The Friday Follow-up: Communication through Teamwork

You can read any book on leadership and you will find some quote about teamwork. The passage above comes from Andrew Carnegie, a library advocate of the 19th and 20th century. Honestly, I could have pulled any quote on teamwork and it would have applied to this week’s writing. But, I went with Carnegie because he has a natural tie to librarianship.

Libraries, like all organizations, are living breathing institutions. Similar to life, libraries have long periods of growth and health. They also have intermittent periods of stagnation and sickness. Good times are typically the result of planning, leadership and committed staff. Bad times are usually brought on by external forces beyond the library’s control, or because internal procedures have broken down as a result of human error.

It is no secret the strength of a library is determined by how directors, trustees and staff react to good and bad times. When things are good it is important to expand resources, so directors and staff can innovate for the betterment of their community. And when times are difficult it is necessary to maintain an expected level of service, but also increase communication between all stakeholders.

One approach to directorship that has always worked for me is constant communication. As a director, it is my responsibility to proactively communicate with member librarians and trustees, system staff and trustees, community members, the state library, other library systems and various agencies and local governments throughout our region.

If at any time I stop calling, emailing, writing or meeting with any of these internal and external parties, I jeopardize my own credibility as a professional as well as the credibility of our library system. As a reminder, I don’t take myself too seriously. But, what I want to convey is the ramifications of not communicating often.

Directors shouldn’t be the only ones held accountable for openness. Library staff and trustees are equally responsible. Lack of communication can cause unhealthy times in a library. We see it happen all the time in government, nonprofits and business. Think about the recent marketing failure of Pepsi or the disregard for policy at United Airlines. Both instances could have been avoided if the right people were proactively communicating (and acting mindfully).

STLS recently had a quarterly staff meeting. At this meeting we discussed, “Managing the Nonprofit Organization” by Peter Drucker. The abstract we reviewed highlighted the role nonprofits play in our society and the importance of organizational mission.

Additionally, we conducted a team building exercise to be proactive about our communication skills. The game we played is called, “Sneak a Peek”. It forces staff to work together by communicating with individuals they don’t normally talk with on an everyday basis. The exercise was both challenging and fun.

Most of our libraries do not have a large staff. But, what all of our libraries do have is a large base of supporters (director, trustees, staff, volunteers, friends). I would encourage all member libraries to experiment with some of these exercises at your next meeting. Exercises were provided by Vice President of Marketing Tim Deluca-Smith, at Huddle, a project management and consulting firm.

At the very least everyone will have some fun. But who knows, these exercises might improve your success during times of innovation and save you from sinking when your library weathers its next cold.

Thank you for your continued support and many efforts, STLS. Keep up the amazing work!