Week 5: Alderman Module 1

Over the next couple weeks I plan on going through every module in the Alderman document titled "A Model for Work-Based Learning" in order to fully prepare myself for the daunting task of re-writing my resume and cover letter.  I will start with module 1 and work my way through all of them.  I hope to complete these by the end of Week 6.

Task 1: Analyzing Your Personal Skills 

• Skill: Works to Set Standards

Organized multiple functions, such as programs, for a public library system.  Also collaborated with a middle school media specialist to promote library programs and services.  Organized a presentation for the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) with Kristine Springer, Head of Children's Services.

• Skill: Communicates Well with People

Over 18 years experience with customer service.  Able to communicate with the general public on a daily basis. 

• Skill: Sets and Achieves Goals

Managed time by working two jobs and attending school full-time.  Currently working on a MLS degree through online classes.  Member of the Summer Reading Program (SRP) Oversight Committee three years in a row.  Worked on the SRP prize committee. 

• Skill: Shows Initiative

Able to communicate with strangers.  Demonstrated the ability to share ideas during meetings at work.

• Skill: Responds to Needs

(This one needs work)

• Skill: Demonstrates Leadership

Experience with team work through working for a public library system.  Worked as an assistant manager in the past.  Designed and implemented library programs which instructed individuals on how to learn a new skill (i.e. craft programs). 

• Skill: Shows Enthusiasm and Energy

Participated in multiple clubs and organizations such as the Moped Army, South Bend Roller Girls, and the Staff Association of the St. Joseph County Public Library (only one of which would probably look OK on a resume...).

• Skill: Works Well with Others

As mentioned above, was a member of the Moped Army and the South Bend Roller Girls roller derby team.  Displayed team work at all jobs, past and present.  Able to work in groups for school. 

• Skill: Shows Resourcefulness

Developed problem solving skills through various situations at work as well as in school.  Applied practical, useful craft and activity ideas to the "20 Best Read Alouds" presentation for ECDC. 

• Skill: Takes Risks

(This is also one that I must work on more)

Task 2: Identifying Other Personal Skills That Need Developing


Along with risk taking and responding to others' needs, I think that I could really use some help developing my interpersonal, time management, conflict management, and communication skills.  I suppose admitting this in a cover letter or on a resume would be unfavorable.  To be quite honest, I could really bone up on most of the skills listed above. 

Week 5: Leading Without Authority

For this week's first blog post, I wanted to share an article that I found online at LeadersDirect.com which addresses the topic of leading without authority.  The article, written by Mitch McCrimmon, Ph.D., presents a list of ways that a leader moves away from authority and toward the idea that leadership is "an occasional act rather than a relatively long term position" (McCrimmon).  Of these ideas, I find that the following are the most interesting and relevant to our discussions this week:

• A leader is just ANYONE who can show us what direction to pursue on a specific topic.

I like the idea that a leader can be anyone.  Regardless of your position in life, whether you be a CEO, a manager, or some other person with or without much power, it does not matter how much authority you have in order to be a leader.  As long as you have the knowledge and skills on a particular subject or topic then you have the ability to lead.  For me, this point makes it easier to understand what leadership means to an individual that does not have much authority in his or her job.  It does not matter how much power you have overall; as long as you have the knowledge about a certain topic and have the ability to lead a group in a certain direction then you can possibly consider yourself a leader.

• A leader on one specialist subject will be a follower on another - regardless of position.

I like this idea a lot.  Basically what McCrimmon is saying here is that you may know a lot about one thing, but there will always be someone else out there that knows more about something else.  Thus, each person is a leader in his own right.  A manager might know a lot about a certain aspect of his or her job and be able to share this knowledge with his employees but, in turn, an employee might be more knowledgeable about a different aspect of the job and be able to teach said manager a thing or two.  I like the idea of leaders becoming followers.  McCrimmon defines this process as "thought leadership".

Thought leadership, according to McCrimmon, "is the basis of innovative change and is egalitarian because it can shift rapidly from one person to another".  This helps explain the idea that one leader can become a follower and vice versa.  Whenever you share a new idea with your colleagues or boss, McCrimmon says, you are displaying Thought Leadership.  Thought leaders add value to the organization and display "the willingness to risk group rejection in the pursuit of a better way of doing things" (McCrimmon).  

• While we call knowledgeable people authorities, they do not have the RIGHT to tell you what do do - unlike positional authorities in organizations.

This point helps define leadership outside of the context of "manager".  McCrimmon helps this idea by stating that an act of managerial or executive proportions is not necessarily leadership.  "When CEOs make decisions", he says, "they are wearing a managerial hat, not showing leadership".  There is a big difference between being a manager and being a leader.  A manager has the authority to tell someone what to do, but a leader does not always have this authority.  A leader, in turn, might influence others with their ideas and insights, but it is up to these individuals to decide what to do with these ideas.  They are not obligated to follow and do not have to agree with what is being shared. 


View the full article here.

Week 4: Communication Skills Tests

Communication skills are something that I have been thinking a lot about this week so I decided to jump on Google and look for a few skills tests to see what others have to say about my skills, or lack thereof, when dealing with communication.

The first test I found was from Queendom.com (link).  This 25 question test asked things that we have been reading about in Bolton this week, including things like the topic of diverting.  Many of the questions asked about how often, if at all, you push other people's problems aside through distraction.  This is something that I find I often do.  The test also posed questions that deal with how well you can detect a person's mood while talking to them, whether or not you can read body language, and how well you can see things from another person's point of view.  I did not score very well on the test.  Some of my results I will share with you:

The second test I found was at the Discovery "Fit and Health" website (link).  This test was a lot shorter but had similar true/false statements such as"I find it had to express my feelings to others" and "I get so caught up in what I have to say that I am unaware of the reactions of my listeners".  I did not score very well on this test, either.

It seems apparent that I can use a lot of help when it comes to communicating with people!  I think that, out of all the topics that Bolton covers in chapter two of People Skills, the main thing that I need to work on is not avoiding the concerns of others.  I found that I chose "true" or answered positively to all the questions/statements regarding ignoring or misinterpreting others' feelings.  This is definitely something that I will consciously work on during the course of this semester.

Week 4: Analyzing My Professional Skills

Looking at Module 3: Analyzing Your Professional Skills in "A Model for Work-Based Learning" by Belle Alderman and Patricia Milne is quite the eye opener.  I am going to use my job at the St. Joesph County Public Library (SJCPL) as the basis for my skills assessment in order to complete this module.  I have been with the library for over 9 years and this section of Alderman really makes me think about how much I do and do not know about my job.

Key professionals:

• The library director is Don Napoli.  I am not sure how long he has been with SJCPL but I know it has been quite a long time.
• The assistant director's name is Nancy Korpal.  She has been with SJCPL for many years, although I do not know how many.
• There are ten total library buildings in the system.  Each branch has a branch manager and assistant manager.  I can list most of them, but not all.  I won't bore you with these specifics. 
• I have never met one single person on the board of directors.  This information can be found here.

Professional Values and Beliefs:

• The library's mission statement can be found here.
• The policies of the library can be found here.

Current Key Issues:
This is had to define as a system, but I know for a fact that lately one of the most important issues that have been discussed is the necessity of programming at each individual branch.  How many programs each branch will have per month and what kinds of programs have been discussed at length.  Because this is a major part of my position at SJCPL, I need to know as much as possible about the outcomes of these discussions.

Professional Journals and Newsletters:
While SJCPL does not have a newsletter, we do use an online communication tool known as "The Leaflet".  This is a wiki based information source that has everything from upcoming events to collection development issues.  This is the library's main source of communication.  We also received routed magazines and professional literature on a daily basis that can be read when time permits.

It seems to me that I could really "bone up" on my understanding of many of the aspects of professional knowledge that are pointed out in Alderman's module.  I have spend my time at SJCPL just doing what is necessary to get by on a day-to-day basis.  My interest in the system, as a whole, would appear to be lacking.  This is a horrible thing to admit but it is true.  One of the things that I think I can do to help further my professional knowledge is to actually read the meeting notes from board meetings when they are emailed to me.  I have done this only once during my time at SJCPL.  I think another thing that can be done is to spend more time reading professional materials like School Library Journal (as I am a children's librarian) and also more of the public library publications that come my way through our routing system. 

I think some professional skills that I would like to develop are mostly linked to my lack of communication skills.  I need to learn to become a better listener.  I also need to work on my assertiveness and put myself "out there" more when situations require hard decisions.  I would like to rely less on other people for help with tough problems and be able to work on things on my own.  I would also like to gain some managerial experience so that I have a wider spectrum of skills when I start looking for new jobs in the future.  I have not had much experience with being a team leader and feel that I would benefit greatly from this kind of opportunity.  I think a lot of the skills that I need to work on would benefit if I were given the chance to be a team leader.

Week 3: Approaches to Relationships-My Embarassingly Submissive Behavior

Submissive behavior, as defined by Robert Bolton in his book People Skills, involves people who "do not express their honest feelings, needs, values, and concerns" (Bolton 123).  After reading this chapter I have discovered that I embody a lot of these submissive qualities.  Before reading Bolton, I would have told you that I can be assertive, but now that I think about it more I feel that my normal reactions to situations, situations involving a violation of my "personal space", is really not assertive at all. 

Let's use my new roommate situation as an example.  I have recently allowed my boyfriend, who is unemployed, to move in with me.  I work hard every day, whether it be at my job or for school, and sometimes the things he does make it hard for me to concentrate.  Right now, for example, as I write this blog post he is in the other room playing his electric guitar and listening to loud music knowing full well that I am working on homework.  Sometimes I ask him to put on headphones but, in order to make him feel comfortable in my home, I never really say anything at all.  This makes me really resent the fact that he is here sometimes.  Instead of being assertive, I allow him to do what he wants and end up feeling angered even though I could very easily avoid these emotions by talking to him.  So, in effect, sometimes my submissive behavior turns into aggressive behavior.  Instead of calmly talking to him about keeping the noise down I allow him to be as noisy as he wants and, eventually, I blow up at him for not respecting my need to have a quiet house while I work.

I recognize this example as a red flag that I really need to work on my skills at impacting.  I need to find better, more constructive ways to meet my needs.  I need to stand up for myself more.  I also realize that I have used these submissive techniques in other areas of my life.  At work, for example, there have been times when I have been accused of doing things wrong when I knew very well that I was doing my job correctly.  This has lead to feelings of resentment and anger as well.  Instead of correcting the person criticising me, I allowed them to believe that the tasks in question were, indeed, not handled correctly.  I should have stood up for myself and explained myself better.  Being more assertive at my job would really help me in the long run.

I am still working on being able to relate to people while still practicing assertive behavior.  This class is really pointing out how I need to change many things about my behavior when relating and talking to other people.  I hope that, over the course of the semester, that I am able to recognize and change many of the things that I have been doing wrong.  I really want to improve myself and, hopefully, this class will show me how. 

Week 3: Getting the Message Across (Case 5.3)

After reading chapter 5, "Situational Approach" in Northouse, I was struck by the simplicity of how leadership style can be applied to different situations based on what the situation calls for.  It seems easy enough; evaluate what is going on and figure out what needs to be done.  I was especially interested in the final case assessment involving Ann Caldera and her college radio situation.  In this particular example, Ann is concerned with why her employees seem to not be able to grasp the rules of the station and, more importantly, the rules of FCC appropriate airtime communications.  The case example states that Ann always gives her employees a handout explaining the policies and procedures of the station.  She also tries, according to the text, to get to know her employees on a personal level.  So far this situation, to me, seems to be a little faulty.

One of the things that I think Ann is doing wrong starts with her handout.  It is well and good to have documented rules and regulations when starting a new job but, honestly, who is to say that all her employees are reading this?  At past jobs I have had I rarely read through the entire policy manuals that were given to me.   At times I would read the sections that were of interest to me (especially the dress code) but many times there were a lot of things in these manuals that I felt were either "boring" or felt did not apply to me.  Maybe, in this example, Ann's employees feel the same way.  She comes off as being "the nicest adviser on campus" but it seems to me that she is putting too much faith in their competence and is relying too much on the "low supportive-low directive" Situational Leadership II (SLII) model.  In this model, Ann is "[lessening] involvement in planning, control of details, and goal clarification" by doing so (Northouse 92).

It is my opinion that, in this situation, Ann would do better by sitting down with her employees and going through her handout with her employees as a group.  This way she can explain the details further and allow her employees to ask questions, get clarification, or offer input.  She is nice, sure, but she needs to be more involved in her employees training and refrain from "[letting] them do what they want at the station" (102).  Her employees, and her station, would seem to benefit more if she were to adapt the coaching approach; she should be using a "high directive-high supportive" style of leadership.  This way, Ann maintains her personal appeal to her employees but also "focuses communication on...achieving goals" (91).  She still supports her team socially, but will also be supervising them carefully and gives them clear instructions about what and how the goals of the station are to be achieved.   

Week 2: "Thinking about Leadership"

 

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