Libraries are experiencing more change than ever before. Conflict is bound to happen during any change process, whether the change is organization-wide or involves a single individual. Additionally, librarians often take leadership positions without the necessary preparation to lead change and many new professionals are unwilling to consider leadership in their institutions because they know that such positions require conducting difficult conversations. The ability to hold an effective difficult conversation is one of the key skills of a successful leader especially in this time of rapid change. Holding an effective difficult conversation is tricky. The emotions of the people involved can be unpredictable and balancing a clear message with compassion takes planning and perseverance. Most importantly, following up a difficult conversation with a written description of the agreements reached during the conversation is imperative for moving forward. This book will provide readers with a step-by-step process to gain the skills needed to have effective difficult conversations that hold themselves and others accountable. Activities throughout the book will encourage practicing skills to learn the concepts in more depth prior to an actual conversation.After reading this book, readers will be able to:• Identify conversations that need their intervention in order to avoid unnecessary conversations.• Successfully prepare for and implement a difficult conversation in order to effectively manage change and handle personnel issues.• Understand the importance of follow up in order to effect change and hold employees accountable.• Improve their ability to handle conflicts in the workplace.

Effective Difficult Conversations

Politics & Social Sciences

Soehner, Catherine B.

Darling, Ann

Social Sciences

ALA Editions

No doubt about it: strategic planning is a serious commitment. But when carried out skillfully, thoughtfully, and with sensitivity to the impacts on all those involved, it's an undertaking that can pay large dividends for the library and its users. A strong strategic plan gives shape and clarity to the library’s intentions and, when carefully written, can make a powerful case for the library’s indispensability to its sponsoring institution. Providing library deans, directors, and university librarians with up-to-date guidance, this book
<ul>
<li>outlines a step-by-step method that helps readers prepare for a successful strategic planning process, create and implement a strategic plan, and assess the effectiveness of both the process and the resulting plan;</li>
<li>discusses the differences between scenario planning and strategic planning, with pointers on determining which would be best in a given organization;</li>
<li>offers expert advice for communicating a strategic plan clearly and compellingly to the library’s many stakeholders at every stage of the process;</li>
<li>shares ways to bring library staff as well as users into the planning process;</li>
<li>teaches how to use surveys and focus groups to inform strategic planning, complete with sample survey questions and a consent cover letter;</li>
<li>addresses whether and how to hire consultants;</li>
<li>concludes with a summary of the essential elements of a successful planning process, ideal for quick reference; and</li>
<li>includes an appendix with numerous useful templates, from an Executive Council Strategic Planning Retreat Agenda to a Final Report.</li>
</ul>
Written by a team of authors with decades of library administration experience between them, this powerful resource enables academic libraries to produce plans that will offer directional guidance to employees while also demonstrating the library’s power to meet institutional goals.

Strategic Planning for Academic Libraries: A Step-by-Step Guide

Anderson, Rick

Thompson, Gregory C.

Maringanti, Harish

Comer, Alberta

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