The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0143-5124.htm
Moving toward
democratic-transformational
leadership in academic libraries
Daniel Earl Wilson
Library and Learning Services, American InterContinental University,
Schaumburg, Illinois, USA
Moving toward
democratic
731
Received 13 March 2020
Revised 9 June 2020
Accepted 26 July 2020
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore academic library leadership behaviors and the methods for
integrating the democratic and transformational leadership styles.
Design/methodology/approach – Eleven structured interviews were conducted with academic deans and
directors. A thematic content analysis was conducted on their responses, analyzing the frequency of certain
topics and identifying emergent themes. These themes were then used to construct a democratic
communication model.
Findings – The interview responses were grouped into five general leadership themes: participation in
decision-making, relationship building, frequent and honest communication, equality and knowing the
environment.
Research limitations/implications – The structured interview format did not permit for unplanned followup questions, and some topics may not have come up in every interview unless specifically asked by an
interview question. Due to the qualitative nature of this study, the perspectives of the participants may not be
generalizable to the larger population.
Practical implications – This study identifies core themes of leadership practice that extend beyond the
focus of transformational leadership alone. It suggests a democratic communication model to assist in
integrating democratic leadership methods with transformational practices and goals.
Social implications – This study suggests a greater emphasis on the communication and engagement
practices of democratic leadership. In doing so, it suggests that the American Library Association’s emphasis
on transformational leadership alone should be reconsidered and that library science schools should increase
focus on democratic leadership practices.
Originality/value – Most library leadership style studies emphasize transformational leadership. While there
are some studies that explore elements of democratic leadership such as engagement and a flattening of
organizational hierarchy, there is limited research on the integration of democratic and transformational
leadership practices.
Keywords Leadership, Transformational, Communication, Academic, Participative, Democratic
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Academic library leadership faces a challenging professional environment confronted by
continual change but wherein there are also notable organizational and cultural differences
between academic institutions. This produces a dynamic and situational leadership
environment that the existing literature fails to comprehensively explore. In the 2000s,
libraries began facing challenges recruiting new leaders, and a number of researchers found
that a lack of agreed upon core leadership skills was hindering leadership development
(Mason and Wetherbee, 2004, p. 192; Garrett, 2009, p. 26). Although research attention has
increased, a recent review of the literature found only 303 articles published on academic
library leadership, since 1974, while education as a whole boasts 39,250 articles published,
since 1881 (Wilson, 2019, p. 19).
The American Library Association suggests that librarians should be trained in
transformational leadership, and the existing library leadership literature has a notable
emphasis on that style (2009, Section 8. Administration and Management). Nevertheless, a
2019 dissertation found that academic library leaders seem to make the most use of
Library Management
Vol. 41 No. 8/9, 2020
pp. 731-744
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-03-2020-0044
LM
41,8/9
732
democratic and democratic-transformational styles, rather than a purely transformational
approach (Wilson, 2019, pp. 63–65). Academic library leadership requires an understanding
of communication, motivation and relationship skills that can be more effectively met
through an intentional combination of the democratic and transformational leadership styles.
Literature review
Democratic and transformational leadership
Academic librarianship has been shifting toward models of shared leadership that require
communication, flexibility and trust. As libraries continue to focus on building lifelong
learners that can exercise leadership without formal authority, it becomes increasingly
important that both administration and staff be willing to lead and follow (Boatright, 2015,
pp. 343–344).
Albert (2014) notes the importance of building trust through maintaining an open and
positive dialog that informs evidence-based decision-making (p. 634). Democratic (also called
participative) leadership focuses on engaging with followers as equals. It de-emphasizes
organizational hierarchy and stresses the importance of allowing workers to voice their
opinions and contribute to institutional decisions (Vann et al., 2014, p. 31; Woods, 2005,
pp. 13–14). According to Woods (2005), democratic leadership requires a dispersal of
leadership opportunities throughout the organization. Democratic leaders must allow
followers to initiate and vote on matters of their own accord (p. 14).
Academic libraries are not only shifting in their organizational structures. Libraries are
organizations where technology, methodology and finances are regularly in flux. This level of
change presents a challenge that library leadership must help navigate. It must also be
remembered that adapting one’s behavior and practices is an exercise in learning. Andragogy
is the practice of teaching to adult learners and suggests that adults are self-directed,
internally motivated and value factors such as job satisfaction and self-esteem (Knowles,
1990, p. 63). Therefore, leadership approaches that foster satisfaction and esteem may work
well in rapidly changing environments.
Schreiber and Shannon (2001) suggest that involvement in decision-making can enhance a
librarian’s sense of professionalism, accountability and commitment (p. 38). Providing
effective communication and involvement throughout the library organization can help build
the accountability, commitment and self-direction that are needed to navigate institutional
change.
While democratic leadership focuses on communication and engagement,
transformational leadership seeks to create relationship connections that increase
motivation and morality in both leaders and followers. Transformational leadership relies
on personal charisma, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration of followers’
needs in order to build that person to their highest level of potential (Northouse, 2016, p. 162).
According to Hanaway (2019), transformational leaders strive to engage, support and
empower their employees in order to inspire them through vision and passion (p. 30). Hersey
et al. (2007) note that transformational leaders focus on structuring follower beliefs through
providing information, communicating their vision, forming organization and providing
resources that inspire individual and organizational transformation (p. 307). While engaging
and communicating are essential aspects to this form of leadership, the end-goal is a change
in follower behavior.
The transformational approach is the most researched style for use in librarianship.
Existing research suggests that continuous changes within an organization, such as those
facing libraries, can be effectively navigated using transformational leadership (Carter et al.,
2013, p. 942). The existing research also suggests a number of critical leadership skills that
fall into democratic and transformational leadership to varying degrees. These skills include
communication, interpersonal skills, team-building, relationship-building, strategic planning
and assessment and commitment to quality (McNeil and Giesecke, 2017, p. 167; Hernon et al.,
2003, p. 70).
Wilson (2019) suggests that democratic leadership places a greater emphasis on
communication and collaboration, as its core goal while transformational leadership can
require a greater level of direct leader involvement in order to motivate and align follower
practices (p. 72). Wilson conducted a survey on the perceptions of leadership behaviors by
academic librarians and found that democratic and democratic-transformational leadership
behaviors were used more often than transformational leadership behaviors alone.
Furthermore, the author notes that while democratic and democratic-transformational
behaviors are correlated with perceptions of job satisfaction and job autonomy,
transformational leadership behaviors are correlated only with perceptions of job
satisfaction (pp. 66–67). Research suggests that transformational leadership is effective,
but it may have room for improvement through increased focus on communication and
follower autonomy through democratic practices.
Communication and relationships
While the focus of each varies, democratic and transformational leadership rely heavily on
communication and relationships. Hanaway (2019) suggests that communication is the “one
skill which is fundamental to successful leadership,” and that it is an effective way to make
people feel valued (p. 88). Good communicators must share meaning, express their vision,
give credit and praise and remain approachable (Martin, 2018, p. 809). Furthermore, it is
essential that communication remain consistent, clear and bidirectional between leadership
and staff (p. 810).
Bolea and Atwater (2014) suggest that conversation is the method for creating a shared
context and future (pp. 216, 219). In order to focus on the future, it is important that primary
communication methods allow the leader to balance time spent on the past, present and
future; be authentic; focus on what they are experiencing; acknowledge and discuss
possibilities and listen for new ideas and information (pp. 224–238). While it is important to
understand the purposes and uses of communication, it is just as critical to understand the
channels through which leadership can use communication.
Hersey et al. (2007) discuss four types of organization communication: from leader to
followers, from followers to leaders, through systems that rise to meet a person’s needs and
through networks built through regular interactions (pp. 225–226). A purposeful approach
can help navigate these systems and build work relationships. Carter et al. (2013) suggest that
frequent communication, support and trust are important to forming high-quality
relationships. They conclude that such relationships are strongly tied to performance
when change frequency is high (pp. 945, 951).
While communication is critical to providing support and building relationships, there are
many other elements vital for fostering high-quality work relationships. A leader must
understand not only the methods and goals for communication but also the stage of
relationship they have with their followers. Ferris et al. (2009) suggest four stages of
relationship building: initial interaction, development and expansion of roles, expansion and
commitment and increased interpersonal commitment. Instrumentality, trust and respect are
the most common dimensions for the first two stages, but the types of communication and
important dimensions of communication will vary as your relationship develops (pp. 9–13).
Trust and emotional intelligence are common elements mentioned in the literature. Calvert
(2018) suggests that people tend to seek collaboration with those who share their views. He
notes that a lack of trust can inhibit open communication (pp. 84–85). While some might
reflect follower views to make them more comfortable, trust and legitimacy are built through
authentic behavior and consistency (Hanaway, 2019, p. 43).
Moving toward
democratic
733
LM
41,8/9
734
Martin (2018) notes the importance of emotional intelligence for library leadership and
that librarians value leaders who are empathic and build relationships (p. 807). Without the
ability to understand emotions and maintain relationships, leaders can struggle to effectively
communicate and motivate. Motivation is multifaceted and involves more than effective
communication and high quality relationships. Reiss (2004) describes 16 basic desires that
motivate people, including desires for autonomy, social standing and attention, social contact
and safety (pp. 186–187).
Engagement, autonomy and job satisfaction
There are potentially many different leadership outcomes that can be tied to librarian
motivation and performance. Engagement, autonomy and job satisfaction are not only
frequently mentioned in existing library literature but also in the literature of other professions.
Psychologist Douglas McGregor developed the concept of Theory X and Theory Y to examine
two ways that managers view their followers. Theory X managers assume that followers abhor
and avoid work whereas Theory Y managers believe that people find work to be a natural and
satisfying part of their lives. Theory Y managers adopt more participative leadership
approaches as they view workers as highly valuing autonomy and self-direction and are
primarily motivated by social, esteem and self-actualization needs (Hersey et al., 2007, pp. 44–45).
Engaging an employee in their work can be vital to motivating them to higher levels of
success. Morgan (2014) suggests that “[l]ibrarians are happy in their work almost precisely to
the extent that they are connected to it and can see its results” (pp. 656–657). Singh (2016)
studied the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators that affect employee engagement and found
that 34% of employees emphasize the importance of engagement in their work. Other
significant factors include recognition, dignity, respect, the freedom to work without constant
supervision, having an established rapport with someone who can answer questions and
work autonomy (pp. 202–203).
There are a few definitions of autonomy. Wilson (2019) defines autonomy as “the affective
product of leadership’s efforts to empower their followers” (p. 47). Peng et al. (2010) argue that
job autonomy “may be particularly important in situations characterized by turbulent or
uncertain environments, such as university libraries” (p. 292). The varied and regularly
changing environments of university libraries require trusting, participatory relationships
that enable librarians to retain individual responsibility and initiative in their roles (Smith
and Hughey, 2006, p. 159; Peng et al., 2010, p. 289).
These motivational factors do not exist in isolation. Bernstein (2011) notes that job
satisfaction is not only important to a librarian’s professional success but that it is also closely
tied to their sense of involvement with the institution’s mission (p. 6). Wilson (2019) finds that
job autonomy is also correlated to job satisfaction (p.67). Haque et al. (2012) note that lopsided
and infrequent communication can be a core cause of staff job dissatisfaction (p. 58). This
reiterates that leaders must consider many motivational factors and emphasize the methods
of communication that work for themselves and their followers. Structure in communication
is important for pursuing desired leadership outcomes.
Leadership challenges
It is important to understand the challenges inherent in the academic library landscape before
discussing application of leadership techniques. For academic libraries, the 21st century has
delivered diminishing budgets, rapid technological development and frequent changes to the
academic environment (Soehner, 2014, pp. 2, 7; Schreiber and Shannon, 2001, p. 36; Evans and
Alire, 2013, pp. 292, 294). These challenges come to a profession that has taken time to form its
own traditions and models and which still faces disagreement over the status and role of
academic librarians (Meyer, 1980, p. 277; Weiner, 2004, p. 5).
Furthermore, librarians are older than workers in many other professions. Library
leaders also have to navigate between the needs of multiple groups of internal and external
stakeholders, within administrations that often seek to outsource tasks or to replace
librarians with paraprofessionals (Hernon, 2013, p. 31; Smith and Hughey, 2006, pp.
159–160).
Library leaders also face challenges in finding suitable middle managers and future
leaders. Librarians tend to avoid adopting leadership roles, and this produced a number of
calls for leadership training throughout the 2000s (Hernon, 2007, pp. 4–5; Romaniuk and
Haycock, 2011, p. 32). In order to face these challenges, future library leaders need to have
an emphasis on communication and the ability to create and sustain change. Leaders
should adopt a people-first mindset, demonstrate strong interpersonal skills and remain
both supportive and empathic. It is important that leaders empower their followers by
establishing a mutually trusting and engaged relationship with them (Martin, 2018, pp.
811–812).
Methodology
This thematic content analysis of 11 structured interviews was conducted with academic
library deans and directors. The researcher intended to expand on and contextualize
their existing dissertation work on librarian perceptions of leadership behaviors.
Through considering the views of library leaders, the researcher sought insight into the
manner through which democratic and transformational leadership behaviors function
together.
A call for participation was distributed to the collib-l college librarians and uls-l university
librarians through listservs in July of 2019. Each interview consisted of 12 questions
(Appendix 1) and was conducted by phone or Skype based on participant preference. The
initial call requested only deans or directors of academic universities and received 22
responses via Google form. Of the 22 respondents, 11 followed through with setting up and
participating in interviews. Responses were coded by category and frequency then
considered for emergent themes.
Limitations
The interviews used a structured format, and unplanned follow-up questions were not asked
to explore any responses. As such, some topics may not have come up for each interviewee
unless specifically referenced by one of the predetermined questions. In addition, due to the
qualitative nature of this study, the perspectives of the participants may not be generalizable
to the larger population.
Findings
Eleven library leaders were interviewed, and their responses were categorized into five
leadership themes: participation in decision-making, relationship building, frequent and
honest communication, equality and knowing the environment. The general themes are
defined as:
(1) Participation in decision-making is essential to generating buy-in, a positive library
work environment and ensuring that a leader fully capitalizes on their staff’s
experience.
(2) Building relationships with staff is a vital step in leadership. These relationships
should be adapted to what works for the leader and their followers.
Moving toward
democratic
735
(3) Frequent and honest communication is a fundamental requirement for recurring
topics such as providing feedback and giving public praise of accomplishments.
These are elements that interviewees found to be most impactful on follower
motivation.
LM
41,8/9
(4) It is important to treat all staff equally regardless of their level in the organizational
hierarchy. Leaders must include and respect followers in order to build a sense of
community, drive engagement and benefit from their experience.
736
(5) Most leadership practices cannot be universal and will need to vary based on the
environment and individuals staffing the library.
In order to identify these themes, interviewee responses were analyzed and classified into 19
categories (Figure 1).
The first theme is participation in decision-making. The first interview question asked
leaders if they consider staff involvement in decision-making to be a core focus of their
leadership practices. Interviewees expressed the importance of engaging followers in the
decision-making process as a means of generating buy-in, creating a positive work
environment and ensuring the leader fully capitalizes on their experience. When asked about
how those leaders involve their followers, interviewees recommended communicating,
listening, knowing their staff and their strengths and weaknesses and making sure that the
leader remains approachable.
The second theme is building relationships with staff. The third question of the interview
asked if relationship-building is a core focus of the interviewee’s leadership. Every
interviewee suggested that relationship-building was also a significant focus. Some
interviewees proposed that work relationships need to be adapted based on the type of
relationship that works for the leader and the follower. There were many differing comments
regarding methods for building and maintaining positive relationships, but concepts such as
transparency, trust and communication came up several times. It is noteworthy that
categories such as feedback, communication, frequent interaction and listening skills are
amongst the top categories across all interview responses.
Feedback
11
Communication
9
Recongnition
9
Frequent interaction
9
Listening Skills
9
Relationships
9
Knowledge of Environment
9
Category
Budget Issues
7
Approachability
6
Intrinsic Motivations
6
Getting Buy-in
5
Transparency
5
Conveying the Big Picture
5
Explaining Library Value
5
Trust
4
Resistance to Change
4
Personal Enthusiasm
3
Authenticity
Figure 1.
Category vs frequency
2
Shared Vision
2
0
2
4
6
Frequency
8
10
12
The third theme is frequent and honest communication. While there was no one interview
question that requested information on communication methods, the interviewees repeatedly
reflected on the importance of communication skills. The communication and listening skill
categories were each mentioned nine times across the interviews. In particular,
communication was mentioned as a means to involve staff in decision-making, build
relationships and motivate followers.
The fourth theme is treating staff equally. While some of the questions inquired about
interviewee views on inclusion and equality, it was notable that many took that opportunity
to discuss hierarchical equality. Several interviewees were emphatic about the importance of
not only treating paraprofessional staff equally to professional librarians but also on
including them in library decision-making. A few interviewees suggested that librarians can
be more resistant to change paraprofessional staff and that everyone’s experience can be
applicable to many library decisions. Most notably, some interviewees stressed the
importance of including people and treating them respectfully in order to build a sense of
community.
The fifth theme is about knowing the environment. Knowledge of the university culture
was mentioned in multiple interviews, but several of the interviewees also emphasized the
importance of knowing one’s followers. In discussing approaches for building relationships,
one interviewee noted that “everyone comes to work for different things.” Interviewees
suggested that every university is different and has its own culture and practices that a
library leader must adapt to. They also pointed out that every staff member is different, and it
is important to know their individual desires, aspirations and motivations.
Interviewees were also asked about how they would measure their leadership
effectiveness. Five of the interview responses were categorized as staff-focused, four were
mixed between student and staff, one was student-focused and one was classified as focused
on organizational processes. There was a clear emphasis on staff-based metrics with
suggested metrics including the number of personnel issues reported, professional growth
and success, the positivity of the environment, employee trust, employee retention and
employee satisfaction.
Interviewees described what they viewed to be the greatest challenges facing library
leadership. Budget and finance problems were mentioned six times, while communicating the
library’s value was mentioned five times. As a part of the need to communicate value, one
participant suggested the importance of turning all library staff into library advocates. It is
notable that the top nonfinancial challenge is related to communication.
Finally, interviewees were asked about methods to motivate their library staff. While
communication and listening skills were mentioned across several interviews, the most
common theme was acknowledgement of efforts and achievements. In particular, several
interviewees noted the importance of public acknowledgement.
Discussion
Academic librarianship exists within a unique environment that lacks a comprehensive set
of leadership practices. In order to build a thorough understanding of the leadership
principles most applicable to academic library situations and provide suitable leadership
training, there must be a greater focus on examining library leadership at a practical and
granular level. The existing literature does not provide a sufficient understanding of how to
apply leadership in specific, daily library situations (Hernon, 2013, pp. 33–34; Hernon and
Pors, 2013, p. 33).
This research illustrates a number of core themes contextualizing the ongoing leadership
discussion. Much of the existing library research emphasizes the importance of
transformational leadership without thorough consideration for other leadership
Moving toward
democratic
737
LM
41,8/9
738
approaches. Wilson’s (2019) study of academic librarian perceptions found that democratic
and democratic-transformational leadership is more prominent in academic libraries and
may be more strongly correlated with job satisfaction and autonomy (pp. 63–67). The results
of this study have further contextualized those findings by illustrating the importance of
democratic (participative) involvement, relationship-building, communication and equality
from the view of library leaders.
While low-frequency categories should not be viewed as unimportant, this study
illustrates where some academic library leaders’ thoughts and intentions are focused.
Although relationship-building is a cornerstone of transformational leadership and
communication is an aspect of it, some of the dominant themes and topics found herein fit
more specifically within the democratic leadership style. Feedback, communication,
recognition, frequent interaction and listening skills are all aspects exalted by that style.
These leadership behaviors and skills are critical to empowering workers and building
relationships.
Conger and Kanungo (1988) note many factors that make people feel powerless including
bureaucracy, authoritarian leadership, denial of self-expression, negative manipulation,
nonmeaningful work goals, inefficient communication and lack of access to resources (p. 471).
Engaging workers democratically and providing avenues for them to communicate, express
themselves and set meaningful library goals can help to combat these barriers to
empowerment.
Research also suggests that effective communication can enhance worker commitment to
their institution. Employee-supervisor relationships strongly affect performance, job
satisfaction and employee retention. Trust is a vital aspect for building these relationships,
and communication is a powerful component for building that trust. Many library leaders,
however, are challenged by the plethora of communication options available to them
(Mayfield and Mayfield, 2002, pp. 89–90).
While democratic and transformational leadership are traditionally considered to be
distinct leadership approaches, there are studies that consider their joint application. This
study suggests that each has a significant role in the leadership of academic libraries and may
work best when used together. Democratic leadership emphasizes involvement,
empowerment and communication. The practices of democratic leadership can be seen as
the vehicle for navigating the change process toward the desired relationship and
developmental outcomes of transformational leadership.
Key components of democratic-transformational leadership
This article proposes that academic librarians and library degree programs consider a
democratic-transformational approach to leadership. While transformational leadership may
include communication and participation, it can be used in a more authoritarian fashion as
well. Daniel Goleman (2000) describes authoritative leadership as one that aligns followers
toward a vision and helps people understand what they do and why it matters (p. 8). These are
concepts that align well with transformational leadership.
Goleman (2000) notes the importance of listening to concerns and including followers in
the decision-making process when leading democratically (p. 11). This level of engagement
is important to academic librarians and their motivations, but there is limited research on
how to integrate democratic methods with transformational leadership. This article
suggests the use of a new democratic communication model to navigate towards
transformational goals. This model is designed based on some of the key themes of this
study and other factors that are critical for democratic-transformational leadership in
academic libraries: adaptation, communication, engagement, empowerment and
relationship-building.
As noted by some of the library leader interviewees, every library situation is different.
The university cultures, financial resources and staffing situations are different. Hersey et al.
(2007) speak on three general core competencies that they consider to be the foundation of all
leadership practices: diagnosing one’s situation, adapting one’s behaviors and resources and
then communicating effectively (p. 6).
Effective communication is a prerequisite of success in leadership. It is also the key to
proactively addressing core leadership concerns such as appreciation, emotional connections,
autonomy, status and follower role (Hanaway, 2019, p. 97). Whether verbal, nonverbal or
electronic; communication paths must be identified and utilized to translate the leader’s
vision to their followers. The types of communication and relationships utilized must be
carefully selected and adapted, as the leader learns more about their followers’ motivations
and preferences. In the context of democratic-transformational leadership, the
transformational goals can be seen as the leader’s vision, which must be communicated
through the action plan that is democratic leadership. Communication must be purposeful in
order to navigate between democratic plan (engagement) and transformational vision
(development).
The democratic communication model
Communication can be a complicated process. There are many options for how one
communicates with followers and selecting the ideal methods requires knowledge of culture
and individual preferences. The ideal methods also vary based on the information to be
delivered, the situation and your relationship. Furthermore, communication is complicated
because leaders do not always think about it in terms of reaching specific leadership goals. In
the case of democratic-transformational leadership, these goals include using communication
to build relationships, foster engagement and participation, align followers to the vision and
develop followers to higher levels of performance and commitment.
Not all communication requires a plan. However, leaders should create an overall
communication plan for how they will pursue their core leadership goals. This can help
leaders identify democratic and transformational leadership practices critical to their success.
These may include staff meetings, one on one meetings, mentoring activities or other
practices core to those leadership styles.
Democratic-transformational leaders should then identify the methods of
communication necessary to inform, organize, explain and instill the value of their vision
to their followers. These methods will likely evolve over time as the leader learns more
about their followers and forms closer relationships with them. Throughout this process,
library leaders should aim to empower and engage their followers while keeping in mind the
outcomes that they are reaching for. These likely include individual improvements in
motivation, commitment, relationships and alignment with the library vision. These
outcomes may be able to be assessed using feelings of empowerment, autonomy, job
satisfaction and trust as metrics.
Active listening is another critical consideration for planning communication.
Active listening requires paying attention not only for the content of someone’s
message but also their feelings. It depends on a person’s emotional intelligence, ability
to acknowledge verbal and nonverbal cues and reflect their understanding of the
speaker’s words (Hersey et al., 2007, pp. 222–223). This means that electronic
communications are at a notable disadvantage though they still have a place in
organizational communication.
Hanaway (2019) notes that a leader can use active listening to create a rapport, build trust,
show a genuine attempt to understand, demonstrate respect and interest, reveal what really
matters to the speaker and enable the speaker to hear their own words (p. 93). In addition,
Moving toward
democratic
739
LM
41,8/9
740
engaging in purposeful communication and active listening can reveal the values of one’s
followers, enabling the leader to further adapt their approach in the future.
According to Calvert (2018), there are also organizational and structural considerations
for planning communication. Building collaboration requires not only the creation of a
compelling vision that can engage followers but also on due consideration to the size,
culture, and location of those followers. The number of collaborators, their proximity to one
another, their existing communication systems and their cultural norms can make the
leader’s communication structure more complex (pp. 81–83). The leader should give
considerable thought to the group size and communication methods needed, knowing that
increased physical distance between followers will make collaboration efforts more
challenging (p. 83).
These issues have gone into the creation of the eight-step democratic communication
model (Figure 2). In order to model an effective and thoughtful approach to library
leadership, leaders need to consider their own personal values and preferences, review the
library’s (cultural) vision and value statements, list follower locations and how distributed
or remote they are, list communication options for reaching different groups of followers,
evaluate the objectives of their communication efforts, integrate what they know about
their followers’ values and preferences, plan an overall communication roadmap with
consideration for critical information needs and then assess the desired outcomes of their
leadership efforts.
This model illustrates the steps for answering and planning for the following
communications question:
(1) Where are your workers?
(2) How can you reach them?
Consider personal
values
Assess leadership
outcomes
Review cultural
value statements
Plan
communication
roadmap
List follower
locations
List
communication
options
Integrate follower
values
Figure 2.
Democratic
communication model
Evaluate
objectives
(3) What do they value?
(4) What groups do they associate with?
Moving toward
democratic
(5) How can you get them to engage?
This is an iterative process that evolves as the organizational needs and relationships change
over time. Relationships develop, as it can take a considerable amount of time to learn about
one another and build trust. A new leader will begin with a dearth of information on existing
practices and follower values. New leaders should be patient, test out multiple communication
methods, engage directly with their followers, be transparent, remember core themes of
authenticity and clarity in communication and iterate on the model often.
Conclusion
The literature around academic library leadership emphasizes transformational leadership
where a merged democratic-transformational leadership would serve better. This study
finds that the interviewed library leaders most emphasized a combination of democratic
and transformational themes including participation in decision-making, relationship
building, frequent and honest communication, equality and knowing the environment. In
particular, the interviewees repeatedly expressed concern for providing feedback,
maintaining communication, giving recognition, frequent interaction and emphasizing
listening skills.
This suggests that while pursuing transformational leadership outcomes, leaders
should be placing significant emphasis on democratic engagement methods. While the
existing literature frequently notes the importance of communication skills, there should be
more discussion of communication as a process. Additional research in applying this model
to specific departments, specific projects, across multiple branches and in online teams
could provide a greater depth of understanding. Furthermore, there are opportunities for
research evaluating leadership outcomes after the adoption of the democratic
communication model.
References
Albert, B. (2014), “Communicating library value: the missing piece of the assessment puzzle”, Journal
of Academic Librarianship, Vol. 40 No. 6, pp. 634-637.
American Library Association (2009), “Core competences of librarianship”, available at: http://www.
ala.org/educationcareers/careers/corecomp (accessed 15 December 2019).
Boatright, B. (2015), “Leadership and personnel planning. Leading the library (when you’re not in
charge)”, College and Undergraduate Libraries, Vol. 22 Nos 3-4, pp. 343-357.
Bolea, A. and Atwater, L. (2014), Applied Leadership Development: Nine Elements of Leadership
Mastery, Routledge, New York, NY.
Calvert, K. (2018), “Collaborative leadership: cultivating an environment for success”, Collaborative
Librarianship, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 79-90.
Carter, M.Z., Armenakis, A.A., Feild, H.S. and Mossholder, K.W. (2013), “Transformational leadership,
relationship quality, and employee performance during continuous incremental organizational
change”, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 34 No. 7, pp. 942-958.
Conger, J.A. and Kanungo, R.N. (1988), “The empowerment process: integrating theory and practice”,
Academy of Management Review, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 471-482.
Evans, G.E. and Alire, C.A. (2013), Management Basics for Information Professionals, American
Library Association, Chicago, IL.
741
LM
41,8/9
Ferris, G.R., Liden, R.C., Munyon, T.P., Summers, J.K., Basik, K.J. and Buckley, M.R. (2009),
“Relationships at work: toward a multidimensional conceptualization of dyadic work
relationships”, Journal of Management, Vol. 35 No. 6, pp. 1379-1403.
Garrett, W.A. (2009), “Evaluation of the skills and qualities for a senior library director”, Dissertation,
Nova Southeastern University, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global (accessed 15
December 2019).
742
Goleman, D. (2000), “Leadership that gets results”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 78 No. 2, pp. 4-17.
Hanaway, M. (2019), The Existential Leader: An Authentic Leader for Our Uncertain Times,
Routledge, New York, NY.
Haque, M., Karim, A.N.M., Muqtadir, A. and Anam, S. (2012), “Dimensions of job satisfaction of library
professionals: a qualitative exploration”, International Journal of Business and Social Research,
Vol. 2 No. 5, pp. 46-62.
Hernon, P. (2007), “Leaders in institutions of higher education: from deans to presidents”, in Hernon, P.
and Rossiter, N. (Eds), Making a Difference: Leadership and Academic Libraries, Libraries
Unlimited, Westport, Conn, pp. 69-72.
Hernon, P. (2013), “Library leadership in the United States”, in Hernon, P. and Pors, N.O. (Eds), Library
Leadership in the United States and Europe: A Comparative Study of Academic and Public
Libraries, Libraries Unlimited, Santa Barbara, CA, pp. 27-38.
Hernon, P. and Pors, N.O. (2013), “Leadership as viewed across countries”, in Hernon, P. and Pors, N.O.
(Eds), Library Leadership in the United States and Europe: A Comparative Study of Academic
and Public Libraries Santa Barbara, Libraries Unlimited, California, CA, pp. 191-204.
Hernon, P., Powell, R.R. and Young, A.P. (2003), The Next Library Leadership: Attributes of Academic
and Public Library Directors, Libraries Unlimited, Westport, Conn.
Hersey, P., Blanchard, K.H. and Johnson, D.E. (2007), Management of Organizational Behavior,
Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Knowles, M. (1990), The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species, Gulf Publishing, Houston, TX.
Martin, J. (2018), “What do academic librarians value in a leader? Reflections on past positive library
leaders and a consideration of future library leaders”, College and Research Libraries, Vol. 79
No. 6, pp. 799-821.
Mason, F.M. and Wetherbee, L.V. (2004), “Learning to lead: an analysis of current training programs
for library leadership”, Library Trends, Vol. 53 No. 1, pp. 187-217.
Mayfield, J. and Mayfield, M. (2002), “Leader communication strategies critical paths to improving
employee commitment”, American Business Review, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 89-94.
McNeil, B. and Giesecke, J. (2017), Fundamentals of Library Supervision, Neal-Schuman, Chicago, IL.
Meyer, R.W. (1980), “Library professionalism and the democratic way”, Journal of Academic
Librarianship, Vol. 6 No. 5, pp. 277-281.
Morgan, C. (2014), “Craft and librarianship: a reconsideration of the sources of librarian job
satisfaction”, Journal of Library Administration, Vol. 54 No. 8, pp. 637-658.
Northouse, P.G. (2016), Leadership: Theory and Practice, SAGE Publications, Los Angeles, CA.
Peng, Y.P., Hwang, S.N. and Wong, J.Y. (2010), “How to inspire university librarians to become ‘good
soldiers’? The role of job autonomy”, The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Vol. 36 No. 4,
pp. 287-295.
Reiss, S. (2004), “Multifaceted nature of intrinsic motivation: the theory of 16 basic desires”, Review of
General Psychology, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 179-193.
Romaniuk, M.J. and Haycock, K. (2011), “Designing and evaluating library leadership programs:
improving performance and effectiveness”, Australian Library Journal, Vol. 60 No. 1, pp. 29-40.
Schreiber, B. and Shannon, J. (2001), “Developing library leaders for the 21st century”, Journal of
Library Administration, Vol. 32 Nos 3-4, pp. 35-57.
Singh, R. (2016), “The impact of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators on employee engagement in
information organizations”, Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, Vol. 57
No. 2, pp. 197-206.
Moving toward
democratic
Smith, B.L. and Hughey, A.W. (2006), “Leadership in higher education–its evolution and potential:
a unique role for facing critical challenges”, Industry and Higher Education, Vol. 20 No. 3,
pp. 157-163.
Soehner, C.B. (2014), “Change management in libraries: an essential competency for leadership”, Paper
Presented at International Association of Scientific and Technological University Libraries
Conference, available at: http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/ (accessed 15 December 2019).
Vann, B.A., Coleman, A.N. and Simpson, J.A. (2014), “Development of the vannsimpco leadership
survey: a delineation of hybrid leadership styles”, Swiss Business School Journal of Applied
Business Research, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 28-38.
Weiner, S.G. (2004), “Leadership of academic libraries: a literature review”, Education Libraries,
Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 5-18.
Wilson, D. (2019), “Effective leadership styles in academic librarianship: perceptions of autonomy and
job satisfaction”, Dissertation, University of the Cumberlands, Williamsburg, KY.
Woods, P. (2005), Democratic Leadership in Education (Leading Teachers, Leading Schools), Sage
Publications, London.
Appendix
1. Interview questions
Introduce yourself and thank the interviewee for their time. Read the following:
Your interview responses will be keyed to an interview number in order to maintain your anonymity.
You may, of course, choose not to answer any question at any time or to withdraw your participation.
For these questions, the term staff is used to refer to all library employees – not just librarians. Do you
have any questions for me before we get started?
Q1. Do you consider staff involvement in the decision-making process to be a core focus of your
leadership practices? If so, how do you try to accomplish that within your library?
Q2. For newer academic library leaders seeking to involve their staff in the decision-making process,
what things do you think are most important for them to learn?
Q3. Do you consider relationship-building and professional development to be core focuses of your
leadership practices? If so, how do you try to accomplish those within your library?
Q4. For newer academic library leaders seeking to establish and maintain positive relationships with
their staff, what things do you think are most important for them to learn?
Q5. With academic libraries using many different kinds of staff (including librarians, nonlibrarian
staff and student employees) are there any ways that you vary your approach based on the level
of the staff member that you are dealing with?
Q6. Are there differences in the challenges you have faced dealing with librarians compared to
nonlibrarian staff?
Q7. If you had to measure the effectiveness of your leadership efforts, what outcomes would you
want to be measured on?
Q8. In your experience, what are the greatest challenges facing academic library leaders and how can
a leader best address those challenges?
Q9. How much time do you spend, in the average month, considering your approach to interacting
with your library followers?
743
LM
41,8/9
Q10. How important do you think it is to create an environment where your staff feel included and
respected as individuals?
Q11. Do you have any recommendations for practices that help staff feel included and respected
within your library?
Q12. How do you go about motivating your staff?
744
Corresponding author
Daniel Earl Wilson and can be contacted at: danielewilson@outlook.com
For instructions on how to order reprints of this article, please visit our website:
www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/licensing/reprints.htm
Or contact us for further details: permissions@emeraldinsight.com