Leadership in the post-hierarchical library - The Library Director

Library Trends, Summer, 1994 by Richard T. Sweeney

In the old model, a specialist was most efficiently employed when only performing that specialty. Unfortunately, this made organizations less flexible. A specialist who could only perform the skills of a single specialty could not help when the skills of the core processes or some other specialty were more urgently required.

Indeed, the traditional specialist often did not possess the empathy and flexibility necessary to participate as a full member of the team. Many specialists felt superior to employees involved in the common core processes. This caused many specialists to become prima donnas and the performance of the entire library suffered.

A team works most effectively when there is great respect and interest in one another's work. Empathy is a quality that must be present among members of an effective team. Empathy is best achieved when everyone shares some common work and experiences.

In the new model of the post-hierarchical library, every staff member on a team must possess operating knowledge and skills of core processes and also specialized knowledge in one or two domains of importance to the team. Cross training must be pursued with great vigor on a modern team since flexibility is paramount. Specialized knowledge and skills must be recognized by peers based on performance and not formal education.

Formal education, training programs and, most importantly, self-paced learning programs are essential to the performance of team members in the modern organization. Many of the specialized skills required in today's libraries did not exist in libraries ten or even five years ago. Many computer programs, new organizational structures, and methods of operating, did not exist when most of today's librarians were in graduate school. Many specialized skills must be learned on the job by current staff. Formal education programs are helpful, but many practical skills change so quickly that traditional formal education programs are inadequate.

Learning is what is important, not how the person learned. Teacher-led education programs are not enough. Self-paced and self-motivated learning are essential skills in the modern library organization. Rapid response to changing circumstances is greatly improved with staff who have the ability to quickly and flexibly learn new and appropriate skills. Learning must result from learner-initiated reading, watching videos, listening to tapes, interacting with multimedia, and asking questions or experimenting.

A specialist is not defined as someone who cannot (or will not) do other work but rather someone who is most knowledgeable and skilled in a specialty. The old, "It's not my job or responsibility" attitude has no place in a modern flexible team or organization. A specialist who does not willingly and flexibly adapt to the core processes of an organiation is a liability. The specialist is less efficient to the performance of the team when only working in a specialty. A modern specialist must be focused upon the needs of the team at any given moment and therefore must thrive on greater diversity as well as the specialty.