Leading from the Library

Thinking about academic library administration as your next career step? When you do, you become a higher education administrator too. Here are some things you may want to know about moving into higher education administration, and some leadership lessons you’ll learn when you do.

Leadership experts point to the importance of coaching others in the organization, but perhaps leaders can do more good in the role of captain, rather than coach. ust as there are differences between managers and leaders, there are differences between coaches and captains. A coach is there to help build up specific skill sets. While a good leader should be able to recognize the problem and share it with a manager, I’m less certain it’s the role of the leader to start coaching their reports so they can improve.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting recognition for your professional work. Thoughtful leaders reflect on the kind of recognition they want to achieve in their careers, and what it means for themselves and their organizations. Will it be fleeting or enduring?

There are a myriad of leadership styles upon which a potential leader could model him or herself. They lie upon a spectrum with quite opposite positions at each end. Wise leaders know how to find the right balance along the spectrum.