WHAT A WONDERFUL WEEK!

Ponce de Leon searched in vain for the fountain of youth. OK, Barrie ain't the fountain of youth - yes, Chris: lovely place on Lake Simcoe with a lot to offer. That, last evening, I got to appreciate. No, the metaphor I am trying to stretch - and I'll admit it's under more tension than a size small g-string on a particular large city's mayor and let's just say that both the string and mayor involve crack in one form on another - is that this week's APLL session was amazing and rejuvenating.

From Wendy and Rebbeca's amazing presentations to being amongst some wonderful, sharing and generous people, I feel so re-energized. Not that I was so low before getting there: I've said it before and I'll proudly say it again, my staff is amazing even if we are going through tough times sharing the pain of someone we all love.

These recent days, however, it was this great group who joke, share, laugh. Visits from babies and toddlers, heartfelt stories, fireside gatherings in front of an unlit gas fireplace, chocolate and more chocolate, advice, discoveries, even something as simple as a lovely quiet smile from a newly appointed CEO, to a another boogieing CEO shaking her groove thang whenever Chris plugged in his tunes (and you know who you are!) - absolutely magic. And I am so glad to be with all of them for the ride.

Taking away at least one thing from the sessions: a heartfelt thank you to all.

CONNECTING WITH COMMUNITY PLANNING

Well, this was quite an adventure. First, I had to track something down and discovered that a study was made in 2009: “Rapport final - Analyse des besoins culturels - Cité de Clarence-Rockland” by PGF Consultants Inc. of Ottawa.  . It identifies three recommendations: hire a cultural coordinator, form a consulting committee, develop a strategic plan.

The Library is mentioned as an element in the new sports-cultural complex, not as a community cultural entity.  The study was done after the complex was built. The Library barely registers and this is also reflected in the realisation of the physical space allotted to the main branch at Rockland: tiny meeting room, no clear assembly space, even seating is constrained (limited, fairly inflexible with few spaces to be alone) and broken up. When focusing on “cultural” elements, many community reps focused on the new performing space. No mention is made of the Library as a viable space for community events or activities.

At my recent budgetary defence, I spoke about the problem of the current perception of the Library.  I emphasized that the Library has not served the community well if all they perceive us is as depository for books.  I stated quite boldly that it was our (the Library’s) duty to change this perception.   

And three ways I feel to move towards achieving this are:

• Educate the citizens by doing: creating programming for all ages, offering venues for arts programs (ex.: recently commissioned a work from the local Anglophone high school).
• Meet with the Cultural Director to find out what plans are currently in place, what goals is the City moving towards
• Contact various organizations and see how the Library can participate in promoting their work or assist them in developing their work

This won’t be easy to achieve.  We are grossly understaffed and underfunded by Ontario standards but it is doable.  We have found funding for some programs, have gained valuable community support, managed to get some key elements that are not “Library” related in the majority of the community’s minds, such as the family museum passes to all the major Ottawa sites.

It seems that as we move forward, things move towards us and help us move up one more notch in the community’s perception.

LEADERSHIP PRACTICES - OR HOW MINTZBERG DOESN'T MINCE WORDS ABOUT THE OLDER DYSFUNCTIONAL VIEW OF THE MANAGER'S JOB

Thank you for this article.  Now into my 3^rd year as a CEO from being a lowly cog for 23 years, I was hoping that it was I going insane and that what I was witnessing and experiencing all about me was my own distorted perception and I could in clear conscience check into the closest sanatorium.  Hold the long armed evening wear, I am not going crazy.

Making intelligent decisions: I am victim of one fact issue Mintzberg brings up.  When the former CEO left, she had shared so little with her staff, including some things which should have been their responsibilities that I’ve often cracked (when exasperated because of the lack of info available) I didn’t care a whit what happened to her so longs as I could have her brain in a jar on my desk.

Data gathering was critical to try and get a handle on what was a fairly volatile situation.  Staff was so keen to see me safely installed that I was able to be casual, engaging them in conversation, asking about their work, observing what was getting done and what was not.  The frustration in many was palpable.  

Communications with the City were sour due to the latter’s dealings with affairs concerning the Library involving contracts with the local Y and a school board as well as the fact that the Library was not effective in establishing a presence in the community other than as a book depository.  Comments from board members and clients, the manner that City workers and counsellors addressed me, the attitude from the local school, and the tone of recent correspondence prior to and upon my arrival: I was overwhelmed with information and little of it was reassuring.

Administrative files and information were a shamble.  I could appreciate the ceremonial part from what I read yet none of this had translated into any great perception of the Library as a value to the community.

Immediately, challenges needed to be met.  Fortunately, I am fairly outgoing.  Recognizing a valued source in my own community, I unhesitatingly asked for help and she was extremely generous.  Her information opened many doors, to other local well established Library CEOs, to SOLS sources, to government contacts, all of whom were receptive and helpful.

Then staff started to challenge.  One person left for a greater opportunity, two due to family obligations and another just had had enough with the last couple of years.  Knowing what was lacking, I was able to prepare a better work model and have staff and the Board buy into by demonstrating how it would enhance public service, distribute the work more equitably as well as promote job ownership.

And Mintzberg writes how the ten roles form a gestalt.  There was I in my 1^st year, gathering to make intelligent decisions, inspiring and holding the vision and embracing strategic and purposeful change.  As for mistakes, oh, I made my share. Admittedly, in some I was too befuddled and upset to appreciate the learning opportunity.  Often, though, and especially with staff who are looking at me for the nod to go ahead with a project, I’ve taken the stand to forge onward when the ground work has been done and it “feels right” but is in no way a guaranteed outcome.  Let’s try it and, if it doesn’t work out, well, we now have better information in order to develop.  We’ve had programs that haven’t worked: great. What could we have done differently to improve or is this the kind of thing the community needs?

These roles are developing in me by default and very much through overwork to try and reign in what was, at a time, careening out of control.  The wheels on the bus are still a bit wonky but at least we’re going somewhere.  I  am taking delight in that by embracing the roles described by Mintzberg – again, though I didn’t know it before now and ascribed it to going insane because clearly it had to be me and not possibly “the place” – I am seeing my staff stabilize, develop, become a great resource of information for me.  Also, community members are stepping forward as well wanting to be involved in the Library’s growth.  Even the City is beginning to think of us less as their fiefdom and more as community asset, i.e., not a “department” to control.

When I wanted to sign up for the course, I was desperate and damned scared.  I must have sounded quite frantic when I was told that I had to wait, actually wait, for the next cycle and then maybe I might be able to get in and it was a whole year away. During that time, I’ve met people so assured of their role as CEO, I kept thinking: “what the hell am I doing in this job?” Even when I started the course, thoughts were not pretty.

Mintzberg is oil on these waters.  A bit Oz like, where having gone through a great ordeal, the individual finds that he has had these qualities all along but just has not had the wisdom to identify them and appreciate them. Or to quote the Scarecrow when he does learn he has a brain: “Oh, joy! Oh, rapture!”

PLANNING MODULE 1 - KEY CONCEPTS FROM THE PLANNING CLASSROOM SESSION OR APLL TAKE AWAY TO ENJOY AT HOME WITH LOVED ONES

 I have already started to share with my Board and with my staff some of the concepts. Admittedly, some I've not as I am still digesting them and I would rather be sure of them. Those I have shared:

We do a plan to act: 

1. goals drive us, measurable outcomes tell us we've arrived (or not)
2. time lines set the pace, marker posts tell us if we are on track or in need of realignment
3. targeted shareholders buy in and support, their investment locks in our accountability

Communication is key: if we don't understand them (shareholders, community analysis, internal and external environments) how can we expect them to understand us? 

Alignment with governing bodies is crucial.

The plan needs a frame: what are we now, what do we want to be, what are we willing to do (resources, data gathering, etc.) to get there, what are our values. 

With planning, you win some, you lose some. What are we willing to give up of the "traditional" so that we can take on what we need to meet goals.

Plans are not static. A good plan will lead to better planning, i.e., draft, test, refine, finalize may be four sequential words but the 2nd and 3rd word inform of the need to be open to revisions.

There is still a lot more and, as stated earlier, a lot I am digesting. I need it "in me" in order to share it. But it is coming. I sense it daily in the way I am responding to events and communications, not in the literal "response" of sending off e-mails in such, but more in the tiny "a-ha's" that go off in the brain.

I know. Not eloquent way off expressing it. It will get better as I get through the work.

WEEK 5 - YES, STILL MORE: FELICTER, FELICITA...

Rudi Denham's article is a good on-ramp to the strategic planning process. And some of it is actually sticking - Woohoo!

Looking at the plans listed, I chose the KPL. Now, it is not to pooh-pooh the others. However, of the ones I did look at, along with the UBC, I thought KPL presented well. OK, so I love graphic design and good layout even though my blog looks as dull as dishwater (and some of you have spiffed up your pages, I see... hmmm, gauntlet on the ground, what to do, what to do...). Given all the info KPL conveys, I think they struck a good balance. After all, yes, plans are a tool but if you are going to get the public to buy in (and that includes City Hall), first impressions are critical.

Next, my cynical brain started looking at the text. Not a lot of buzz words like the overuse of "excellence". Let's face it, no one will claim to aim for "just good enough service" or for developing a centre of mediocrity. To quote from The Music Man: "Watch your phraseology!" Plans which claim to improve, to offer superior service, increase whatever and not define how, well, I for one would like to know how: this is a plan after all not a political campaign. And what does something like "Enhanced research presence" even mean? Bigger dictionaries? Ref staff who can spin plates, play "Lady of Spain" on an accordion while finding your answer? A cute paperclip popping up and offering help whenever a client uses the OPAC or a database... oh, sorry, bad flashback.

So, KPL's mission in the community? One, it's connects, period. Oh, sure, they pad a bit but the words are so encompassing that their simplicity leaves it open to everything. I like that. Economical. Two, KPL is flexible as well as attentive which could be seen as counterproductive, i.e., to value can be seen as to keep what is but it also means that it cares what its users value. It's a mission statement vague enough to imply noble goals without saddling itself with anything too concrete that can bite them in the butt down the road.

I think the vision statement makes it clear. Be a community focal point, be a versatile gathering place and be a trusted source. All of these reinforce the connectivity hinted at in the mission statement as well as the flexibility and the caring/valuing of people.

Their key strategic priorities develop from their mission, vision and value statements. I like the way they merge the three into five broad areas, using words and threads of thoughts from all three for an expository paragraph, presenting a goal for each and then elaborating on how they will move towards that goal. I think it is important that they use "move towards" as to oppose to something that suggests a finite end.

The choice of colours is good: red, gray and black convey some gravitas. Good use of white space, text is legible without being so large that I feel my age (King Township) or so small, it wimpers on the page (Nova Scotia). Stock photos are balanced and bright and yes, likely generic stock and a few we could do without but compare it with the Nova Scotia layout or the blocky King Township's: as lovely as the folks are, they're tiny and so what oomph they could offer is lost. Though I didn't choose the UBC either, look at the scale of their inhouse photos. That, my friends, is oomph.

The whole flowed, which is not to be sneezed at. This makes it easy to read and to understand - half the battle when targeting a wide range of readers. And the text is well written. There's a lot of backpatting going on but it's not aggressive.

What I didn't like: Well, most of it was in the layout. I would have moved the mission up and the vision down but that's because I'm learning about strategic plans in that order. To the average reader, maybe not so important, looks good to have the two "V" categories together? Who knows? Some of the goal lists seem a bit hit and miss in their order, unless KPL does want to imply to people in south west Kitchener that they are low on the list (see Dynamic Destinations).

I appreciate this exercize. Allowed me to let out my inner Simon Cowell. Now it's Rebecca's turn to go all Paula Abdul (or whoever is the latest anti-Simon on the show) on me on and help me see what I missed.

WEEK 5 - PRE-WORK ON DEALING WITH STRATEGIC PLANNING
This is sort of "ass-backwards" as my mom would say (and she's 78 so I guess it's ok!) Having met Rebecca, I appreciate the opportunity to gain insight where, admittedly, I am quite blind.

I'll admit it is difficult, and has been, for me to wrap my brain around her parting words: "Take the mayor to lunch." as she was also adamant that said lunch could not include arsenic. I'll admit that my initial experiences with City Hall have not been the best, much of it soured before my arrival. 

And, alas, I know this will not be resolved like a Hollywood movie where the new comer comes into town, challenges the tight knitted  status quo (usually involving a bible thumping minister, a sour group of parents shouting "Think of the children" and the marginalized spinster/hooker/weird old lady with a heart of gold) and it all comes out swimmingly at the end in a gushy, uplifting soundtrack featuring the latest singer du jour belting out the theme which no matter how often you change the radio dial you just can't avoid hearing.

Upon returning from the retreat, I was greeted with a whack load of the same old issues from blinkered individuals. To be honest, I felt more like the battered woman from the 50s being told to return to her husband because he is, after all, the husband and head of the household. Things like having two small mentions of the Library in the City's recently release cultural plan ("Yeah, I do it all as the little missus don't understand these sort of things..."), being told by a school board that they'll consider my Board's revisions of a proposed contract for a service location after they talk to the City about it ("Hello, little lady, let me talk to the man of the house..."), these had me chomping at the bit.

So, Rebecca, what I would like:
1- The knowledge of planning - yes, I know. "What?????!!!!!" I'll admit my planning skills with regards to this are poor. I thought I understood planning but then came the retreat and it was "Holy crap! I'm like that guy who leaped on his horse and rode off in all directions." The literature provided is a start and I know that you have some great exercises planned so this is doable. And don't misunderstand me when I state that I need examples, exercises and sample plans returned with big red comments. Most struggle to think outside of the box: I struggle to get inside the box. Most don't see the forest for the trees: I don't see the forest for the leaves. Kids with ADD would tell me to focus. Heck, you've met me, possibly seen some of my blog postings.  I'm more "all over" than mucus from a three year old's sneeze.

2- The confidence to solve - This will come with the knowledge but it needs some nurturing. I an extremely creative. I am remarkably intelligent. And when given knowledge I can spin stuff that would make Rumpelstiltskin's look like tinfoil. But I need to grow into it. I need to be able to play, break things without an admonishing parent going "If you can't take better care of your stuff..." So, the dialogue I will have with you about my exercises will be important.

3- The ability to communicate - This is riffing on something I got out of an OLA conference: it's all about them. I need to become Machiavellian in making the community groups and the City understand that I am trying to align myself with them and not come across as an overzealous missionary talking to natives. There are many critical things that this Library needs in order to survive but I have found that to present these as a laundry list of shortcomings, they are ignored because, pffff! it's "just" the Library. I need to be able to voice our growth so that others buy in.

WEEK 5 (WELL, ACTUALLY MORE LIKE, WELL... LET'S NOT GET INTO THAT)

It has taken a long while. I read the material, Spruce Goose and all, and it wasn’t jelling.  I went to the first retreat and it jelled but more like aspic, with little bits in it that no one quite knows what they are and avoids it (Everyone: a rousing chorus of “Lime Jello, Marshmallow, Cottage Cheese Surprise”!)

It was great stuff, I was taking it in, and yet it was like hiking through the Rockies with Vaseline on my lenses.  And through it all, I kept wondering: what’s wrong with me?  I’m not stupid.  I should get this.  Why is this so foreign?

I benefited from some wonderful wisdom, hard to beat Anne Marie and Rebecca as sources on this stuff, met some great folks from across Ontario, some with bad situations, i.e., in similar boats as I, though with less leakage from my point of view.  So why is this so hard?  They seem to be getting it.

Rereading reinforced the fact that I’ve really taken a huge career bite when I accepted to become a library director even if it is a small, more rural than urban library.  It was a joke, a stupid joke that helped crack the wall. And I can’t even remember the context except that it was in a very forgettable movie: “Howard Hughes, isn’t he the one that never got out of his pajamas?” “No, that was Hugh Heffner.”

My tired brain popped: it’s the damn Spruce Goose analogy!  I’ve actually visited the damn thing, around 1990.  Star Trek is made up!  If they need it to fire matzo balls at some alien life force, they just have to write it in and it’s done.  The ships community and the Federation: all chirpier than Disney forest critters being sung to by an abandoned princess.  What community and City administration is ever that Kumbayah for any length of time? Even Bones’ curmodgeony made a tantruming three year old look like Attila the Hun.

And when I read: “..grab your Trekkie shirt [and I’m sure Rebecca and Jim have both received many admonitions about how it’s “Trekker” and never “Trekkie” by now.  I had it only once but, man, what a delivery and a set of lungs!], I saw myself in the red shirt of the original Kirk and Spock version.  And for those of you who don’t appreciate the significance of the colour, don’t Google it.  Watch Galaxy Quest, a brilliant send-up of Star Trek, including its fan base.

I’m actually living the Spruce Goose nightmare!  Hughes was a brilliant engineer.  When the Goose flew, it was a mere trial but the concept was brilliant and totally doable.  It could fly.  It could carry a large payload: the thing is cavernous, great for belting out an aria or two. I know, much to the surprise of some other tourists who had never heard Verdi’s great baritone aria from Ballo in Maschera - they do now!  But Hughes was against a huge force.  And the Spruce Goose analogy rang truer to me than the Trekker dream.

His plane was made of wood, easy to build cheaply and using renewable material.  Major airplane manufacturers and allied supply companies knew the threat to their fat military contracts.  Government and military officials are only human, offer them pots of cash and they can scotch even the greatest idea for a fee.  Anyone drive a Tucker these days?   And look into Dole and its Nicaragua banana plantations in the 50s.  Don’t believe these companies have the power to crush those they wish to oppose?

There’s a lot I could ramble on about but my bottom line is this: I am up against some long standing cultural issues and some deep imbedded “business as usual” practices, none of which are healthy for my Library nor for my community. I appreciate this now. So, time to cook the goose.