Posted on by hildaweisburg

Leaders Are Always Learning

I spent last weekend at the ALA Conference in Chicago. While the weather made the trip home interminable, the conference was well worth it. Spending days learning and being in the presence of leaders is always rejuvenating and inspiring, and it reminded me that opportunities to learn are everywhere.

When it comes to professional development, much is discussed about the benefits of mentors, but don’t estimate the power of role models. At a conference you can hear leaders you admire speak at various presentations. What may be surprising to many conference newbies is that you can approach and talk to them, and, if they have time, they will take the time to respond to questions. And as you watch them, you can take note of how they present themselves. Their body language and how they speak gives you a window into how leaders are. Remember, they weren’t always leaders. They followed a path, and if you are willing to leave your comfort zone, you can do so as well.

You may not be able to attend a national conference (and for my foreign readers these may not even be available for librarians), but you can seek out your local or state/territory leaders as role models – and perhaps have them become mentors. What is important is that you start thinking about what you want the course of your career to be, find the people who are already there, then look for ways to learn from them.

And it doesn’t only have to be library leaders – you can learn from anyone who is in a leadership role, regardless of the field and whether or not you believe they are a good leader.  CEO Nadine Young offers these lessons for future leaders:

  1. Leadership has nothing to do with your job title – Leadership is about behaviors not about titles. We have all had administrators who weren’t leaders. Sometimes it was their secretary who was the true leader – and they obviously didn’t have a title. When you propose a new program or seek to make changes in how the school library looks or functions, you are being a leader. When you pitch in to help with an administration initiative or a teacher project, you are being a leader. Leaders are visible.
  • Harness Your Inner Teen – This is very original and worth considering. It doesn’t mean the rebellious teen who argues with everything, but rather the passionate adolescent. Like Young, I can remember saying, “when I am older, I will ….” Mostly, it was never to forget what it was like being a teen. It was also about keeping my word, as some adults didn’t – especially something they promised to a teen. As Young suggests, recall what behaviors of others crushed you. What and who inspired you? What was it that had you say, “I can’t wait until I am old enough to …?”
  • To Lead, You Need to Follow – Leaders who think they can do it all themselves are destined to fail. Listen to your colleagues. Listen to what students are saying and be conscious of their feelings. I am a strong believer of the adage, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”  You also are following by leading from the middle. When you are doing that, you should be observing the formal leader as a role model. Even one who does not lead well can be a role model for what you never want to do.

Make the most of however much downtime you get over the summer. Use these days and weeks to be with family and friends. Be kind to yourself – and the family who supported you through it. And as you look to the future, look for the current leaders who will guide you. If you are fortunate, one whom you admire might be willing to be more than a role model and become a mentor.

Posted on by hildaweisburg

Lessons from Life

Life lessons are what you draw on when times are tough, and these are tough times.  What you have learned gives you the strength and courage and knowledge. It shows you what you are capable of. You faced difficulties before and survived – even triumphed. 

Frank Sonnenberg’s Facts of Life – Grown-up Version had me thinking of lessons I have learned over the years. For me, the ones that come immediately to mind are:

  • Family First – For a long time I said family was my first priority, but my choices didn’t reflect that. A part of me felt they would understand and be there when I had the time, but as time passed, I was sorry for what I was missing.  Now, my choices and stated priority match.
  • This Will Change –   This is a good mantra in good times and tough ones.  It reminds me to cherish and savor the good times – little as well as big. Life never goes in one direction. For every valley, there’s a hill. For every hill, a valley.
  • Be Grateful – It’s important to me to stop and notice – especially in those valley times – all that I have to appreciate. It not only keeps me from taking for granted what I have, but brings me joy in the moment.
  • Together Is Better Than Alone – Even if it won’t be done my way, it might be even better. I have come to see the wisdom of, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Together has proven to be better.
  • Relationship Before Tasks –Connecting or re-connecting with the person I am going to be working with on a project makes the task go smoother. And, as in the lesson above – helps us to go further.
  • Listen! – As someone who talks a lot, this is a lesson I am always learning. It’s hard to hold back when my experience or excitement has something to say, but when I focus on what the other person is saying, I can hear what is being said, what isn’t, and develop a stronger connection.

Sonnenberg lists fifteen lessons. See which ones resonate for you – which you have learned, and which you are still learning.

  1. Your mindset matters more than you think – I’ve written a lot about how a negative mindset affects every aspect of your life. Same is true of a positive one. At any moment, we have the power to choose.
  2. Your life is determined by the sum of your choices – And if a choice didn’t work out, then that’s the lesson to learn. Next time you’ll make a different one. The learning never ends.
  3. There’s a difference between motion and movement – This has to do with knowing where you want to go. A treadmill vs a walk to the store. Both are exercise, but different results. Are you going through the motions or are you creating movement? (Hint: Does it further your Mission and Vision?)
  4. Own your life – Taking responsibility for what we choose – the mistakes and the successes – is part of growth as adults. Also, be careful of places where you are giving away responsibility for things you should be doing for you.
  5. Be a good person. Everything else is secondary – It starts with the person in the mirror. Kindness to ourselves and others. Things are replaceable. People – including you – are not.
  6. Instant gratification does not guarantee lifelong happiness – There’s nothing wrong with rewarding yourself with some instant gratification but don’t allow short term desires to get in the way of long-term goals.
  7. To-do lists can be unproductive – This is related to the motion vs. movement idea. We’ve all had busy days where nothing really gets done. Keep your priorities clear and create progress on them.
  8. Make your priorities a priority – As mentioned above, in your professional and personal lift, live your priorities. Your actions speak louder than your words, and your real priorities go beyond work.
  9. Everything worthwhile requires an element of sacrifice – You will have to give up something (probably an instant gratification moment) to have what you want. This is where knowing and living your priorities comes in.
  10. Determination is habit forming; so is quitting – Those sacrifices? They will add up to you living up to your word, keeping your commitments, and reaching your goals. This will define you as a leader and allow people to trust you.
  11. Make personal development a priority – Invest in yourself. This can also be personal as well as professional. Keep up with changes and pursue things that interest you. As I’ve written before – You are either growing or you are dying.
  12. View feedback as an opportunity – It’s part of the learning process. It’s information and helps you to know whether to keep going in the same direction or if it’s time for a course correction.
  13. It’s so easy to lose sight of the things you can’t see – And yet, it’s the ones you can’t see, like love, trust, and honor that are the most valuable.
  14. Money can’t buy respect – An old and true saying. It’s true of a job title as well. Earn the respect of those you work (and live) with by keeping your word, living your priorities, listening and engaging.
  15. Invest in relationships to avoid the time repairing them – This is so important, again in and out of work. Do what it takes to keep the trust (and respect) you earn. Professionally, we can never lose sight of the fact that we are in a relationship business. Without relationships, we are out of business.

There are lessons all around us and we’re always able – if we’re willing – to learn. From the good and the bad times, from the supportive administrators and the difficult ones, from the willing students and the demanding ones. Our priorities in and out of work and the choices we make around them will give us the movement we’re looking for. And remember – things will change.

Posted on by hildaweisburg

ON LIBRARIES – You Are Unique

you what you believeRecognizing that you are unique in your building is essential for establishing you and your program as indispensable to the educational community.  No one else in the building has the expertise you bring in working with students, teachers, and administrators. While most of you have heard this before and may even say so to others, far too many of you don’t believe it is true of you personally.

My aim in this blog is to convince you that you are unique because once you believe it you will be communicating your essential contributions in all your interactions.  So here is a list of what is done by no one else but you.

Information Literacy – You do this every day, but in discussing it you should always explain the specifics of what the term encompasses.  The first component of information literacy is to know when information is needed — and of course students and teachers recognize that most of the time.  What they don’t understand is that doing a search — on Google, Wikipedia, or YouTube is far different from doing research. .  Finding is not a problem. Finding quality in the sea of information available requires a more complex set of skills and understandings to accurately evaluate it what has been located for accuracy and relevance. Citing what was selected has become far more complex in the digital age.  Teachers are generally capable of explaining how to cite print sources, but knowing what and how to cite online databases, websites, videos, audio files, and graphics is less understood.  You are the only one teaching students about Creative Commons and how to use it.information literacy

Inquiry-based Learning – Technically this and the following ones are all part of Information Literacy but it’s important to separate them so you and others recognize the scope of what you bring to students and to teachers who collaborate or cooperate with you. In the classroom the stress is laid on answers.  But answers show only that the content has been learned.  Nothing new comes from re-stating what is already known.  What is important is taking learning to the next step, to probe deeper by asking significant questions and then searching for answers to those questions.  Inquiry-based learning, which is central to the AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner, challenges students to develop questions on a topic, preferably in an area where they have a personal interest, and discover possible solutions.  In the process, they frequently have to refine their search, modify and/or add questions.  Information Literacy skills are employed, and students are asked to assess what they did and how they did it to learn what worked and what they might do differently next time.  While the learning opportunity is usually connected to a classroom unit encompassing state and national standards, it more significantly is building the techniques and skills for lifelong learning in student’s personal lives and future careers.

you show studentsTechnology Integration – You are the one person in the school who keeps current with new technology and the latest resources to be found on websites and apps.  You hear it from your colleagues who share their latest “discoveries,” or see a presentation at a library conference or webinar, or search the AASL Best Websites for Teaching and Learning and Best Apps for Teaching and Learning. What you learn you share with teachers and students giving them new ways to organize, share, and present information.  When a student does work for one person — the teacher—it means s/he tends to frame it in ways to please that sole reader and lasting learning is lost.  In this world we are expected to reach out to colleagues and others using tech resources suited to the targeted audience.  A paper meant for the teacher alone is therefore as outdated as an audio cassette. You show students how the tech they love can be used to help them grow academically and personally.

Knowledge Creation – The challenge is not to repeat what is already known, but to build knowledge and create new content. Students should not be expected to do “busy work” with culminating projects that take time – such as dioramas and poster boards or even presentations using current technology—but have no ultimate purpose.  Did their research lead them to believe a law should be changed?  How can they work to make that happen?  Should people be informed about an issue?  What tool should they use for it and what information needs to be included?  Students of today must be more than information consumers.  They must become knowledge creators.  The activities occurring in the library are structured so they become true participants in society.

Digital Literacy – A subset of Information Literacy, digital literacy is the ability to find, evaluate, use, communicate, and create across a variety of platforms and formats.  It expects students to be “transliterate” which also includes using social and mass media.  Digitally literate students understand how to exist safely in cyberspace, are aware of the benefits and how to avoid the dangers.

Global Connections – More and more librarians are connecting their students with others around the country and globe.  It is vital for students to become tolerant and understand different cultures and peoples. Working with them from an early age opens minds and builds the understandings necessary for working and living in a global culture.                                                                             

Literacy Leading to Lifelong Learning – And of course, at the core of what we do is promote reading for pleasure and information. Others teach the skills necessary to read, we provide the environment where students discover the joy in reading unfettered by tests.lifelong learning

Some of you are saying you don’t do all of this. You still do much of it – and no one else does it. Yes, you can possibly do more – but that’s where your work stays exciting and new for you. Keep building your Professional/ Personal Learning Network (see the blog for August 10, How Large Is Your PLN?) and you will find it much easier to add those unique components to your library program.

Don’t sell yourself short.  You are unique.  Recognize it.  Believe it, and be sure to let others know it.