Rebecca Driscoll
4/25/12
LIS 650
Leadership and Management Treatise
Leadership and Professional Model
Leadership Mission and Values
I think my leadership philosophy is best summed up in this mission statement: “As a
leader, I will strive to be inclusive, to be open to new ideas and changes, and to foster personal
relationships with each individual I work with.”
My fundamental values include: Communication, honesty, teamwork, and organization.
Communication: It may be clichéd, but communication really is key when working with
others. This does not just involve one-way communication, with the memos coming down from
the top. While it is important for the manager to relay information to employees, communication
needs to work both ways. One cannot simply close the door and avoid employees. In the
30/30/30 rule, 1/3rd of a manager’s work should be dedicated to spending time with employees,
listening to their complaints, rewarding them for hard work, and simply getting to know them
better.1 Establishing personal relationships with workers will make the manager more
approachable when issues arise and will probably motivate employees. At the very least, it
should make coming to their job a bit more enjoyable and less stressful, as they will know that
they have at least one person at work that cares about them and their success.
Honesty: Honesty is also an essential part of leadership, and of any relationship.
Realistically, a leader cannot accept every suggestion given by a group member or employee.
1
Anthony Chow, “Lecture 2: Raving Fans and World Class Managers.” (1/28/12).
Rejection of some kind must occur, otherwise the group or business would try to do too much
and fail. Honesty is also important when addressing issues. If one or more parties that are
involved in an argument really are at fault, a leader must tell them so. Throughout First Break
all the Rules, honesty seems to be a very important characteristic of great managers, but not just
for the reasons described above. Honesty comes into play when a manger recognizes that an
employee is not a good fit for the job in which she or he has been placed. To leave that person
where they are could be detrimental to the business and could also cause the employee to be
miserable, as she or he is not able to succeed as well as they could. Finally, when meeting with
employees regularly, a manager must be honest when reviewing the employees’ work. It is
important to keep in mind that honesty does not just deal with negative things, although bringing
up short-comings should not be avoided. Praising and complimenting an employee is just as
essential as addressing the issues they are having. Additionally, being honest does not mean one
should be brutal about it.
Teamwork: Being in a leadership or management position may mean that your decision
is final; however, I do not think it means that you should come up with visions, ideas, and/or
goals on your own. Involving employees in these decisions and working together can be very
important to the health of a business. For one, employees may come up with ideas that the
manager never would have thought of alone. New views are essential in keeping a business from
going stagnant; change can be very good. Also, employees who feel that they are a part of a
team—that they matter—can boast morale. Finally, while there are definitely some things that
only the manager can do, dividing work among a group of people should make it easier on
everyone and free up time for the manager to focus on other things.
Organization: This is probably not a very important value for a lot of people, but
organization is essential for me if I am to get things done. Organization is not just key for
personal reasons; I believe all employees would benefit from having an organized manager.
There are some people who are very disorganized, and if they do not have a manager to
counteract that, they might not get anything done. Organization allows managers to keep track
of important dates, send out timely reminders, and ensure that everything runs smoothly.
Talents and personal/professional development plan
I would have to say that my talents include empathy, organization, and being a good
listener. I can see how all of those things would be useful to leadership—organization for the
reasons discussed in the previous section, and empathy and listening because they deal with
people and relationships, one of the fundamental purposes of leadership/management. However,
there are some non-talents of mine that are counter to management, such as my shyness and
inability to say “no” to most people. I am not very interested in becoming a director or
administrator in a library, though I imagine I will still use many of the things I learned in this
class.
Instead, I picture myself working as either a reference librarian or archivist. I have yet to
take a cataloging course; that may also be something I would be interested in doing. I went to a
small, private United Methodist college in Virginia for undergrad, and that is the kind of setting
in which I picture myself working. Being at UNCG has been a bit overwhelming for me, and
while I love how large Jackson’s collection is, it took me a while to be comfortable with even
going inside. I enjoyed the personal relationships the small college environment allowed me to
form with the faculty and staff. I would like to experience that again. In fact, if the opportunity
arose, I would love to return to my alma mater and work in the library there. Alternatively, there
is another part of me that would not mind working in a larger university, especially if I was able
to work with the history department. I have also played around with the idea of earning a
Master’s degree or even a Ph.D. in History while working in the university’s library. What it all
comes down to is that I am not positive what I want to be doing after I graduate. I hope that as I
continue through the program and gain more experience, I will finally be able to choose one of
these options and stick with it. (Of course, it also depends on how the economy is…)
Professional cover letter and resume
Both my professional cover letter and resume have been included at the end of this
treatise.
Vision for an Ideal Library
Vision of my ideal library
My ideal public library is one that is a warm, welcoming environment for all people of
the community. The building itself is well-located, probably on a main road or at the center of
the city (the library in my hometown is right by city hall). The interior is well-lit and provides
several areas where patrons can sit and read in comfy chairs. The stacks are open and wellorganized, with large signs over each section and smaller signs on each shelf to assist patrons in
looking for books. There are at least a few rooms that can be reserved for projects or studying.
There is also a conference room in which community groups may meet.
Several search stations are scattered throughout the library for patrons who are looking
for specific materials. A computer lab that contains at least 15 to 20 computers is available for
patrons who do not have Internet access or computers of their own. This technology is up-todate and the database on the search stations is user-friendly. There is also free wi-fi for patrons
who wish to bring their own computers.
The collection itself contains materials for all members of the community. The fiction
section has books from all genres. There is a separate section for newly-acquired books and for
best sellers. The children’s section is in a different area of the library and not only contains
books but also has comfy chairs, stuffed animals, and perhaps even a few toys. The non-fiction
collection provides a wide range of books on most every topic. There are materials available for
people who speak a language other than English; these collections include the kinds of books
that are available to English-speaking patrons, so that there is little or no difference between the
two except perhaps size. The collection in general includes materials that may be considered
controversial by some members of the community, as censorship is not tolerated in this ideal
library. Neither are biases; the collection covers a wide range of views and opinions.
The library staff is friendly and engaging. While someone may sit behind the reference
desk (which is well-placed and has a clear sign overhead), other librarians may walk through the
stacks in order to assist patrons personally. The check-out desk is both computerized for selfcheck-out and staffed by at least one person, for those people who are either confused or
intimidated by the computers. If a patron is unable to locate the materials he or she wants, the
library will do its best to get those materials in a timely fashion, either by purchasing them for its
own collection or by interlibrary loan. Preferably, this service would be free to the patron.
There is also a café, placed well away from the collection, where patrons may enjoy
coffee, tea, and pastries. Books may be allowed into this area (as pointed out in The CustomerDriven Library, patrons eat around the books they check-out anyway), but beverages must be
finished in the café area before patrons can browse the stacks.
The library provides story time, which is not limited to a certain number of children.
There is also a summer reading program that rewards children for the number of books they read
over the summer. The library provides other programs throughout the year that are appealing to
all ages. Other programs geared towards certain minorities will also be available for the entire
community, perhaps to celebrate and showcase certain cultures. Other services relevant to the
needs of the community are provided at the library, including technology-related classes and
resume/job search assistance.
This ideal library is a place for all members of the community, regardless of age, race,
economic status, or gender to seek information and help. The programs offered by the library
bring members of the community together and gives them the opportunity to meet new people,
learn new things, and grow together.
Management tools
Example budget:
Salaries
$32,000
Employee benefits
$16,000
Utilities
$8,000
Technology
$7,200
Books
$6,400
Software/databases/e-books
$3,200
Community programs
$2,400
Video and audio materials
$2,400
Periodicals
$800
Equipment repairs
$750
“Rainy day” fund
$850
Total
$80,000
(Note: I am terrible at math. As I am not sure how much money a typical public library has
available to it, I doubt this budget is actually accurate and/or plausible. Mostly, I just wanted to
make sure that I included every possible service I could think of.)
Strategic planning is a very useful tool for identifying clear goals and developing a plan
to reach them. Knowing exactly what the end result should be, what you need to accomplish and
have in order to reach that result, and identifying how you will get there are all things that should
be carefully considered during strategic planning. Leaving out any detail could cause the entire
plan to fall apart. Organizational performance, work place culture, and overall employee morale
are all things that would be positively affected if organized, detailed plans are the norm. Having
clear objectives and knowing exactly how to achieve them allows employees to focus on their
work and reduces confusion. It also lets employees see how their work fits into the overall
scheme of things, which should make them feel like they are contributing and thus improve
morale.
Presumably, needs assessment allows for the manager to detect weak parts in the business
and to figure out how to address those issues. The assessment examines organizational
performance, work place culture, and employee morale, and decides what actions, if any, are
necessary to produce better results. A needs assessment might also require the manager to review
plans that have either been neglected or have gone wrong, and determine what needs to be done
to get them back on track. These are all things a good manager should pay attention to, and
would probably strengthen his or her leadership and management skills.
Quality control monitors both input (the quality of employees, good materials, etc.) and
output (good service). I think one of the first things to do when dealing with quality control is to
establish what "quality in" even means for your library/business. Having a solid definition of
what you expect from your staff/volunteers, resources, technology, and vendors allows for you to
ascertain whether the current people and resources you are working with are actually helping to
produce quality results. Having such policies will also make hiring and other decisions easier in
the future. I think it's also important to then incorporate these expectations into other areas-policies (esp. those for employees), budgets, etc. If anything has changed, it's important to let
employees now what is now expected of them.
Top Five Questions
1. How does management work in libraries?
Management in libraries works like it does in for-profit organizations. That is, the
manager makes sure everything goes smoothly. He or she establishes a vision for the library and
ensures that everything revolves around that vision. The manager organizes, plans, sets goals, is
open to change, manages the budget, and, most importantly, keeps his or her focus on people,
both internal and external.2 Other tasks include personnel decisions, being familiar with human
resource topics, and providing training and supervision.3 Managers play many roles, “from
coach, mentor, and teacher to limit setter, mediator, and cheerleader.”4
2. I’m usually uncomfortable with conflict or confrontations; how can I deal with issues when
they arise?
Tips of the trade are useful to me, but as this is a personal problem—namely, overcoming
my shyness—I think that only experience and time could ease my discomfort with conflicts. I do
2
Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowels. Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service
(New York: W. Morrow, 1993).; Anthony Chow, “Lecture 3: Ends Define the Means.” (1/25/12).
3
Maureen L. Mackenzie and James P. Smith, “Management Education for Library Directors: Are
Graduate Library Programs Providing Future Library Directors with the Skills and Knowledge they will
Need?” Journal of Education for Library & Information Studies 50, no. 3 (Summer, 2009): 129.
4
Jean M. Holcomb, “Moving into Management: Strategies to Take the Pinch out of Stepping into New
Hoes.” Law Library Journal 99, no. 1 (Jan., 2007): 171.
think that I become much more comfortable around people that I know and with whom I have
formed relationships. Thus, I very much like the business model in which managers interact
daily with employees in order to form those relationships.
I also think I would become more comfortable with conflicts if I knew that the people
who are having the problem trust and respect me and my decision. One article that reviews
various managerial books that could be useful to new managers writes that Ken Lloyd’s book, Be
the Boss your Employees Deserve, addresses how trust and respect can be formed between the
employees and the manager. “For trust and respect to flow upward in an organization, managers
must communicate their vision in terms of clear and consistent goals; vary their leadership style
to suit changing circumstances; exhibit flexibility; address problems and concerns promptly; and
provide open avenues for communication, feedback, fun, and life balance.”5
3. How can we (successfully) market the library and the resources/services we offer?
One article notes that some librarians—in this case, those who work in academic
libraries—are wary of the word “market,” which can evoke images of commercialism. However,
“marketing is basically an attitude towards customer satisfaction.”6 Before even attempting to
market the library and its services, we need to make sure we have a good attitude and a positive
view of marketing. We need to accept that it is necessary if we are to reach as many users as we
can.
How we do that has been outlined well by Jeannette Woodward. Some of her ideas that I
liked the best included advertising library events in the local newspaper and possibly printing a
weekly or monthly newspaper column. Woodward does not discuss having an online presence,
Jean M. Holcomb, “Moving into Management.” Law Library Journal: 170.
Rajesh Singh, “Does your Library Have an Attitude Problem Towards ‘Marketing’? Revealing InterRelationship between Marketing Attitudes and Behaviour.” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 35,
no. 1 (Jan., 2009): 25.
5
6
but that has definitely become very important today. Having a Facebook page is a great way to
reach patrons quickly. Having a monthly newsletter available online and/or sent out to patrons
who request a copy via e-mail could also be very useful in highlighting upcoming events, recent
additions to the collection, and introducing library staff to users. Even polling users in person or
online to get a sense of how they would like to receive updates from the library could generate
marketing ideas. This question had originally worried me, but there are so many options out
there that I no longer think that marketing the library is an issue.
4. How do we interpret customers’ silence/mediocre responses?
I still do not have a very clear answer to this question. Maybe if users are not responding
to surveys, one should take that silence to mean something is wrong, even if that is not actually
the case. It is, after all, better to be safe than sorry. If customers refuse to give suggestions,
performing an assessment might be a good thing to do. Viewing services from the eyes of the
users could unearth issues that had previously been invisible. Appropriate actions can then be
taken to address those problems. To avoid all of this, however, it seems likely that if Secrets 1,
2, and 3 are followed to the T, customers’ silence would not even be a problem, as the vision of
the library would be geared towards what they want and service would be the best it could be.7
5. How do I make sure everyone I’m working with feels included and like they’re part of
the team?
I think this can be easily done when managers are conscious of how their employees are
feeling. “A successful library manager must be aware—or at least attempt to be aware—of
others’ feelings and thoughts. If managers lack empathy, they will fail to provide a nurturing
culture—one that encourages personal and professional development. This, in turn, will curb
7
Blanchard and Bowels, Raving Fans.; Anthony Chow, “Lecture 3.”
trust, motivation, and job investment.”8 Once a manager recognizes that an employee does not
feel included or comfortable, he or she can meet with that employee and try to put them at ease.
Forming relationships with employees should make them feel included, important, and part of
the business. If a leader can lead through emotions, they should be able to make all members
feel comfortable, connect everyone, and create harmony.9
Student Learning Outcomes
Advanced Communication Skills
Of the KSAs under this objective, I can confidently say that my written, listening, and
presentation skills have improved because of this class. I feel that my writing and listening skills
have always been strong, but it is good to exercise them. To my surprise, I really enjoyed the
YouTube presentations. They made me more confident about presenting, something that has
always made me nervous, and taught me how to put together a video. That is something I can
picture myself doing in my career. Unfortunately, I do not feel that my verbal, discussion, or
conflict resolution skills improved any during the course. I think that this is my own fault, for
not speaking (or, rather, typing) during class. The discussion boards never turned into actual
discussions for me, at least not in the sense that it became an actual conversation with someone
else. The boards did give me the chance to mull over what other people had said, which is an
important skill to have, but I do not think that actual discussions really took place for me.
Finally, I did not encounter any conflicts, not even within my group. I feel somewhat confident
that I can apply what I learned in class to a real life scenario, but as I said above, I think that
experience and time is what I really need to feel more comfortable with conflict resolution.
Lynne F. Maxwell, “Emotional Intelligence: What Works at Work.” Law Library Journal 102, no. 1
(Jan., 2010): 158.
9
Anthony Chow, “Lectures 5: What Great Leaders and Managers Know” (2/8/12); Anthony Chow,
“Lecture 6: Strategic Planning and Leadership Styles” (2/15/12).
8
Organizational and Personnel Management Skills
This list of skills would have seemed very daunting to me at the beginning of class. I did
not even know what many of these things entailed. Now, however, I can identify all of them and
have some grasp of how I can apply them in my career. Especially useful to me were the more
practical things, like budgeting, meeting with employees on a regular basis, hiring and firing, and
needs assessment. Having to complete an actual needs assessment was incredibly useful.
Perhaps putting some of these other things into practice—like actually writing up policies or
refining a list of example policies—would have been more useful to me than just talking about
them. That could just be me, though; I seem to learn things better when I am actually able to
practice doing them.
Relationship Management, Professional Development, and Teamwork Skills
Having to work in a group for this class definitely helped me to hone my teamwork skills.
I was very lucky to be have such a great group to work with. It showed me what teamwork
should really be like, and made me much more confident in trusting others to get their work
done. Honestly, I am not entirely confident that I know the difference between lateral leadership
and resonant leadership. I can remember the lecture on lateral leadership, but cannot remember
anything about resonant leadership. At any rate, I think that I have a good grasp of how
managers should work with their employees, regardless of what those techniques are actually
called. I am glad I was able to revise my resumes for this assignment, and that I also had the
chance to think about where I would like to go from here. I think that this assignment might
have been even more useful if we had been asked to consider our talents and skills at the
beginning of the class, and then go back to them at the end of the semester to see if we changed
at all during the course.
Knowledge of Leadership and Management Theory
First Break all the Rules was instrumental in most, if not all, of these KSAs. Reading it
gave me a firm understanding of what it means to be a manager, what great managers do, and
how to interact with employees. I had not thought of management being about people, but about
running the business. The two are definitely intertwined, but focus should be centered around
people and creating both internal and external raving fans. Further discussions in class about
leadership styles and theory supported what FBAR discussed. If Leadership and Management
Research means conducting the kind of research that was done in the needs assessment and even
in the administrator interview, then I feel very confident that I accomplished that. I would have
liked a few more case studies, but the ones that we did use and read about were useful. It is good
to have specific examples to go off of.
Final Thoughts
At the beginning of the course, I had a somewhat difficult time applying the management
books we read to libraries. However, it has become clear to me that running a non-profit
organization is not actually that much different from running a business, save for the “bottom
line.” I definitely think that applying the customer-driven model of for-profit businesses to
libraries is an effect way to interact with patrons. I have already begun applying some of the
things I have learned in this class to how I help patrons who come into the library at which I
work. It has made my job much more enjoyable and meaningful. Although I do not really
picture myself becoming a manager, the possibility is there. At the very least, I will be able to
apply many of the things I learned to just about any library position and environment.
Rebecca Ann Driscoll
403 Flintlock Road
Chesapeake, VA 23322
4/28/12
To Whom it May Concern:
I have just graduated from the University of Greensboro with my Masters degree in Library and
Information Science, and am looking for a full-time position as a reference librarian in an
academic library setting.
While I have not worked in a position similar to that of a reference librarian, I believe that I have
several skills and talents that would be applicable to the job. I have worked as a graduate
assistant at the Teaching Resource Center (TRC) on the UNCG campus. The TRC is a model
children’s library that mainly serves the School of Education students and faculty. As a GA, I
worked at the circulation desk, shelved books, assisted with technology problems, and
inventoried the collection. Most importantly, I helped students and faculty find materials.
Although this was not solely a reference position, I feel that that aspect of the job has given me
some experience with reference work, and certainly with interacting with patrons who need help.
My undergraduate degree was in History, and due to the amount of research I had to do for that
program, I feel very confident using research materials, especially online databases. Those
research skills, combined with the people skills I gained in the TRC, make me confident that I
would be a successful reference librarian. Additionally, I love to help people, am a good listener,
and am very organized. I can picture myself enjoying a position as a reference librarian and
doing well in that role.
Thank you very much for your time and for considering my application.
Best,
Rebecca Driscoll
Rebecca Ann Driscoll
radrisco@uncg.edu
703-774-6374 (cell)
Permanent:
403 Flintlock Road
Chesapeake, VA 23322
Current:
J413 UNCG Station
Greensboro, NC 27403
Objective
Seeking full-time employment in an academic library setting
Education
Virginia Wesleyan College, Norfolk, VA
Bachelor of Arts in History
Graduated Summa Cum Laude
Winner in Social Sciences Division at Undergraduate Research
Symposium, 2010 and 2011
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Masters in Library and Information Studies
Related Experience
Graduate Assistant in the Teaching Resources Center, 2011-present
 Worked at the circulation desk
 Shelved books
 Assisted patrons with finding materials
 Inventoried the collection
 Answered phone calls
 Assisted patrons with technology troubleshooting
Computer Skills
Proficient in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
Extracurricular Activities
LISSA, 2011-present
Works Cited
Blanchard, Ken and Sheldon Bowles. Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer
Service. New York: W. Morrow, 1993.
Buckingham, Marcus and Curt Coffman. First, Break all the Rules: What the World’s Greatest
Managers do Differently. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999.
Chow, Anthony. “Lecture 2: Raving Fans and World Class Managers” (1/28/12).
Chow, Anthony. “Lecture 3: Ends Define the Means” (1/25/12).
Chow, Anthony. “Lecture 5: What Great Leaders and Managers Know” (2/8/12).
Chow, Anthony. “Lecture 6: Strategic Planning and Leadership Styles” (2/15/12).
Holcomb, Jean M. Holcomb. “Moving into Management: Strategies to Take the Pinch out of
Stepping into New Hoes.” Law Library Journal 99, no. 1 (Jan., 2007): 167-173.
Mackenzie, Maureen L. and James P. Smith. “Management Education for Library Directors: Are
Graduate Library Programs Providing Future Library Directors with the Skills and
Knowledge they will Need?” Journal of Education for Library & Information Studies 50,
no. 3 (Summer, 2009): 129-142.
Maxwell, Lynne F. “Emotional Intelligence: What Works at Work.” Law Library Journal 102,
no. 1 (Jan., 2010): 155-59.
Singh, Rajesh Singh. “Does your Library Have an Attitude Problem Towards ‘Marketing’?
Revealing Inter-Relationship between Marketing Attitudes and Behaviour.” The Journal
of Academic Librarianship 35, no. 1 (Jan., 2009): 25-32.
Woodward, Jeannette. Creating the Customer-Driven Library: Building on the Bookstore Model.
Chicago: American Library Association, 2005.