Make Dewey Proud

Like many businesses, mine is all about relationships and networks. I’ve learned over the last few months that part of my responsibility as a leader includes the capacity to be a librarian. We each have a responsibility to communicate effectively with a variety of styles and personality types in our day-to-day activities. The librarian role is more comprehensive than this, though.

As leaders, incumbent on us is the responsibility to motivate, connect with and inspire an equally wide variety of people. I have leaders in my organization who think and operate very differently from me. I consider this a tremendous asset as they will connect with people and networks that I would have a very hard time tapping into myself. Like me, I’m sure they are tempted to limit their learning, exposure and networking to people who are “like” them – we all do that because it’s comfortable and we don’t have to work as hard when we are in the company of people who “just get it”. What we really mean is: “People who think, operate and learn like I do.” This mindset takes a dangerous turn when we become satisfied with building teams and businesses that are limited to our personality or methods.

Having a distinct and defined culture is vitally important. Having repeatable systems is equally important. But if we bring this uniformity and consistency into our PRACTICES instead of letting it guide us on PRINCIPLE, we will end up with inbred, superior and small-minded organizations. A librarian knows about most any topic. From behind thick-rimmed glasses, she is able to successfully guide anyone searching for information to exactly what they are looking for – regardless of her own interest level in the topic. In like manner, our commitment to diversifying our exposure, information and communication styles will allow us to lead a wider variety of leaders, who in turn can lead an equally wide variety of people.

I want to be able to match a leader who learns differently from me with exactly the leadership training material that will allow him to explode into his potential, even if I thought the book was only ok.

I want to be able to be a valuable resource for anyone wanting information, even if I’m not connecting with the topic on a personal level.

I want to have a bigger view of my business than the one I can see through my own eyes. At the end of the day, I am not only responsible to know what works for me; I’m responsible to know what works for everyone I lead – including me.

We lead by example. Don’t set a narrow standard when it comes to what you allow to teach you, inform you and communicate with you. It’s our responsibility to be able to lead people who are like us as well as those who aren’t.

Lean forward,

Bekka