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Final Assignment: Leadership and Management Treatise

Marla M. Means
The University of North Carolina Greensboro

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I.

Your Leadership and Professional Model

1)

Leadership Mission and Values

Marla Means attempts to lead the employees of her library by encouraging growth in current
positions, acknowledging personal weaknesses and biases, and practicing emotional
intelligence.
I created the above mission statement based on our readings from First, Break All the
Rules, our first assignment interviewing a librarian, and our discussions in class. I was inspired
by our readings and their description of climbing the ladder, specifically how not every reward
for good work is a promotion to a new position. I want to encourage employees to grow where
they are and continue to do outstanding work. My interview with Mary from Jackson Library
really inspired me to take a step back and inspect my biases. Her repetitive advice from our
interview was keep an open mind and stay positive. These suggestions forced me to evaluate
how I treat other people and recognize where I am weak as a leader. Speaking of how to treat
other people, I was also inspired by our class conversations on the platinum rule and emotional
intelligence. I want to utilize positive non-verbal communication to express concerns and praise
to my employees, and I want to treat them how they want to be treated.
The fundamental values I wish to lead by are empathy, humility, and generosity.
Empathy remains important to my leadership skills because the ability to understand and share
the feelings of another tears down barriers that separate leaders from employees. Empathy
humanizes a leader and brings a leader down to anyones level of complication and allows for
understanding. Empathy makes a leader a benevolent resource, or facilitator of kindness, and not
a dictator, or a higher more terrifying position of power. Understanding when an employee is
experiencing a hard time and ignoring the usual consequences for a few minor mistakes, such as

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showing up late because they had to put down a family pet at the vets office, expresses kindness
to an employee and earns their respect. Humility remains important to my leadership skills
because a modest or low view of ones own importance allows for a feeling of oneness. Humility
brings leaders and employees together by allowing praise to trickle down/ flow to other people
and make them feel appreciated as an individual on a team of exceptional people. Giving praise
to a group for all their hard work and mentioning to your bosses that positive results stem from a
team effort give people a sense of accomplishment and admiration. Generosity remains
important to my leadership skills because being kind and plentiful with ones resources allows
for a giving-natured community of employees. Leading by example through generosity will be
mirrored through the behaviors and activities of employees. Emanating a positive attitude and
giving public, lavish praises to employees executing amazing work makes them want to
demonstrate the same quality of appreciation to others. All of these leadership values foster
kindness in a work environment, which can generate more and better work from individuals in
my opinion.
2)

Your talents and personal/professional development plan

My natural talents as a student, an employee, and an individual have always been a

positive attitude and a drive to create a comfortable and productive working environment. As a
student and an employee, a positive attitude has gotten me through many tough situations
involving groups I was working with. The stress we all face as individuals is amazingly
enormous, but if you choose to view work as an opportunity and not a stressful obligation you
can accomplish more work in a timely manner due to simple encouragement. This act of being
positive creates a comfortable and productive working environment, giving people a chance to
thrive and grow with work they may actually turn out to enjoy. I hope to continue to develop

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these skills and utilize them in three to five years when I will be either an academic librarian, a
museum curator, a library director, or a library professor. My problem is that I want to do it all
and have a hard time imagining where I will be in a couple of years. Whatever I will be doing I
will be enjoying it because of this amazing field I have chosen to study. I want to make a
difference in libraries and an impact on people. I hope to do this through my leadership skills.
3)

Generate a professional cover letter and resume

Cover Letter - Appendix I

Resume - Appendix II
II.
Vision for an Ideal Library
1) Articulate a vision of your ideal library
This may sound crazy, but my ideal library would be privately funded and owned so that
I would not be limited by a budget. I am absolutely obsessed with the idea of a library as a
gathering space and want to accentuate this environment to encourage learning and development
in information literacy. There are so many emerging technologies that encourage interaction and
collaboration that also double as furniture in classroom-like spaces. For example, tables can now
be computer screens with laser keyboards and touch-compatible commands. I want my library to
be high tech, chic, and comfortable. Libraries are so much more than books, and I want to offer
patrons every medium for learning and spread knowledge through and with information.
Because my ideal library would be privately owned, I would also have administrative
control over security decisions such as magnetic detectors and overdue fines. I believe in fines
and enforcing them, but I want to take the embarrassment out of the situation by following
Creating the Customer-driven Librarys advice of utilizing self-checkout technology with built
in credit card readers. I also want to implement its advice on disguising magnetic detectors to

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blend in with the library, creating a more comfortable and less accusatory environment for
patrons.
I want my library to focus heavily on patrons, or be patron-centered. I want to reach out
to the public and advertise all of the amazing services my library can offer them. I want to target
all ages, races, and social standings. Kids deserve to have a safe and creative environment to play
and learn, and my library would provide an energy outlet through a jungle gym that also doubles
as book shelves. This way they are encouraged to move, to touch, and to read. Teenagers deserve
to have a safe place they can communicate and grow as people, and my library would have live
bands, coffee, and even snacks to accommodate their social and learning needs. They could
become cultured through the library and gain invaluable lessons through experiences and
materials. College students deserve a work environment without interruptions, and my library
would provide individual as well as collaboration spaces to accomplish work on a quiet, soundfree floor for research. Parents and other adults deserve a place where they can escape the
mundane world and act like a kid again. With all of the amazing performances, food, activities,
materials, and spaces, adults can take advantage of all my library has to offer and finally relax a
little.
2) Management Tools
1) Put together an example budget

Salaries

Rate

Benefit
s

Annual

Director

$ 100,000.00

33%

$ 133,000.00

Professional Librarian

$ 75,000.00

33%

$ 99,750.00

Professional Librarian

$ 75,000.00

33%

$ 99,750.00

Professional Librarian

$ 75,000.00

33%

$ 99,750.00

Paraprofessional

$ 50,000.00

33%

$ 66,500.00

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Technology

Cost

Total

Computer Stations

$ 12,000.00

10

Databases

$ 5,000.00

$ 5,000.00

Software Upgrades

$ 12,000.00

$ 12,000.00

Building Services

Cost

Maintenance

General Resources
New signage

$ 100,000.00

Cost

Total
1

$ 150.00

$ 100,000.00

Total
20

Total

$ 120,000.00

$ 3,000.00

$738,750.00

2) Discuss the role and value of strategic planning

Strategic planning ensures that the organization, the internal employees, and the external
patrons remain on the same page when it comes to service because strategic planning includes
coming up with a mission statement, core values, and organizational goals. When patrons
understand what employees are supposed to deliver and when employees understand what is
expected of them, organizations can accomplish what they set out to offer in terms of service and
care.
3) Discuss the role and value of a needs assessment

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Needs assessment ensures that the library offers consistent service with equally consistent
quality. Testing and surveying multiple audiences assists an organization in improving every
aspect of the library from customer service to hours of operation. Needs assessment could also be
viewed as praise for hard work instead of solely areas of improvement if the results are positive.
4) Discuss the role of quality control and quality management
principles
Quality control and quality management principles ensure high-quality customer service by
identifying weaknesses with the internal employee or even with the affiliated organization and
allows said organization to make the necessary changes to improve quality service. These
principles prevent customer dissatisfaction and theyre inevitable loss of business.
III.
Your Top Five Questions
1. Give the best and worst example of a leader or manager you have worked with and
describe why you feel this way about them? What can you learn from them?
I am fortunate enough to have never experienced a poor manager/leader in my places of work. I
have wonderful examples to aspire to, and Mary Krautter is one of my great examples. In fact, I
chose to interview her because she inspires me to be a great leader. Mary described the greatest
qualities of a manager as understanding and compassionate. I have seen her be compassionate by
taking responsibility for her employees. I like the philosophy that leaders should take the blame
when something goes wrong and praise employees when projects go well (Farrell, 2013). By
taking the blame, or responsibility for employees, Mary taught me that one person can make a
difference and earn respect of employees by stepping up.
2. How are leadership and management similar and different?
Leadership and management are often confused for one another, but they are very different.
From our class discussions, I gathered that you can be a leader in any position - even as a

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follower (a.k.a. the first follower) - but you cannot be a manager unless you are a leader.
Leadership is more than only the day-to-day management of people. Management involves
completing the job according to a set plan, whereas leadership requires creating a vision for the
library, compelling others to help achieve this vision, and motivating fellow employees to
contribute to this vision (Phillips, 2014). Leadership is less tangible than management, but
produces just as many rewards as management. Leadership stems from ideas and values while
management acts upon these ideas and values.
3. How do you feel about your leadership and management abilities? Why?
I feel more confident about my leadership and management abilities since taking this class
because the group work allowed for opportunities to gain invaluable experience. I felt
comfortable with a group of my peers and was able to assert myself and our team goals. We did
not always agree, but we always worked it out. Leaders need to develop strategies to appreciate
and value different opinions in order to build consensus or to develop compromises in order to
move an organization forward (Farrell, 2014). I was able to compromise with our group in
multiple ways. I could be flexible with my schedule or the assignment by making myself
available and switching work with group members.
4. How do you think you can hinder growth in management? Any examples?
Mary taught me that the fastest way to hinder growth in management is to adopt a negative
attitude and push people away. Leaders can hinder growth in management by displaying a
negative attitude through bad habits, such as gossip. Revealing confidential information will
label a leader a gossip and the leader loses the confidence of employees (Farrell, 2013). Earning
the trust of your employees is essential to showing compassion and creating a comfortable

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working environment. Sharing information with someones permission is not only professional
but polite.
5. How do you think you can foster growth in management? Any examples?
My interview with Mary revealed that you can foster growth in management by keeping an open
mind with employees. Being open to suggestion and leading by example can create a wonderful
work environment, but it can also create a mentor relationship between the leader and the
employees. Mentorships foster growth in management by allowing people to partake in the
professional culture of librarianship, network with established librarians, gain job-seeking
advice, and perform a wide range of positions with the library (Phillips, 2014). This process
builds connections between librarians and encourages them to branch out and find the position
that best suits them, or to better develop some skills in their current position.
IV.

Review and discuss the course student learning outcomes

Student Learning Objective (SLO)

1. Advanced Communication Skills

Verbal, listening, presentation, discussion,

and conflict resolution skills were met
through group work and assignments.
Written skills were also met through
assignments.
1. Organizational and Personnel

Management Skills
Strategic planning, policies, budgeting,
meetings, and needs assessment skills were
met through group work - specifically
Assignment 2. Personnel management,
resource allocation and management, hiring
and firing, diversity of thought and values,

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)

1. Verbal
2. Written
3. Listening
4. Presentation
5. Discussion
6. Conflict Resolution
1. Strategic Planning
2. Policies (Establishing and Refining)
3. Budgeting
4. Meetings
5. Personnel Management
6. Resource Allocation & Management
7. Hiring and Firing
8. Diversity of thought and values

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and research development were met through

reading the required texts.
1. Relationship Management, Professional

Development, and Teamwork Skills

Lateral leadership, group development,
conflict resolution, and resonant leadership
skills were met through weekly group
meeting as we went through the storming
process as well as through group work on
Assignment 2. Self-regulation and selfawareness skills were met through the
reading and practice while working on
assignments. Evaluations, professional
development plan, and revised resume was
accomplished individually at the end of the
semester, specifically through this final
assignment.
1. Knowledge of Leadership and

Management Theory
All four of these skills were met through the
required readings for this course as they gave
clear and specific examples of both
successes and failures in the library
environment.

9. Research & Development

10. Needs Assessment
1. Lateral Leadership
2. Self-Regulation and Self-Awareness
3. Group Development
4. Conflict Resolution
5. Resonant Leadership
6. Evaluations
7. Professional Development Plan
8. Revised Resume

1. Leadership styles
2. Leadership and Management Theory
3. Leadership and Management Research
4. Case Studies

V.
Final thoughts about your leadership and management potential and general future
over the next five years
I believe that my leadership and management potential will further develop if I choose to
continue my education in a doctorate program. I intend on applying to the Higher Education
doctoral program offered here at UNCG, and I think teaching students will be a great precursor
to practicing outstanding leadership and management skills for my job to come. Hopefully these
skills and values of expressing kindness and understanding will be close to perfection by the time
I have a job in five years or so.

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References

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Farrell, M. (2014). Leadership Reflections: Leadership Development Through Service. Journal

Of Library Administration, 54(4), 308-317.
-----. (2013). Leadership Mistakes. Journal Of Library Administration, 53(7/8), 439-450.
Phillips, A. a. (2014). What Do We Mean By Library Leadership? Leadership in LIS Education.
Journal Of Education For Library & Information Science, 55(4), 336-344.

Appendix I
Leadership Cover Letter

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Marla Means
3553 Ramsay St. Apt. 2C
High Point, NC 27265
(850) 572-2690
mmmeans@uncg.edu
1 May 2015
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to inform you that I currently am a great leader but plan on becoming an exceptional
leader. I am developing skills based on my education and experience that will help me deliver
quality customer service to the patrons of my library. I will always try to maintain a positive
attitude and encourage an accepting and comfortable working environment.
I will address my employees with kindness and understanding through the values of empathy,
humility, and generosity. I will practice these values through experience and with discipline in
the workplace. I will make myself available to my employees through personalized hours in my
office. I will communicate with my employees through both mandatory and voluntary meetings
accompanied by food and drink for comfort. I will make sure that rewards have the possibility to
outweigh consequences to foster growth in my library.
Thank you for acknowledging my skills as a student and considering me in your hiring process
for becoming an exceptional manager. I will apply the readings and assignment from my LIS
courses through experience and by constantly placing myself in situations that will develop my
listening skills, thereby lending me the opportunity to practice empathy, humility, and generosity.
Respectfully yours,
Marla Means