlighting these five competencies because, not only are they considered five of the most important leadership traits, but because I have had a personal connection with each of the five during my tenure at SJSU.
The definition of leadership can mean different things to different people. In the library and information science (LIS) field, the definition of a leader involves the understanding, display and action of foundational competencies described by the ALA's Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA). Throughout my work experience and tenure at SJSU, I have come to learn about and understand a few of these competencies. Both at work and at school, I had to learn to work with others, either on a team project or just in general to get tasks done. Prior to grad school, team building is not an easy skill that came naturally to me. In high school, I preferred to work on projects alone, or just try my hardest to get out of group projects. Nearing the end of my tenure in the MLIS program, I have come to learn that team building and teamwork in general is an integral part in the LIS field. With team building, a leader draws people together to focus on a shared vision to complete common goals (Albright, 2018; LLAMA, n.d.). Having experience working on team projects during grad school and work helped me understand the importance of team building, as well as problem solving.
Occasionally in a teamwork setting, you might run into various problems. As such, problem solving is another important leadership trait an information professional must posses. With problem solving, a leader works to address and prevent conflicts as they arise (Albright, 2018; LLAMA). Leaders also provide proactive solutions to problems to keep issues from escalating (Albright, 2018; LLAMA). I've had first-hand experiences with problems between members in group projects and have had to step-in to resolve conflicts and issues. Experiences like that have made me realize how team building and problem solving go hand-in-hand. Similarly, conflict resolution is another important trait that leaders display to offset conflicts through "communication, collaboration, and/or compromise in order to avoid threats to the organization's missions and goals" (Albright, 2018, p. 470).
Communication skills are one of the most important "soft skills" an information professional should posses. We need to communicate to our coworkers and library users everyday in a number of ways. Strong verbal, nonverbal, and written communication skills are not only desired by employers, but expected in professional settings. Leaders themselves need to have exceptionally strong communication skills to lead their organizations through times of change. "Through continuous two-way communication, flexibility, and accountability", leaders in the information profession can help facilitate change management in their organizations by adapting to new service models and trends. The COVID-19 pandemic hit libraries in early 2020. During that time, I was grateful to rely on the transparent and continuous communication from my supervisors during that hectic time of change as my library transitioned to remote services. Leaders not only have to have the communication skills to lead change in their organizations, but also have the communication abilities to inform and foster good interpersonal communication through emotional intelligence (Albright, 2018; LLAMA).
Emotional Intelligence, a new concept that I recently learned about, is an important leadership competency in which leaders are able to "acknowledge their own and other people's emotions, applying concepts such as self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills..." (Albright, 2018, p. 470). As a leader, understanding and practicing emotional intelligence allows professional interpersonal relationships to develop within the organization, leading to effective communication. For me, leaving my personal emotions "at the door" when I come into work can be difficult. This program and my work experience has helped me greatly with learning how to self-regulate and be more self-aware of my emotions at work. Emotional intelligence is one leadership trait that I plan to keep in my professional arsenal moving forward in my career.
This first piece of evidence demonstrates my professional leadership and communication skills ability through involvement in a student chapter of a professional organization. Through my experience with SLASC, I have learned what its like to serve as an elected officer in a professional organization. I have also learned how to work with others in a professional organization to achieve the goals and mission of the professional organization. The one thing I am going to take with me from my experience with SLASC its that I can work as an elected officer in a professional organization. Knowing that will help me seek out new opportunities in my career.
This second piece of evidence demonstrates my ability and desire to continue to learn about leadership skills in the LIS field. Through my current job, I had the opportunity to participate in the California Library Association's Developing Leaders in California Libraries New Leaders cohort (DLCL). The program grouped paraprofessional library workers from all over the state California to participate in workshops on topics based on LLAMA's leadership competencies. Through weekly Zoom meetings, myself and 19 other California library workers would gather to discuss various leadership topics including emotional intelligence, teamwork, communication, problem solving, and many others. Because we were in a cohort, we were also encouraged to network with one another to develop our communication and networking skills. During my time in the program, I learned not only a lot about leadership in general, but about myself as well and the type of leader I could become. The specific artifact that I'm tying to this is a blog post I wrote for work based on my reflections in the program.
This third and last piece of evidence for this competency further demonstrates my communication and professional leadership skills. When I first saw the call for proposals for the first ever College of Professional and Global Education online student conference, I knew that it was something I wanted to participate in as I wanted to gain more exposure with presenting my work. I decided to create a presentation based on my JARS project from Info-210 mentioned in competency C. Ultimately, my proposal was accepted for the conference, and this recorded presentation was featured on the conference website. Participating in this helped me develop my public speaking communication skills and presentation skills overall. This is the first conference I ever presented at and I'm looking forward to presenting at more. Artifact "3a" is a link my presentation on YouTube and artifact "3b" is my certificate of participation from the College of Professional and Global Education.
In order to practice good leadership and communication skills, you have to be willing to learn and grow. Someone willing to learn and grow is the mark of a true leader. I used to be scared to make any sort of presentation of my work or work in a leadership role. Going through this program has helped me break out of my shell more and realize that I am capable of being in a leadership position and presenting my work. I think as time goes on, I will only continue to develop and grow, both as a leader and a professional communicator.
Albright, K. (2018). Leadership skills for today's global information landscape. In Hirsh, S. (Ed.), Information services today: An introduction. (pp. 465-476). Rowman & Littlefield.
Leadership and Management Competencies: Foundational Competencies for Library Leaders and Mangers. Library Leadership and Management Association. (n.d.). https://www.ala.org/llama/leadership-and-management-competencies
Photo credit: Sequoia National Park, CA by: Michael Van Aken