It is a long-term truism that we live in a rapidly changing world. Keeping up with change is an ongoing component of a school librarian’s toolset. But the current speed of change is outrageous. From one day to the next there are so many changes from so many directions it is nearly impossible to keep up.

The stress level created by this is high and is a true test of your abilities as a leader.  Think of yourself as the captain of a ship dealing with safely navigating a ship in a wind-laced storm. As you weather these constant challenges, you must simultaneously review and sharpen your ability to persevere and draw on your resilience. These two in combination will help you to not only survive but thrive.

Danna Diaz in her article, Resilience and Perseverance: Keys to Effective Leadership in Schools, writes about the process of strengthening your abilities in these two areas by defining them then presenting strategies to do so. As always, I have added my comments to more firmly root them in the daily work life of school librarians.

Definition – According to Diaz, “Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from setbacks, while perseverance is the steadfastness to stay committed despite difficulty.” We are all familiar with the pivoting that has been necessary in the past years. Fluctuating situations require us to be even more nimble in making changes to meet new requirements. Our perseverance is tested as we hold true to our commitments and Mission in the face of the ongoing challenges.

Building resilience in leadership – To build this necessary component, you need to have a growth mindset and a belief that a potential or possible crisis can be turned into an opportunity. A blog post I wrote on May 27, 2019, Crisis? No! It’s a Chopportunity, details the many ways you can use an apparent disaster into a chance to strengthen and grow the library. When presented with a challenge—look to your Mission and Vision to find possibility.

The role of emotional intelligence – Your ability to create a Chopportunity relies on your awareness and understanding of what motivates others (whether positively or negatively). For example, if you have been informed of a drastic cut in your budget, the opportunity you present to your principal needs to be based on how well you know your principal’s needs, wants, and goals and your ability to show them how your work supports what they are trying to do.

Perseverance: The long game of leadership – Diaz says, “While resilience helps leaders recover from setbacks, perseverance ensures they remain committed to their vision.” Your Mission Statement, combined with your knowledge of what a your school or administrator needs, guides you in creating the opportunity or recommendation you present. Your Vision keeps you fighting to see it through. It is why you write a Vision in the present tense. While it isn’t the current reality, it is the aspiration that should inspire you to hang in there and bring it closer to existence.

Strategies for building resilience and perseverance in schools –

• Foster a culture of collaboration and support – You are a relationship-builder. Use the relationships you have with teachers, students, and administrators to further your plan. They have come to count on you to deliver on your promises.
• Model self-care and wellness – Never neglect to take care of yourself. Relying on Persistence and Perseverance without including self-care leads to burn-out. In taking care of yourself, you are showing others that much can be accomplished while not losing yourself. It’s another aspect of your leadership.
• Develop a data-driven mindset – We always need the data, but I’d go one step further and remind you to look for emotional context to bring to the data. Decisions are rooted in emotion substantiated by data and logic. Give them a reason to care about the data you present.
• Build strong community partnerships – Expand your thinking to find and work with others who can help you in strengthening the library in challenging times. Parents can be a good source. If you have parent volunteers, they know your value. Parent-Teacher associations can also be helpful as can relationships with the public library.

Diaz concludes by reminding us of the ripple effect of doing this work: We will inspire resilience and perseverance in others. Remember, the job of a leader is not only to have followers, but also to create other leaders. Times are likely to always be tough in one way or another, but so are you.  You have or are building a track record and can thrive. Be Resilient and Persevere. So many will benefit when you do!