Teacher librarians are strategically positioned in the middle to exert a powerful influence over student achievement. Leading from the middle is quintessentially about influencing people to achieve a goal, through a collaborative mindset. The quality of communication, in all its varieties (face-to-face, online, written, etc.) embeds itself in the different leadership roles undertaken by effective teacher librarians. Thus, collaboration and communication are two key aspects that feature repeatedly in the disposition  of effective leaders, formal and informal. Chow and Rich (2013) too acquiesce that good communication helps leaders to realise the full potential of their staff and they must consistently maintain good rapport with all colleagues (p. 7). The Case Studies served to accentuate this fact.

The Case Studies were highly relevant in portraying actual challenges that could arise in our daily work as teacher librarians. On the issue of addressing organisational behaviour (misbehaviour, actually) in Case Study 3, aspects of transformational leadership such as “mentoring and coaching” (Chow & Rich, 2013, p.3)  and servant leadership traits of “collaboration, trust, empathy, and ethics” (Burkus, 2010, para.1)  were recommended in most of the group posts (Group 14  &  Group 15) , including mine (Group 5). These recommendations highlight the need for leaders to build relationships, depict emotional intelligence (‘soft skills’) in their interactions with team members. Conyers and Wilson (2017) too reiterate on  the effects of a positive mindset, empathy and practical optimism in leaders’ approach when dealing with low morale in staff.

Sound conflict management model suggested by Group 11 and an inspiring learning organisation model shared by my Group highlighted the entrenchment of a sharing culture in the Case Work analysis. We were demonstrating distributed leadership where through interdependent sharing, we were able “to generate more opportunities for change and to build the capacity for improvement” ( Harris, 2014, para.3). This occurrence justifies Ray’s (2020) argument of thriving future-ready librarians to “look beyond their schools for communities of practice, professional learning and support” (p. 8).

Upon reflecting on the dynamics of my group’s approach to the assigned tasks, there were equally important learning points as well. Completing the assigned tasks within set deadlines brought inevitable challenges as discussed in my blogs. Nevertheless, knowledge of strategic planning and conflict management processes in library leadership management were helpful. A proactive rather than a reactive approach to problem-solving (Lodge & Pymm, 2007, p.289) was adopted. Consequently, nurturing positive optimism and its rippling effects, key elements in transformational and servant leadership style led to task completion.

An area of personal improvement is to engage in regular communication with my team and provide purposeful feedback that would increase their confidence and encourage higher levels of commitment. We averaged three active participants throughout the tasks and this certainly could have been better.

Additionally, participating in the forums widened my theoretical knowledge of leadership and offered me plentiful ways on how to lead effectively from the middle. They offered me opportunities to reflect on past experiences and hesitations to lead and presently, realise the huge potential in libraries to become the hub of the school’s teaching and learning process. It was humbling to see how generous course mates were in sharing valuable resources that strengthened my belief in prioritising networking and establishing a strong collaborative culture to be an effective teacher librarian.

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References:

Burkus, D. (2010, April 1). Servant leadership theory.

http://davidburkus.com/2010/04/servant-leadership-theory/

Chow, A. S., & Rich, M. (2013). The ideal qualities and tasks of library leaders:

Perspectives of academic, public, school, and special library administrators.

Library Leadership and Management, 27(1/2), 1-24.

Harris, A. (2014, September 29). Distributed leadership. ACER website.

https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/articles/distributed-leadership

Lodge, D., & Pymm, B. (2007). Library managers today: the challenges. In S. Ferguson (Ed.), Libraries in the Twenty First Century: Charting Directions in Information Services (17^th  ed., Vol.27, pp. 289-310). Centre for Information Studies.

Ray, M. (2020). What is a future-ready librarian? Connections, 113(2), 8-9.

https://www.scisdata.com/media/2083/scis_connections_113_web.pdf

How fast time flies! The remaining Case Studies have been completed and a sense of accomplishment is felt.  My team worked well, averaging 3 active participants for each task.  Ensuring depth of analysis and adherence to deadlines were achieved. It definitely could not have been possible without collaboration and team spirit. Through a distributed leadership style on taking turns to lead the discussion and setting deadlines, all team members worked diligently. “High levels of trust, transparency and mutual respect” (Harris, 2014) were displayed and led to completion of the tasks.

The Case Study scenarios and focus issues were highly relevant to actual workplace challenges. The group work was a great learning opportunity at showcasing how different  approaches to issues were brought to light, time given for analysis and reaching a consensus. Tenets of servant leadership in continually using words of appreciation, support and acknowledgement was perceived in my group’s online interactions. Predominantly, all my group members maintained “positive optimism” (Conyers & Wilson, 2020) throughout its course, were sincere in our effort  and thus, were able to get the work done well.

References

Conyers, M. & Wilson, D. (2017, March 16). The effects of a positive mindset on school culture. EdCircuit. https://www.edcircuit.com/effects-positive-mindset-school-culture/

Harris, A. (2014, September 29). Distributed leadership. ACER website. https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/articles/distributed-leadership

Honestly, leading a group is not my cup of tea. If someone takes a lead, I am most happy to obey the rules and complete the tasks dutifully. However, I do feel obliged to take the lead when there is no clear direction and meeting the deadline appears uncertain. It makes me anxious.

So, when my lovely group members initiated the discussion and provided a solid background work, I was elated. Typically me, I drew up a schedule on the tasks that need to be done with the submission dates. I offered to do the collating for the first task and asked for volunteers to lead the next 2 tasks. I promptly got 2 of my group members to take the lead. I believe it showcased our distributive leadership approach.

Though only 3 of the 5 team members actively contributed to the first task, we practiced patience and discretion in understanding the challenging circumstances of the present situation (COVID-19 restrictions). We respected members’ personal commitments and believed that we will have a better participation rate for the next two tasks.

I suggested the format to present our findings and it was taken up positively by the team.There were always words of encouragement from my team members on contributions made and that encouraged bonding of the team. These typifies servant leadership where emphasis on collaboration, trust, empathy, and ethics resulted in  increased teamwork, deeper engagement, and better performance. (Burkus,2010).

After collating our contributions, I emailed the final draft to all my team members to suggest any changes and seeking their approval. I value each of my team members’ feedback and strove to build an open communication channel. With minor changes being made, we submitted the task on time. I felt happy at our level of commitment to the task and it reinforced to me, on what I believe about leadership: working interdependently and collectively yield better outcomes.

References

Burkus, D. (2010, April 1). Servant leadership theory. http://davidburkus.com/2010/04/servant-leadership-theory/

School libraries are essentially  service providing organisations…providing largely, information service to its consumers. As such, the essence of Colvin’s (2000) article that stresses on prioritising employers and employees’ humanistic values aligns well towards utopic library management.

• Workers in libraries are HUMANS.

As such, workplace dynamics in libraries ought to be focused on building a cohesive workforce, listening to workers’ needs and not pushing leaders’ targets. Mobilising a strong workforce where there is trust and respect is paramount.

• Ownership of library mission.

The mission of libraries is to transmit ‘knowledge’ that does not have OB markers to limit its size neither does it possess an absolute form.

Teacher librarians need to be constant information seekers, skilful in sieving ‘appropriate’ information and imparting research skills, the ‘how’ not just the ‘what’ in young learners. Clear, realistic goals that should drive everyone within the organisation.

• School libraries needs thinkers not robots.

Teacher librarians need to personify an image of a listener, motivator, smart worker and service provider who always prioritises students’ interests in its strategic goals. This would then propagate amongst working staff to emulate the same work ethics to direct and spur them to benefit its stakeholders.

• School libraries need to constantly reconstruct hierarchy within its organisation.

Colvin (2000) boldly asserts that managers ought to tap on workers’ strengths by prioritising the formation of working teams based on projects rather than by conventional, rigid hierarchies. Employees would appreciate the recognition and focus on giving their best.

School libraries are not places where competitive and materialistic attitudes thrive amongst its staff. It should be based on humanistic attitudes with increasing students’ learning outcomes as its objective. That deserves a humanistic not an authoritarian leadership.

Reference:

Colvin, G. (2000). Managing in the info era. Fortune, 141(5). http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/03/06/275231/index.htm?iid=sr-link1.

My understanding of leadership stems from what I had perceived through my teaching experiences in various schools, across different countries and holding various leadership positions in some of them. Setting realistic goals and building relationships mark a good leader. Additionally, being able to be foresee long-term results and instilling ownership in members are rudiments to good leadership. Succinctly, an exemplary leader is able to get everyone to work, to the best of their ability, towards a set purpose. The leader’s success is then, measured not in terms of quantitative gains but on the intrinsic progress made by each individual member and the targeted group.

The Masters in Teacher Librarianship course has been an eye-opener to me in many ways. It has made me realise on how teacher librarians are quintessential in the teaching and learning process and that the library acts as a core agent of a successful educational institution. However, based on my experience, teacher librarians are underutilised in schools. There could be varying factors for this. So, the onus is on us to make a stand and be heard.