Pushing A Boulder Uphill

Library Leadership & Management Association (LLAMA) Webinar

August 9, 2017

Leading Organizational Change in an

Entrenched Environment

Presenters

Phill Johnson

Library Dean

Auburn University Montgomery

• BS in Biology from Missouri Southern State University, MSLIS from the University of Illinois, and a JD from Washburn University School of Law

• Fifteen years of library experience; thirteen of those years involved library management

Jessica Hayes

Head of Public Services

Auburn University Montgomery

• BA in History from Samford University and M.L.I.S. from University of Alabama

• Seven years of management experience; five years within library administration experience

• No formal education in administration; all on the job training and development

Organizational

Change

Leaders –

Mythical

Sisyphus?• Sentenced to push a boulder uphill; once at the top the boulder would roll back down the hill and again, he would start the impossible task.

• Leaders feel like they are making progress, only to have the boulder roll back down the hill...again.

• Without proper tools and skills, continuous "boulder rolling" can lead to discouragement or burnout in the library leader.

Webinar Goals

• Identify the importance of organizational change in libraries

• Identify and describe an entrenched library environment

• Identify the type of leader necessary for organizational change

• Identify the types of "boulders" that hinder organizational change

• Identify and describe three skills leaders should prioritize when undergoing organizational change.

• Identify and describe three techniques/activities to help bring about organizational change in an entrenched organization

Why is organizational

change important in

libraries?

• Libraries have been "dying" for a long time; evolve or dissolve

• Ripe for organizational change; "library is a growing organism" (Ranganathan, 1931).

• Biggest threat to this type of change? Librarians.

"That's how we've ALWAYS done it!"

Entrenchment in

Organizations

• Temporary place for protection and strategizing in face of chaos, changes, or confusion

• Not always a negative; used for stability and safety

• Becoming entrenched results in normalization of trench life and makes it hard to see or think past the trench

Auburn University

Montgomery Library

• Established in 1967 as a commuter university, Auburn University Montgomery (AUM); currently offers over 90 programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

• The AUM Library - "you can't miss us...we are the tallest building on campus!"

• 8 professional librarians, 10 full-time staff members; majority of personnel have worked at AUM an average of 10-15 years.

• In the past 20 years, the AUM Library stagnated and lost relevancy in the university's community.

Entrenched Library Culture

What does it look like?• Devotion to unused/outdated materials and

inefficient use of physical library space.

• Hesitant or outright refusal to consider new approaches to traditional services

• Little practical application of professional development

• Poor planning and implementation of projects causing ideas to fizzle and fail.

What does it lead to?• Unappealing collections, old-fashioned physical

space, non-intuitive material arrangement usage of materials

• Reduction in library use and an increase in irrelevancy

• Inefficiently using financial resources can lead to financial difficulties and lead to resentment in individuals who don't receive travel/professional development funds.

• Leads to discouragement and a reluctance to "try" on future projects.

Low Morale

Organizational

Change

Leadership

• Library administrator does not equate being a leader and often, they have caused the problem of entrenchment and stagnation.

• A leader is required to manage organizational change and this usually means top-level personnel changes...

• ...But not always! Many tools, resources, and trainings exist to help develop necessary talents for organizational change.

What does this leadership look like?

"...Only one man, who

can give us a command" -

Hamilton

• Successful organizational change requires teamwork, collaboration, cooperation, and participatory leadership.

• Ultimately, only one leader can make the hard decisions required in this process

• At the AUM Library, that leader is Dean PhillJohnson.

"I am doing the best I can,

to get the people that I

need. " - Hamilton

• Cannot change organizational culture alone –requires a "powerful guiding coalition" (Kotter, 2007).

• First thing first, assess current relationships with all stakeholder groups.

• Build strategic partnerships with non-library departments – they can serve as supporters, cheerleaders, and allies as you move forward.

• Build or re-establish good and cooperative relationships with administration – they can make or break any attempts for organizational change.

Faculty

Patrons/Users

Government Officials

Alumni

Local Business Owners

Administrators

Local school teachers

Support Staff

Donors

"I cannot be everywhere at

once, people. I’m in dire need of

assistance…" - Hamilton

• Internal library support is essential but not limited to library administrators

• Identify passionate personnel and engage them according to their strengths.

• Hired Samantha McNeilly in Fall 2015 as new Teaching & Outreach Librarian.

• Library instruction increased dramatically under her guidance (Fall 2014 to Fall 2015 = 75%; Spring 2015 to Spring 16 = 178%)

"I need someone like you to

lighten the load" - Hamilton

• Head of Public Services leads all user-facing departments: reference, access services, instruction, outreach, government documents, and special collections/archives.

• Prior to Phill's arrival, the position had been vacant for almost 6 years. This critical vacancy left key areas with little guidance and minimal supervision.

• Identified that most of the issues facing the AUM Library stemmed from the lack of leadership within the Public Services department.

• Couldn't fix those problems and the overall library issues without another library administrator who shared Library Dean's vision and continually promoted it to their direct reports.

Leadership Skills & Traits for Organizational

Change

Our Recommended Skills/Traits

• Honest, frank, and open

• Empathetic and patient

• Flexible and adaptable

Thousands of skills useful for leading organizational change

• Vision-Oriented• Collaborative• Team Player• Cooperative• Others-Focused• Planning/project management• MANY more!

Techniques, Activities and/or Practices to

Facilitate Organizational Change

• Buy yourself time – observe, assess, discuss, and reflect

• Implement an open door policy and abide by it

• Hold regular town-hall type meetings for direct reports and other library personnel

• Create Buy-In – present organizational changes as solutions to impending or existing problems

• Participate on the frontlines –cover reference shifts, work a weekend in circulation, work along side personnel to learn a task or product

Boulders Organizational

Change Leaders Have to

Push

• Fear and/or resistance to change

• Fear of failure based on past experiences

• Lack of knowledge of current trends or best practices

• Low/poor morale and constant negativity or fighting

• Unspoken workplace rules and expectations

• Resentment over an "outsider" telling them what to do – the outsider could be an external hire or someone previously at a lower rank and promoted internally

Questions?

Contact Information

Phill Johnson – pjohns23@aum.edu

334.244.3200

Jessica Hayes – jhayes11@aum.edu

334.244.3814