Draft Leadership and Staff Development
(March 23, 2012)
Staff members are highly valued and vitally important to delivering quality library services to communities throughout the library district. Investing in staff through dynamic training and development opportunities strengthens the workforce and enables employees to improve their knowledge, skills and abilities in three categories: job-related training, personal development and leadership development.
Personal
Development
Leadership
Development
Job Related
Training
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Job-related Training
All newly-hired employees attend New Employee Orientation, which provides an overview of the library district, insight into the functions of departments at the Administrative Service Center and specifics about becoming a Timberland employee (Appendix A).
New employees, and staff members hired into new positions, receive the necessary technical training to succeed in the job (Appendix B). Supervisors mentor and evaluate staff members in a continuous appraisal cycle and identify training needs. The Coordinator for Training and Staff Development works with supervisors to ensure needed training takes place.
Personal Development
Within budget constraints, staff members may attend outside personal development events, from multi-day conferences offering a number of subjects to one-day courses focusing on skills such as conflict resolution, team building or communication (Appendix C).
Employee
training
needs are
identified.
Employee
training is
conducted
.
Employee
performance
is evaluated
.
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Leadership Development
Effective leaders know and follow proven leadership principles. All staff members are
encouraged to learn and follow such principles. Those who seek managerial positions such as library and department managers, service-focused coordinators, and the library director may be selected to enhance their leadership skills through attending a twelve-month leadership program.
Course Overview
The Leadership and Staff Development program is a new program and is under development. It is designed to provide participants with the tools to effectively lead and manage at the
managerial level up to the library director to meet the various challenges Timberland will face in the future.
Experienced managers learn best by participating in a small group, learning from internal decision makers and outside faculty, sharing their own experiences, and discussing reality-based scenarios. Pre and post session assignments will give participants insight into subject areas and enhance the group dynamic.
The ideal candidate will be motivated to lead and manage at the managerial level, demonstrate a proven performance record of excellence, obtain strong recommendations from the
supervisory chain and:
Have at least two years of supervisory experience
Meet the educational requirements (for example a Masters Degree in Library Science for a participant interested in becoming a medium or large library manager)
Sessions are conducted on TRL time, and may be conducted out of sequence based on the time of the year and actual events such as Library Legislative Day. Sessions may last a day, or be spread out over many days—for example during library visits.
Nine participants will be invited to attend each year; over time the majority of staff with managerial
responsibilities will be given the opportunity to attend. The program will begin in September of each year.
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Session 1: Program Overview and History Ice breaker, team building exercise Overview of the leadership program
Participant expectations/expected outcomes History of Timberland Regional Library Discussion of mission, vision and values Requirements for a leadership project
Session 2: Leadership Principles (in coordination with a university or other leadership program) Individual leadership assessment and feedback
Time-tested leadership principles and best practices Conflict resolution and stress management
Session 3: Library Visits
Large, medium and small library visits
Comparing and contrasting challenges library managers face at each level City and Timberland owned buildings and relationships with community leaders Visits to other library systems and the State Library
Friends and local library boards Session 4: Civics Lesson
Introduction to how the legislature works, how bills are passed and how library leaders can influence the legislative process.
Meetings with State Legislators and library supporters from around the state during Washington Library Association’s annual Library Legislative Day in Olympia.
Attending TRL annual reports to county commissioners, city council meetings and Board of Trustees meetings.
Session 5: Relationship with the Board of Trustees (outside workshop facilitator)
Working relationships, Board functions, bylaws, communications, expectations, policies and Board meetings
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Session 6: Financial Management
In-depth look at the Business Office
Property tax, levy lid lifts and bond measures
Accounting, payroll, purchasing functions and budget process Project management and facilities planning
Ethical decision-making Debt financing
Grants
Session 7: Information Technology
In-depth look at the IT Department
Computer and telecommunications systems supporting Timberland
SharePoint Intranet, TRL website, Symphony and related systems, Library Online, Evanced calendar, etc.
Session 8: Library Collection
In-depth look at the Collections Services Department
Challenges facing the acquisition of library materials with emerging technologies Digital petting zoo, e-readers and other devices
Session 9: Communication and Media Management
Communications Department tour, team responsibilities and tools Presentations skills, media relations and social media
Advocacy background, efforts and goals Major promotional campaigns
Session 10: Human Resources
Functions of Human Resources Staffing the organization
Mentoring staff, employee recognition and performance appraisals Benefits management and insurance pool
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Session 11: Public Services
In-depth look at reference services, circulation services, youth services, services, adult services, training and development and their impact on customer service
Session 12: Program Conclusion Project presentations
Participant recognition and certificates of completion
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Appendix A
New Employee Orientation Topics Library District Overview
Jargon
Policies and Procedures Union Lifting Video Intellectual Freedom Public Services Central Reference Communications/Media Relations Business Office Foundation Payroll Benefits
Bloodborne Pathogen Training Collection Services
Introduction to SharePoint Computer Services
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Appendix B Required Trainings
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Appendix C Staff Development
Conferences
SirsiDynix COSUGI Customer Conference Training Magazine Conference
Utah Genealogical Society Conference
American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter American Library Association (ALA) Annual Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL) BookExpo America
Bond Children’s Literature Conference Digipalooza (OverDrive conference) Internet Librarian
iYouth Conference
Northwest Human Resource Management (NHRMA)
Northwest Interlibrary Loan and Resource Sharing Conference Online Northwest
Public Library Association (PLA)
Pacific Northwest Library Association (PNLA) Reference Renaissance
Social Media Marketing Conference (SkillPath) Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) WALE – Washington Association of Library Employees Washington Library Association (WLA)
YALSA’s Young Adult Literature Symposium
Supervisory-related
Washington State Department of Personnel training, for example:
o Coaching: Bringing out the Best in Others
o Giving and Receiving Constructive Feedback
o Supervisor Essentials (3-day)
o Leadership in Highly Effective Teams
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LearningPoint Supervisor Boot Camp (2-day)
Quality Media Resources (QMR) – Millennium capsules (3)
Team-Building, Mentoring, and Coaching Skills for Managers and Supervisors (CareerTrack)
TRAIN Supervisor Conference
Sessions geared to supervisors at All Staff Training Day (Multiple sessions by different presenters)
Teleconferences Webinars
Professional Resources available at Timberland
Communication Bulletin for Managers and Supervisors (monthly publication) Creating a Positive Workplace: good attitudes are contagious (DVD)
Engaging, Retaining and Developing Critical Talent: Love ‘em or Lose ‘em (DVD) Exceeding Customer Expectations (4 DVDs)
The Five Dysfunction of a Team: a leadership fable. Performance Coaching: four steps to effective coaching (DVD)
Leadership At Every Level (DVD)
Motivating Your Employees: Rewards and Recognition (DVD) Leading 20-Minute Meetings. (DVD)
Respect & Responsibility: a positive approach to discipline (DVD) Supervisor Bibliography – 26 annotated titles