Posted on by hildaweisburg

Thriving In Challenging Times

It feels like we have been living in challenging times for so long the phrase has become commonplace. Stress is so high, surviving might be the chief goal, making thriving seem like a fantasy. But we can’t afford that. If survival is the goal, we are likely to be swept away by the rising tide of our current political climate, and bad times don’t deserve our surrender.

Our students and teachers need more than our survival – and so do we.  Nina Snyder turns to a surprising role model to emulate in her blog post How to Run Your Business Like Taylor Swift. You are not running a business, but as my comments show, the five lessons work for us. And who couldn’t use a little more Taylor Swift in their lives:

Know your customer – Ours are the students, teachers, and the administrators. It’s also parents who are keeping an ever-watchful eye on school libraries, and the general public. What do they want?  What do they need? Students want to do well and not be bored or worried about grades. They need choice and voice. Teachers want relief. They need help as they are feeling overworked and overly scrutinized. Principals want to present a well-run, high achieving school. They need evidence that is happening.  Parents want their children to be successful. They need evidence to know the library is not harming them but rather preparing their children for today and tomorrow. The public wants a good school system because it makes for a desirable community that attracts people to the community.

 Pivot before it’s required – Times keep changing. New technologies emerge, as do new threats. In order to be ready to modify your strategy, you need to stay ahead of the game. Reading journals and articles you get as an ALA/AASL and AECT/ISTE member lets you know the latest in education, including what the administrators are thinking. Work with the public library. The youth services librarian may have a closer ear to the community than you do. Check in with your Professional Learning Network (PLN) for ideas and to learn what’s happening in other locations. It will give you a heads up. Reading the local newspaper or website for clues into what the community is thinking. Follow the towns social media. Shop occasionally in the town where you work so you can hear what customers are talking about.

Embrace authenticity – Be honest. Don’t abandon your core professional and personal values. That can be frightening today. Draw on the support offered by our professional associations. They offer resources to help in presenting what you stand for.  When you step away from what matters to you, you can’t be as confident about the work you do, and you don’t feel good about yourself.

Focus on your strengths – Most of you have strong tech skills. Use them to promote your program. Showcase student accomplishments, acknowledging the teachers involved on your library website. In addition to your regular reports to your principal, send photos and brief information after a successful project is completed. Consider writing a column for the local paper or school website on “Happenings in the School Library.”

Keep communicating – Most of the four ideas included communication. Misinformation abounds. We need to get in there first to share what is actually happening in the school library. Communication powers relationship. Relationship builds trust. Trust becomes advocacy. We need all the supporters we can get.

You can thrive even in challenging times. In fact, I believe this so much that my next book, (coming February 2026) https://www.routledge.com/The-Involved-School-Librarian-How-to-Increase-Your-Impact-and-Thrive/Weisburg/p/book/9781041088080, will support you in this endeavor. For now, some final advice from Taylor (the titles, not the lyrics): “You Need to Calm Down”, “Shake It Off” and be “Gorgeous!”

Posted on by hildaweisburg

Be Flexible and Thrive

With so much stress and challenges in our lives, many of us feel as though we can barely do what is necessary to survive. But what if thriving is possible? What would it take? What would it look like?

Believe it or not… it might look a lot like Taylor Swift’s career. Not the role model you were expecting, perhaps, but this is a woman who has learned how to take setback, upsets and insults and use them to not only become more resilient, but build an amazing career. And as librarians, we are lifelong learners, which means there is something to be gleaned from the success of others.

Kevin Evers, Senior Editor at Harvard Business Review, spells out what he learned from Taylor Swit in this article, The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift’s Rise to Mega-stardom, giving five key insights from his new book, There’s Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift. Here they are, along with my usual comments:

  1. Seize opportunities others ignore –  Taylor was told that the audience she wanted to write for at the beginning of her career – teenage girls like herself – were not a viable market. She ignored this and pushed forward because it was her passion. Where are these places within the library? How about looking at who else is under fire. It’s not just librarians, but teachers, too. What can we do to support them? Parents are often confused or feel out of the loop – where can you include them? Consider a parent volunteer group.  Keep them informed about library happenings with a LibGroup. Have a way for parents and teachers to contact you so it’s easy to make you a part of their process.
  2. Know what people are “hiring” you to do –  Taylor’s fans don’t just want her music – they want connection. Your students don’t just want books, they want a safe place to explore their growing questions. Teachers don’t just want the internet, they want support to reach their benchmarks. Administrators don’t just want good numbers and test scores, they want to know that their goals are understood and supported.
  3. Be people-obsessed –  Swift is practically obsessed by her fans and always looking for new ways to reach them. For us, these means we need to really see” the people we support. Read body language and let teachers, administrators, and parents know you see their worry and their enthusiasm. Do this with students as well. Give meaningful compliments and feedback and be open to receive it. This is how you build relationships and create trust. When people feel your caring and see it is honest, they become supporters and advocates.
  4. Be productively paranoid – This is actually a business term that “refers to the ability of a leader to anticipate future change and challenges even when things are going very well.” Good or bad, nothing stays the same. Be ready to pivot. Stay on top of what is happening in technology and business. For example, AGI, artificial general intelligence, might be only five years away. It imitates human intelligence. How might that impact you? Since we don’t know, you need to keep watching for its development. What are administrators talking about? I belong to ASCD (Association for Supervisors and Curriculum Developers). Their journal EL (Educational Learning) is a gold mine of topics of concern to your principal and superintendent. The articles are a great source of information to keep you prepared for their next focus.
  5. Be a radical adapter –  The recording industry had “rules”, but Swift noticed the changes coming with streaming services and changed the way and frequency she released music. What’s changing in the way our services are being delivered and what our students and teachers need. This is another place to be looking at and understanding (not ignoring) AI. In a book I am writing, I discuss going into your “outside” community. Introduce yourself to local business owners and managers. They are voters. They also are a potential source of resources for your projects. Some may be able to help with construction projects or sponsor an author visit. You give them credit which promotes their interests as well.

It’s amazing to realize where workable ideas are. We can always look for and find ways to keep our library programs and messages on the cutting edge and learn from successes and struggles of others. As a leader always be on the alert for how to do things better. Today, take these ideas from Taylor Swift and make your library thrive.