Category: organizational culture

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Looking at the Ladder, Idea in Hand

There have been some great responses to my post yesterday about alternate career paths and paying one’s dues. T. Scott has perhaps my favorite so far. His perspective as a manager makes this conversation very rich.

The best section of his post outlines things people can do now to create change or foster patience while you work towards it.

Identify the people in the organization who have the power to change things, and figure out why the change that you think is necessary is going to help them solve one of their problems.

He is right. Here is my current project to create change from the bottom. I am going to build a pilot Learning 2.0 Project at MPOW. I was hesitant to do this before because I did not think I would get the kind of monetary support I believe is needed to offer good incentives. However, one of my colleagues provided me with the way to get the money and soon I will be building a learning portal. I have to prove that technology training is integral to moving this library out of the Dark Ages. This might be my first step.

I am a believer in coming up with solutions to the issues. (though sometimes a good gripe fest has its uses)

–Jane, today coffee has made all things shiny

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A Ladder, A Rope, or the Stairs: Choose Your Own Career

Last week at MPOW, we had two leadership training days with Maureen Sullivan (who is a great facilitator). Most librarians under a certain age or a certain level in the organization were included in the sessions. It was interesting, frustrating, and medicinal. It was frustrating because a lot of the organizational culture issues we were talking about last year and the year before that are still crippling issues. It was medicinal because there was some laundry airing that felt good. None of the things we discussed are unique to my library.

Much of the discussion, however, was very interesting. The conversations that made me ponder most my place in this library and this profession was the generational discussion. We had everything from Boomers to Millenials in the room. Our ideas of what should be were so different that it was again brought home to me that I may not have the patience to wait for my library to change.

One of the conversations was about “paying one’s dues.” I said that my weakness was maintaining a patience level that would pace me with my organization. I stated that I wanted things to start changing now, I wanted flexibility, and I wanted to be more effective in my efforts. One of my older colleagues replied that I had to wait 10 years until I am in management to effect my idea of The Library. I retorted that I did not want to wait 10 years! I am here now!

At the time I was angry and frustrated, but the more I thought about his response, I knew this was the difference that holds many of us who want change now back. There is a strong divide between the “pay your dues crowd” and those of us that think we should have the opportunity and power to effect change RIGHT NOW. This small, but heated, conversation was the perfect example of generational differences.

I do not want to wait. Gone are the days when the majority of us will stay at the same library for years on end, retiring after a long service to the same organization. The reality is that I will mostly likely only be at my current library for a small number of years before I move on. I want to make this library better NOW, not after I leave. I want MPOW to be fabulous, I want to think big and be able to do something with those dreams, and I want to do it now. There is only so much subterfuge and subversion that can go on before you must gain official permission for things and all that dealing is exhausting.

A friend and co-worker pointed me to a new blog and this post in particular. Penelope Trunk is talking about the changing idea’s of paying one’s dues. There are some other good themes, like the amount of family time that must be sacrificed to achieve the pinnacle of most careers, but the majority of the post is about people who are succeeding well because they are hopping up and around the ladder of success. The climb no longer has to be drudgery and serfdom. The climb to success can vary immensely because there are so many more options available to us. Organizations that plan for this new model will be the one’s that succeed. Ones that do not will continue to drop by the wayside, waiting for a Good Samaritan to take pity and haul them out of their ditch.

The question most administrators should be asking themselves is how can they provide a flexible working environment for staff, especially younger or driven staff, that can and will choose to move in a different direction to attain the flexibility they want and need?

The question for librarians gazing at the top of the ladder from the bottom is thus: Do you want to go straight up, waiting your turn for others to vacate the upper rungs, or would you rather forgo the ladder and try the rope or the stairs?

–Jane, looks around for a rope

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Who’s the Boss

CIL2007

I have heard twice today, in two separate contexts, that younger people think bosses are bad. The first was during Rebbecca Jones’ talk on Organization 2.0. She said, “Young people are not comfortable in a command and control environment.” Basically, the younger generations do not like to be in a strict structure. In Jenny Levine’s talk on gaming, she said that the younger generations that grew up gaming (that would include me) have grown up thinking that facing the boss is bad. The Boss in a game is the bad guy at the end of the level that you have to beat to progress on. The first instance of this that I recall in my life was Super Mario Bros.

In a recent discussion with my old boss, we were discussing how she, only a handful of years older then I, thrives in a strict organizational structure while I feel stifled and unhappy. I think this is an issue that has not been discussed nearly enough in our conversations about organizational culture. We do talk about generational issues, but I have not heard the issue from this particular angle.

I do not think gaming is the only thing to blame for this “I do not want to be bossed” mentality. I think many people my age and younger simply want some flexibility and trust that traditional organizational culture can not offer. When I try to think of alternative strutures though, my mind does not come up with much. I am a product of the structure I hate.

I do know that it would definitely be flatter. There would be less red tape and there would be more trust. It would also be flexible, as Rebecca Jones was saying, like an amoeba. The organization could be changed easily and would not require years of thought, after which the new structure is outdated anyway.

–Jane, flexibility is key

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Organization 2.0 Presentation


Organization 2.0

Originally uploaded by Wandering Eyre.

CIL 2007

Rebecca Jones
Dysart &Jones Associates
Organization 2.0

[my comments in brackets]

[The picture is a little blurry but it is what a first round restructure should look like.]

Three things we have to think about:

  • People
  • Organizational structure and people processes
  • The technology

Many organizations are separated by the haves and the have nots of technology. Where do our professional blogs end and personal blogs begin? [do they always have to be separate?]

Organizational change is scary and that makes it difficult because it is about making choices.

The Basics: past structures are not effective, younger staff are more comfortable with technology, small groups move faster then large ones, leadership and fellowship, corporation evolves collaboration, technology impacts orgs, and the 85/15 rule (see below).

Young people are not comfortable in a command and control environment. [holy crap, yes!]

Web 2.0 and the future is about collaboration, the past is about cooperation. Collaboration is more like a choir then the past metaphor of the sports team.

85/15 rule – 85% of the time that there is a “people” problem, it is really a process problem

What does the Org 2.0 look like?

  • Design principles
  • Form follows function
  • Function changes quickly
  • Form drives behavior
  • Reporting relationships creates the “ties that bind”
  • Collaboration decreases as distance increases (more then 50 ft apart) People collaborate more closely with people who are not in their building. [This is very true of my life. I feel like my collaboration outside of MPOW are much more meaningful then what I have in my org structure.]

Structures should not even last two years. The org chart should fluctuate, always. [I wonder how many people this type of flexibility would completely freak out.]

How your org is shaped reflects your values as an organization. Our libraries do not support teams, they support individuals. Organizations should be like amoebas, always changing. Decentralization means that more people have control. The structure should exploit what makes you unique, not the technology. [Yes. It should always be about the people not the tech.]

If you redo an org chart, use post-its and make sure it says draft. The draft of the organizational structure should directly reflect the priorities of the institution.

The people that get 2.0 have the power in our orgs. [I disagree. Most of us are on the bottom of the structure. We have almost no power.] [I asked Rebecca to clarify this: she says it is not real power, but they are the go to people in the organization. True, which is why we are always overworked.]

–Jane, is that really power though?

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Hindsight

You know what they say about hindsight. It’s a hind. Sometimes, a big fat one. With my first conference talk under my belt, I thought I would share some things I learned.

When you are asked to speak, practice your good listening skills and read everything carefully. Sometimes the contract you sign does not put into writing the caveats you are told verbally. This is bad practice, but common.

The contract that TLA sent me said that I could not be reimbursed for travel expenses or paid an honorarium because I lived in Texas and work for a Texas library. It says nothing about conference registration. If however, I were to speak in a district other then my own for a district meeting, I could get reimbursed for that. Sounds like a crazy loop hole to me. I was also unable to find a copyright statement in the contract I signed. This is bad TLA if you think you “own” that recording you make of sessions. The contract just says I gave you permission to record me, not sell it. I do not care about this oversight, but someday, someone will and then…

Presentations are a lot of work. Preconferences are a whole lot of work. If I ever do another preconference, I want full registration at the very least, even if I am teaching L2 to the Pope.

Be very up front about the kind of technology you want in your room. Be firm. Organizations, you should be providing wired internet for presenters who want it without question and you should always have wireless. Wireless that does not cost an arm and a leg. Get it sponsored by someone or something; that is what vendors are for!

If you have to co-present, knowing your partner is much easier then not. It sometimes works out fine, sometimes not. Just be aware.

Things I would have changed:

  • I should have paid more attention.
  • TLA needs to change the way they alert speakers to their lack of registration. I am not the only person to flip out after seeing the mass email I received, so I know I am not crazy. Consider comping registration or simply wording the emails a bit different with less “overnight a check” urgency.
  • I would have liked to teach this in a computer lab or at least to a sea of laptops so that attendees could practice.
  • I think we should have taken the morning session, the examples and definitions I covered, and made that last all day. I think the audience needed more discussion and interaction and we just did not have time. I think some of the technical stuff was too much, but I found it very interesting.

This was a great learning experience for me. My only goal Wednesday was to have just a handful of the 100+ crowd leave with new ideas to use one Web 2.0 tool in their libraries.

I heard multiple times that TLA Council is going to be discussing speaker reimbursement in part because of the very public fit I threw. Good. It is not about the money. It is that there is a huge disparity between non-members who live in and out of state. TLA is a big organization with some pull in the library world. It would be great if they decided to be real leaders. Council, while you are at it, you should discuss the ridiculous requirements you have for Interest Group creation. If you have 50 people every year, you might as well be a Round Table. IGs should be small and intimate.

–Jane, handing out tickets to the Cluetrain

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My Reflections on Five Weeks and Librarianship

Meredith wrote a long post yesterday about her feelings regarding Five Weeks and I thought it was time I posted mine as well. Her description of how this came about is honest and her comments are all things I can say “exactly” to. It was a success because our participants felt like they learned and had a good time. That means all was well in my mind. Not perfect. There were glitches, but we dealt with them and moved on. It was great and I can not imagine building it with anyone else.

This particular post has been long in the making.

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you read this post I wrote a little under a year ago about some thoughts I had while in ALA 2.0 Bootcamp. What started out as a good experience soured quickly and we were indeed told that it could not be done better. That is a challenge I am loathe to back down from, especially when I had started the conversation for the purpose of making things better. The challenge from Kathleen was reason one why we “sat down,” over IM, and hatched a plan. She was the impetus and for that, I am grateful to her.

Reason two involved the library profession more personally, for me. (Please brace yourself for broad generalizations.) We pay too much for things that do not work. We refuse to change, grow, and learn. We fail to see the future even when it is no longer nipping at our heels, but crushing us under its weight. These attitudes make me tired and I have only been struggling in this profession for less then 3 years. No wonder I know so many older librarians who have become malcontents. (and plenty who are not, they are what keep me smiling)

I helped build the dream that became Five Weeks because I believe that we, librarians of the world, hold the capacity to learn, change, and adapt. I believe that there are enough of us that dream big and then do, but I think we are too few. Too far apart.

It was inspiring to watch the participants learn new things and build amazing ideas and plans of their own, but it also broke my heart to hear about all the roadblocks they each face. I moderated two groups and we spent time every week in each group going over ways to deal with reluctant staff, stubborn administrations, and refusals to adapt. It was especially disheartening to hear over and over again stories of supportive management that nevertheless refused to change because of one or two vocal staff. To hear them voice the concerns that plague my own life made me want to weep for our profession. Weep for the ability of other people’s stubbornness and a culture of indecision to steal the fire that is in so many of us. Weep for all of us who struggle uphill to make things better, but mostly weep for those who hold our profession back.

I hope that all the participants bring their wonderful ideas back to their libraries and meet with resounding success. I hope this everyday for them. They worked so hard and are so full of excitement about what they could be doing for their communities.

I did not intend for this post to be so gloomy, but my feelings about Five Weeks ranged from elation and hope to despair and I think this post was reflective of that. My largest hope is that others will build their own Five Weeks projects. As Meredith stated in her post, an online learning project can be about anything. My desire is that libraries and organizations, even ALA, will see the value on building these kinds of learning portals and offering them for free. Free. of. Charge. For. Everyone.

There are some libraries doing absolutely awesome things, sometimes with little resources and a small staff. We all know who they are. These are the places that give me hope, restore my smile on days when I want to rend my clothes and pull my hair. We are watching you, oh beacons, and we hope that more people notice too.

I still love my profession, but like any love relationship, some days, I do not like you very much. Recently, I have felt all I want to give you is tough love. From the heart, but very tough.

–Jane, power to the people

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Darien Library Gets Tagged


Darien Tag

Originally uploaded by Wandering Eyre.

Some of you may have noticed the last bit of Michael Stephens’ post this morning regarding a great read and a great library. Dear readers, most of you know that I think the Cluetrain Manifesto is an amazing call for businesses (read libraries!) to change and you also must know by now that I love the Darien Library.

They deserve to have that tag in Library Thing. Some of you may be wondering what makes Darien different from your library. Why do I go into fits of joy whenever I see that they are doing something else?

  • They trust their people. Everyone on their staff who wants to blog, can, in their own voice, and style. When speaking with Louise Berry and Alan Gray at Midwinter, I was impressed with their desire to see their staff succeed, for their voices to be heard, and for their library to be the kind of place that works from the bottom up. This was not mere lip service, which is what I fear is the noise I hear most often. They were striving to, not only create a human face for their library, but promote it as one of their hallmarks.
  • They cared enough about the success of their new initiatives that they planned an all day staff retreat to kick it off. All. Day. Staff. Retreat. Amazing, yes? When was the last day all of your staff attended a training, together? When was the last time there was an honest discussion? When was the last time the library was closed?
  • Louise Berry, their director, is also a great lady who seemed like the kind of boss many of us long for. I must admit that being managed well is a blessing, one that it very hard to lose.

I think that Libraryland should feel blessed to have places like Darien Library, AADL, and PLCMC in our midst. They challenge us to be better by creating a higher standard to which we all can aspire.

–Jane, looks around for ways she can make changes

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“We Told You What to Dream”

Yesterday was one of those days that started out great and became a swirling hole of poo. It did redeem itself later, but damn. Damn.

When the system fails you, it fails you. We came out ok, though I was very disappointed. The thing about big organizations is that there is always more red tape then you expect and in places you do not foresee. It is a very good thing that I am a committed member to my chosen organization – I am here to overcome, to change, and to improve. It is the path of the young.
Fortunately for me, I am in a trifecta of smartness and we have big plans for our future. Stay tuned.

–Jane, Welcome to the machine.

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Leading for Flexibility

One advantage of working in small groups, institutions, and organizations is the ability of that group to be flexible. In many of the conversations about Library 2.0, the ability to accept change and adapt quickly is at the top of the list of desirable traits. By their very nature, smaller groups can move quicker because there are less people to convince, train, and drag along. Decisions can be made easily and more informally since smaller also means less red tape.

Five Weeks to a Social Library has a preliminary program up. We are open to the possibility that things may change and we have produced our “program” in a medium that is easily changed. This is not a slick, 100 paged booklet containing only about 20 pages you need. Our only program is online and we can edit it at any time. Fabulous.

Anytime we make a decision, from who is presenting or what direction the project will take, a flurry of emails between 6 people or an online chat occurs. We make decisions fast because we can. We are flexible because we are few.

How can large organizations be flexible despite the red tape and multiple reporting levels? I think flexibility in larger organizations comes down to one thing: leadership.

Leadership at all levels, not just those who have manager as one of their job duties, though flexibility does require that managers be good, strong, and encouraging leaders to their staff, can stretch a large organization into a nimble gymnast. Personal leadership among employees is important so that change at any level can be faced with an eye for new opportunities and challenges.

Managers have to be good enough leaders to know what the strengths of their employees are, develop those strengths, and allow their employees to create projects involving said strengths. This is easier said than done in many organizations, but actually allowing the use of skills is another post all together.

Is one of your employees good at graphic design and does your library lack a marketing coordinator? Why not let that employee take a couple classes and create marketing materials for the library?

Does your library have an expressed need for technology or current issues training and you are unsure how to fill the gap? Maybe there is someone already in your library who can teach technology or coordinate an issues discussion group, but who lacks the time in their current workload.

The questions could go on, but leaders who recognize needs, find solutions, and act on them quickly are employees who can make your organization more flexible. The key emphasis in the previous sentence is “act on them quickly.” It is not enough to recognize and find – one must also act to be a flexible leader (or a leader at all, one could argue) and a library that can act quickly will be more nimble than their counterparts.

Being a drone instead of a queen, does not mean that you can not contribute the flexibility of our organization. Do you have a talent that is underused at work? Talk to your manager and see if you can develop a new project for yourself or ask to take a class. Introduce change into your organization by changing yourself. The hardest challenge for those at the bottom is patience in the process. It is what makes me want to pull my hair out daily, but I have faith that this ship will one day make waves.

Libraries must be flexible to survive. I have said it before, but it bears repeating. To be flexible, I strongly believe that we must also be leaders both inside our institutions and in our communities. What are you doing to hone your own leadership flexibility in your library and encourage it in your staff?

–Jane, where are we going and why are we in this basket?

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