CHANCE ENCOUNTER

Several people are riding on an elevator with me.  I have a teenager, a mother and small child, a mayor, and a philanthropist.  We are on our way up nearing the 4th floor and suddenly hear a loud thump and the elevator  stops and jars us around slightly.  The mother who is holding her child drops the bag she has in her hand and everything falls out including the child's library book.

We all are alarmed but calm and begin to discuss the situation.  We decide that it won't be long until help comes so we all stay relaxed except for the child whom the mother begins to comfort by picking up the dropped library book and starts quietly reading to calm the child.  I notice it and immediately say oh I'm so happy to see you have a library book.  I am a library director. 

The teenager sits down in the corner and declares that since she is stuck she may as well finish her audio book she is listening too. 

The mayor pulls papers from his briefcase and begins working.  The business man in the fancy suit and I are left looking at each other.  He strikes up a conversation with me and says so you are a library director.  How do you like that job?

Oh, I love it I say and then ask him what he does.  He tells me he has been very fortunate in life and owns several large companies and enjoys traveling around helping support causes he thinks are important.  In fact, he says I did give a small donation to a local library once.  I thought maybe they might need to buy some new books or something.  I know they don't need much money cause how hard can it be to hand out books. 

Well, my radar goes off and I smell opportunity. 

I say, "Oh that was very nice of you and I'm sure they appreciated it but libraries are so much more important than books.  He asks why.

I say, "Well, as a successful business man you are very familiar with branding.  I will tell you that my library has one too and it is selling improvement.  We are a comfortable safe place in the community for folks to get free access to the world.  I sometimes call us the living room of the community.

A living room is often the hub of the house with lots of different activities going on.  Think how many folks come to your living room in a year's time.  We are like that.   I point to the mother reading the library book to her child and say yes we have books like that and then I point to the teenager in the corner listening to the audio book on her phone and say now we also have electronic books.    

We also have computers that stay full of people doing all sorts of different things.  It may be the college students doing homework, the unemployed searching and applying for jobs, the children doing their schoolwork, or even the bored teenager who has no where else to go.  A couple of patrons come to mind with the computers.   A mother in her thirties who had gone back to school for nursing used our computers for her homework and testing.  She is now a happily employed nurse working right down the street here in our community.  The young man who spent several months coming in searching for a job who is now able to feed his family without assistance.  These people loved the library and appreciated what it gave them.  It improved them.  It improved their quality of life.  It turn that helped improve our community. 

But we can do more.  We need more.  We operate on a very low budget and often have to tell people that we just can't afford that beginning computer class they ask for or that class on doing a resume.  We need money.  It's that simple. 

We need to be able to help everyone in the community find that job they need.  The only way we can do that is for people like you to join in our mission and donate that much needed money to help us.  Just think one of these people who come to the library to get their college degree online might turn out to be one of the best employees at one of your companies one day.  That's improvement and it can't happen without people like you.  I'm asking for your help to better this community.  Join us in our vision of improvement.  Will you help us?   

Pam's Point:  Not really a point.  Just sharing my elevator speech project.   

THE LIGHT TURNED ON

Have you ever had one of those moments when you feel like the light suddenly comes on in your mind?  I had one today. Our class had a presenter named Mr. Robert Benson and he was a good one.  He was engaging and effective.  While he was speaking to us about communication techniques with one's staff he led us into the "why" part.  The "why" part is why we do what we do  Why do we put the key in and turn that lock each day at the library?  Why do we work so hard with low budgets and not much assistance?  Why do we get so involved in planning programs and promoting the resources at our library?  The answer is because we believe in what we are selling.  And what we are selling is our brand and that is a very important message to communicate properly.  

This week many of us have been struggling to really understand what a brand is.  One could take a quick response and say, "Well, I work at a library and I promote books."  That is true but it is so much more than books.  Why do we care about the books?  What effect do books have on people and is a library just about books anyway?  That answer is a definite no.  Many years ago that would have been a good answer but not today.  Libraries offer so much more than books.  There are all kinds of vital resources to be found at the local public library.  I could write several pages on those but time does not permit me to do so.  Just know that they answer to why we do all this is because we believe in what we are selling and what we are selling is knowledge that leads to improve the quality of life for individuals which in turn makes for a better community.  

So today while Mr. Benson was speaking to us about all this many of us had the darkness we had been kind of floundering around in this week turn to light suddenly.  Many faces around the room suddenly seemed a little less worried about the upcoming presentation hanging over our heads.  People seemed excited and ready to get started sharing the "why" of it all.  

Pam's Point:  Sometimes it just takes a different perspective and approach of explaining to enlighten people. Some presenters have a gift at reaching people and I believe Mr. Benson had that gift with us today.   

MOVING FORWARD

Where is my library now?
What is a new objective for my library?
How will we get there?

My library has experienced tremendous growth the past three years.  Myself as a new director took the library in a whole new direction with massive improvements.  In turn, the public recognized this and made the library a very busy place.  That is where the library is now.  Busy, busy, busy.  

So what happens in a busy library?  Lots of things all at one time and in order for some sort of organization to take place in this flurry of activity a library needs staff.  At the current time my library has one director, one staff member who works one day a week and a substitute.  So the obvious goal for my library is a proper number of staff members.  

This objective for additional staff members must be achieved by involving the county library board, the county commission, and the county executive.  It is also extremely important to alert the community to this need because they can help put pressure on the county officials to realize the need is a valid way to spend county money.  

The goal is clear and the process has already been started.  I am doing my part to achieve this goal and the rest may depend on what happens tomorrow on election day.  My hope is that some of the things I have been promised by the candidates might come true.  :)

Pam's Point:  You must always have goals and move forward.  A stale organization will eventually fade away and crumble.  So stay positive and don't be afraid to change and press on.  

HOW AM I DOING?

Don't we all want to know how we are doing?  Of course we have an idea of how we are doing but how are we REALLY doing as seen through the eyes of someone else.  Say the word evaluation and people will become nervous.  But it is a necessary tool for life.  Self evaluations are very important as well as work evaluations.  The way these evaluations are approached can make all the difference in the outcome.

No one likes to hear they are not performing properly in their job.  Some may be fully aware they are not performing well but choose to ignore the fact and others may be thinking they are doing a wonderful job and may be performing poorly.  When given properly an evaluation will help to clear up this confusion and hopefully lead the employee to perform at full capacity and in turn the company will become more efficient.

Even though I have a Level III library I am working without a full staff.  The whole staff includes myself as the director, a staff member that works one day a week and a substitute.  As far as evaluations go I, as the director, am evaluated yearly by the county library board.  There are two evaluations I go through.  One is for my personal job performance and the other is a building evaluation.  

When I took the job three years ago I inherited a very troublesome staff member and I immediately created a staff evaluation and had it approved by my board to try and help this staff member.  So I do have a staff evaluation form.  Upon hearing today's lecture I have a few things I may change but I am more convinced than ever of the importance of having evaluations.  I will change the annual evaluation and now make it more of a set of mini evaluations to be spread throughout the year.  

I have always thought it very important to focus on the positives as well as negatives so I will keep that in practice. Hopefully my employees know they can come to me with any concerns at any time but I will take steps to reinforce this as that is an important key to a smoothly run operation.  

So today's presentation on the evaluation process by Ms. Maggie Bahou from the state was very helpful and informative.  

Pam's Point:  We must not be afraid to hear how we are doing and we as managers must not be afraid to tell our employees how they are doing.  It's important to discuss the good along with the bad and the approach taken can make all the difference.

GO TEAM GO!

Let's start with a big hello to year two of PLMI!  

This week a lot of focus will be placed on how to manage one's staff.  No matter what business you are in your staff is important.  In fact it may be the most important asset a company can have.  I like to say that the front line staff is the "smile" of the whole organization.  If the customer's do not have a pleasant experience they are not likely to return and no business will survive without customers.  So the question is, "How do we as managers keep the staff working at full potential?"  

There are two main answers to this question.  The answers are a properly trained staff and a properly developed staff.  Now, one may consider these two answers to be the same thing.  That is not the case as we discussed today.

I found this topic to be very interesting and appealing as I do not have the appropriate number of staff at my library.  My library is a level III and I am currently the only staff member except for an employee who only works on Saturdays in my absence.  There are a few volunteers who come to help on occasion but other than that as the director I am doing the job of five people.  So naturally, my desire is to gain a staff.  

When the day happens that I do gain personnel I will be prepared.  The knowledge I am gaining from PLMI will be a great guide for me to help train and prepare my staff to put that "smile" on that I believe is so very important to a business.  

In order to explain the difference between a properly trained staff and a properly developed staff I will describe it like this.  Training means learning new skills so when you hold a staff training day this time should be spent working on learning new things, discussing new methods to try, etc.  Development means working to improve existing skills which will allow the staff to reach full potential and become more productive and effective while working.  When planning the staff development days one should heavily involve the staff in the planning.  Take a survey, see what the staff is interested in doing.  Let them help guide the day.  Make certain to have recognition and rewards on that day.  Don't spend the day covering policy, etc.  Invest the time in enhancing their skills and taking them to the next level.  

Most everyone enjoys recognition for a job well done and this can only add to staff moral and in turn this helps them perform better.  That "smile" I spoke about will be even brighter.  A happy staff who is continually being trained and developed properly will only strengthen the team as a whole.  A strong team makes for a successful business.  

I am ready and eager to put these practices into everyday use.  Bring in the staff please.

Pam's Point:  This one is pretty simple.  A great team makes a great business.  As a manager it is up to you to invest the time and resources to guide your staff to reach their full potential and don't forget that "smile".  

WEBINAR WEBINAR

Why Teams Fail

Assemble a group of people together for a project and see what happens.  You might just get lucky and get the best thing since sliced bread but the statistics do not favor that so you should probably prepare for a little friction.  In fact, those statistics show that 60% of teams fail or fall short of their potential.  That’s a pretty big percentage there working against you so to up those odds it’s a good idea to do some preparation.

In the webinar:  Why Teams Fail – “Dealing With Friction and Dissention” by Dr. Eunice Parisi-Carew and Mr. David Witt listeners gained some insight and ideas on how to prevent this from happening.

One of the most important things mentioned was the attitude of the team leader.  First off, it takes a leap of faith to believe the team will succeed.  One must also trust that the team will become a high performing team and that in order for this to occur a lot of deliberate hard work is necessary.  I believe these same factors can also be contributed to whether a person achieves success in life as well.  One cannot or should not just sit around and wait for good things to happen.  It takes work.  It also takes patience and understanding and that’s where the dynamics of a team become challenging.

Now this is no easy topic and much could be written on ways to deal with team dynamics so I will strive to only hit the high spots.  First, here are some obstacles you may face with the team.  If you fail to clarify the purpose and goal of the team you can almost always expect disaster.  Gathering a group of people together without a clear goal is not a good idea, ever.  So take the time and put together a mission statement.  

Along with this mission statement you can make a charter.  This is one of the ideas I really liked and will put into practice.  In this charter you can set forth agreements of what exactly the team is to accomplish and why, along with ideas of how this will be accomplished.  You now have established a purpose and can work on assigning separate tasks to individual team members.  You now will have some clarity so the individual members will know what is expected of them and can maintain some responsibility and accountability for their actions. 

Along with poor clarity on the mission other obstacles can include poor planning and lack of resources.  Put some of that good old hard work in here and make sure you do have a good plan and maybe you can also work on gathering some extra resources from the community.  You don’t know what people will volunteer if you don’t ask!!! 

So now you have a good healthy attitude, a strong mission statement, good plan, good clarity, and willing team members.  Time to put it all into action and start achieving the goal!  It’s also time to put some of that patience and understanding into action as well.

Whenever you have a group of individuals there will be friction.  Mark it down.  Prepare for it.  It’s a guarantee.  That makes communication a very important part so make sure you communicate.  Make sure you are communicating the foundational steps you already have in place.  Operate the team as an entity and not as individual members.  Follow the assigned tasks to keep things working smoothly and help keep personalities in check.  When differences pop up try to deal with them immediately.  All this will help to build the trust that is a key to smooth operation throughout the team.  One way to deal with problems is directly ask each person if they are feeling effective and if not what will help them.  See yourself as a guide through the process and don’t be afraid to make changes if they become necessary.  Everyone has known a difficult person at some point and if you happen to have one on a team that will not conform to group standards you may have to make a decision to replace that team member.  This should come as a last resort after exhausting all other options.  It won’t be easy but will be necessary and you will almost certainly see immediate results in the team after removing the problem. 

The team will go through different stages of development and it is up to you to be a good team member as well as guide.  Keep the communication open and keep moving toward the goal.  It probably won’t be smooth sailing all the way but if you keep in mind it’s somewhat like planting a garden.  You have to decide what you are going to grow, form your plan and gather your resources, put all your resources in place, spend some time working to smooth the dirt, watch for weeds and pull when necessary, give the proper water and sunlight and make your way through each developmental stage and wait for the bloom.  With great effort comes great reward so hang in there and don’t give up.  You can make a great team!!!

Pam's Point:  Managing a team is not easy.  There is no magic trick to help you. Patience and preparation are crucial to the team development and will determine whether you achieve success.  Remember to ASSESS, ACTIVATE, AND ACHIEVE!!!!!

UPDATE ON E-RATE

Awwww......I have been gone so long.  Time to give some new life.  It's been a long hard winter and not sure it's done yet.  Won't be long until we are complaining of the heat so what else is new??  

Upon logging in just now, I quickly scanned my last entry.  Sadly, I have to say things did not get better with this company.  Had I returned to post last month after the last incident it would have been the same long story.

Since the amount of my anger has died down a bit I will keep it very short and sweet this time.  Turns out they received our e-rate check back last fall and had not bothered to tell me.  In fact, they would still have it if I hadn't kept asking about it.  So it sat in their bank account drawing interest the whole time.  When I called to inquire about it one of the department heads scolded me and told me he did not ever receive a check.  Said he received lots of things but not that and he would get "one of the girls" on it.  

After this conversation I called the e-rate folks who informed me I should report these people because they did indeed send the check last fall and that the company was supposed to send it to me within 20 days. Clearly they missed this mark.  I kindly said that I would take the kind road and not report them since it is a local company and the ONLY option we have.  After this, I called the president of the company.

He tells me he will investigate and I tell him I'm not very happy thus far and I give him the actual date and time the deposit was made into their account.  Once again it doesn't seem like he is very concerned about my feelings. So far no one in the whole company has been so why start at this point?  He calls me back later in the day and informs me that the check is being processed and will soon be mailed to the library.  Never once does this man, the president of the company, ever attempt to offer an apology for their mistakes.  After all this I don't know why that still surprised me but it did.  One would hope the president would at least have some sort of customer service skill set????  What a bad taste this company left for me.  

Now, one of two things is happening here.  Customer service is a complete lost art in this world today or the fact that this company has a monopoly in our area and can treat customers however they want and we just have to take or it's a combination of both.  Whatever, the case this is not how ANYONE should behave in my opinion.  And to think, I had the opportunity to report these people and I didn't.  Lesson learned.

Pam's Point:  The manner in which one treats people should always be professional and courteous.  Don't be afraid to apologize!!  The president of that company could have helped turn that whole situation around for me with just a simple apology.  Instead, I have nothing good to say at all about the company.  From the bottom to the top each employee was rude and didn't seem to care one bit about the quality of service. Since I live in this community and have contact with lots of folks I can say that this is not an isolated incident.  This is a sad example of how to run a company.