Thursday's highlight for me

I really enjoyed Robert Benson's presentation a lot. He basically said the same things that Heater has been telling us all week. I liked the fact that he was so honest about himself and his staff. He brought a lot of humor into his presentation which I loved. I especially liked his analogy of the bus and how it relates to our staffs. We are all going to the same place but with some we have to show them what seat they should be sitting in and with some we just nee to stop the bus and let them out. We feel bad about those that need to go but if they don't have the vision or the ownership with the library then they could actually be doing more harm than good. Sometimes doing what is best for your library is a difficult thing but we have to remember that it is our job and we have to look at what is best as a whole for the library.

Surgoinsville Moving Forward

I think my staff and I have a wonderful team attitude. We get along and work really well together. After pondering this question over I have come to realize that because of my attitude I have held us back from reaching our potential. We are a small branch, only open 24 hours a week, I find myself thinking of us as small and unable to do things because of this. An excuse to not do more. I hold us back with excuses like, we don't have the staff or the budget or the time. But after a lot of self evaluation this week I know I have to change my attitude and in doing so it will change my staffs attitudes. One example is ILL's. We don't really participate in this right now because honestly I just don't need one more thing to do. (Remember this is a judge free zone). I need to trust my staff to help me to be more active in this. Train them and trust them to do the job I need them to do.  I can't do it all but as a team as a team we can do it together. Also we may only be open 24 hours in a wee but for our patrons we are important and we need o do all we can to make it easy on them and offer every program possible to them. They deserve our best!

Managing Performance - Tuesday's

I really enjoyed the presentation today. Some things I really liked were the day to day coaching that we can all do. Being a smaller branch I thought it was really helpful and informative and useful for me. I realized that this is something that I already do with my staff. Just taking the time to appreciate them and also to gently correct them if needed.
I also really found the evaluations helpful. We currently do not do this in my branch or in the system I am apart of. This is something our board is currently working to put into place and I for one am really excited about this. 

Surgoinsville and staff development

Surgoinsville Public Library is a wonderful little library with a total staff of three (counting me). We currently do not have a staff development day as a branch. After learning what I have from Heather and other librarians, I would first go to the staff to get their input on what they would like to have brought up and discussed at the meeting. Because I am a branch manager much of my time is spent in the office while they are at the circulation desk dealing with patrons and whatever comes up. The front staff is really the heart and face of our library.
Even though we currently do not have a staff development day, I do always try to include them and get their input on many issues. I have always told them that I am open to ideas and thoughts from them. Because they are at the circulation desk more often than I am they my see things that I don't. I also try to encourage and praise them for  job well done. Throughout the year I try to give them little things to let them know how much I appreciate them. For instance, I bought us all shirts and had them embroidered with the library name on them and gave it to them as a thank you for all their hard work. I also will buy their lunches or get them a cup or something associated with the library. They seem to really appreciate it and it helps the attitude of the library. I can't get them raises or more hours but I can let them know I appreciate all they do for the library!

Webinar: A Manager's Guide to the Emotional Workplace

Leave it to me to put this off to the last minute. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this webinar. I plan to watch more on the list that Heather sent. I wish I had watched this webinar and some of the others a few months before now. I had a situation here at the library that I could have really used the information to maybe have a better outcome. This webinar helped me to come to some truths about myself and my personality in how I deal with conflict and sensitive issues within the library. Not all of those truths were what I would like to see in myself.

The seminar brings up the Avoidance Syndrome. Eryn Kalish speaks of how we are trained from a young age to avoid situations because they are challenging and concerning. It was interesting when the audience was polled on the consequences of avoiding sensitive issues within there workplace. The majority wrote that the relationship and/or situation got worse when it was avoided. A very small percentage said that it disappeared or got better. Ms. Kalish explained that there are 3 main ways to dealing with intense feelings and they are 1) Attack it - Fight [this is usually associated with ego and someone being very defensive] 2) Stuff it - Flight [this is the person acting like they are not hearing you or acknowledging you] and 3) Shut down - Freeze [usually the person is feeling overwhelmed]. She also brought up the Feel and Deal with it way of dealing with these issues. This is when you either try to work through it alone or preferably work through it with the people involved.
Ms. Kalish really stresses throughout the webinar to be transparent and humble when dealing with sensitive situations and to avoid being defensive. People can feel when you have good intentions in the situation. Sometimes the situation calls for you to be direct but you can still maintain a connected feeling with the other person. The key is to know ourselves and be open and respectful always. I really loved what she said at the end of the webinar, "The more we're transparent with ourselves and each other about internal states, the more energy we'll have for the tasks ahead of us."
By understanding myself and how I deal with things I can better relate to those I work with and be more understanding.