"Leading from the middle," and other contrarian essays on library leadership [Texte imprimé] / John Lubans

Bibliogr. p. 277-283. Index

"While liberating management theories are well known to the profession, the traditional command-and-control structure prevails, leaving many libraries as reactive---not proactive---institutions. How can libraries create encouraging workplaces that are collaborative in decision making and action taking, have a clear mission, and are committed to bringing out the best in each person?" "In "Leading from the Middle," and Other Contrarian Essays on Library Leadership, John Lubans Jr. argues for democratic library organizations with shared leadership and decision making by leaders and followers. His book distills 15 years worth of leadership essays to advance a theory of a collaborative and empowering leadership, touching on such subjects as teamwork, empowerment, "followership," challenges, values, coaching, self-management, collaboration, communication, and techniques and tools." "Lubans's 36 essays draw new and insightful perspectives on leadership from disparate realms: travel, sports, music, retail businesses, and airlines. All of the essays have been edited and revised for this book and many have been extensively updated with new material and epilogues. The essays flow from the author's experience as a manager and leader, his teaching of the topic, and his research into and experimentation with organizational leadership. Insights and suggestions are tempered by a candid reflection on successes achieved and mistakes made."

Leadership, leading from the middle, teamwork, empowerment, followership. Balaam's ass : toward proactive leadership in libraries ; Leading from the middle : "I'm the boss" ; Teams : theory and practice ; Letting go : a reflection on teams that were ; Bridger and me ; The invisible leader : lessons for leaders from the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra ; Southwest : the unstodgy airline ; More than a game : a season with a women's basketball team Leaders, bosses, challenges, values. "I can't find you anywhere but gone" revisited ; "It's in the DNA" : infusing organizational values at Southwest ; "She took everything but the blame" : the bad boss is back ; "I'll ask the questions" : the insecure boss ; The spark plug : a leader's catalyst for change ; A Zabarian experience ; Orchestrating success : a profile of Simone Young, conductor Coaching, self-management, collaboration, communication. Coaching for results ; Peer coaching for the postdepartmental library ; "You have the resources" ; A gift from the woods ; Leaving the comfort zone ; On the road, again : lessons along the way ; Rock Castle Gorge ; Sacred teams ; Seeking first to understand ; The stove-side chat ; "You can't build a fire in the rain" : sparking change in libraries ; What? So what? Now what? Techniques and tools, productivity, climate. Sherlock's dog, or managers and mess finding ; "Deterministic, highly reductive, and transient" ; "From the gutter to you is not up" : worst and best practice ; "I'm so low, I can't get high" : the low morale syndrome and wht to do about it ; Productivity in libraries? : managers step aside ; "She's just too good to be true, but she is" : recognition ceremonies and other motivational rituals ; "I've closed my eyes to the cold hard truth I'm seeing" : making performance appraisal work ; "To save the time of the user" : customer service at the millennium ; "Where are the snows of yesteryear?" : reflections on a suggestion "box" that worked