PLA 2014: The Most Dangerous Idea of All

The Most Dangerous Idea of All: Change from the Bottom Up
Presented by Rivkah Sass and Brian Auger.
Resources are available on Google Docs.

Program Description:
Sometimes the very people who should be fostering staff engagement are its biggest enemy. What if libraries fostered change by truly encouraging innovation from any position? What if front line staff wrote your welcome brochure? What if your social media team included shelvers? What if risk taking was seen as a behavior that ought to be rewarded? This session will share ideas and outcomes from libraries that have removed obstacles and allowed frontline staff to thrive.

My Summation:
Both of the presenters are directors of public libraries, Brian is in New Jersey and Rivkah is in California and some folks have said that their presentation would have held more water if their staff had been the ones delivering the presentation but I felt they were both genuine and honest and I left feeling wonderful. Here's why...

Brian spoke about how he arranged it so his library's next strategic plan was researched, developed, published, and monitored by his staff - and staff from all departments: circulation, reference, tech services, IT, etc. He gave them specifics, guidelines, deadlines and then got out of the way. It took 12 months but his library now has a strategic plan that his staff are familiar with and whom support the plan, too. He even has one staff member who has taken on the responsibility of monitoring their progress on the plan. 

Rivkah spoke about how she created a staff think tank made up of library associates/assistants and technical staff. It was a volunteer group of about 12 who got together regularly to brainstorm solutions to problems with in the library as they saw and experienced them. In about 12 months, the group came up with about 10 solutions that were implemented in the library including a customer-centered welcome brochure - circ staff were the ones handing these out and now they are intimately familiar with their content because they created and designed them! I felt this was a great example of how administration could give innovation reins to circulation staff so they don't feel like innovation is just something that happens to them. 

How it fits into the bigger picture:
This couldn't have been a more appropriate and timely program to attend immediately following Simon Sinek's talk about how great leaders inspire. Both of these presenters demonstrated how they were reinforcing their circle of safety within their libraries. Brian was essentially saying that he trusted his staff by giving them the reins to develop their strategic plan. Rivkah did the same thing by providing space for library assistants and associates to share their problem-solving ideas and then by helping their ideas come to fruition. She trusted them, she backed them, and she shared their success. 

Favorite Soundbite:
Don't treat information as though it's currency. 

In libraries we hear that, "information wants to be free!" and yet sometimes in organizations we have information clogs; some people get some information while others don't or some people have information and choose not to share it and that leads to a weakening of the circle of safety. Why can't information be free within our organizations? I think it comes down to trust.