The B1 program “Developing Leaders Inside, Outside and Together” began with a round of applause for all those in attendance. Not merely because all in attendance are wonderful and devoted law librarians, but because leaders are real people just like us. There is no magic to being a leader, but there are certainly some skills involved. Discussing the ways one may develop leadership skills were Ryan Saltz (Circulation Librarian, Florida Coastal School of Law, and a recent AALL Leadership Academy Fellow), Ann T. Fessenden (Circuit Librarian, U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit and former AALL President), and Mark Estes (Law Library Director, Alameda County Law Library and former AALL President).
The program’s coordinator, Ryan Saltz, began the discussion by describing the concept of emotional intelligence, also referred to as EQ or EI, as explored in the popular book by Daniel Goleman1. The five fundamental skills that make up EQ are: knowing your emotions, managing your own emotions, motivating yourself, knowing the emotions of others, and managing the emotions of others. Many examples of these skills are given in the book in an effort to illustrate how crucial it is to one’s success. This type of intelligence supports the qualities found in a leader, particularly the ability to manage many different personality types by recognizing and understanding the emotions of others. An exciting distinction between EQ and the IQ (intelligence quotient) is that EQ is not fixed at an early age and may be increased. By undertaking some of the suggestions offered in Goleman’s book, and by others who have written on the subject since, anyone can increase their EQ and thus their leadership potential.
Next, Ann T. Fessenden spoke about the skills she has found to be important in a leader. She encouraged those who are aspiring leaders to “know your stuff” and preserve your credibility. Also, leading by example with consistent communication is vital. A part of that communication includes periodically checking in with those who work for you. A genuine inquiry can boost the morale of your team. Plus, it allows you to find problems that must be addressed before they get out of hand, such as missed deadlines. In response to a question about a difficulty she had faced in the past Ann briefly described the difficulties she encountered when leading a group of people who were separated by great distances. It is nice to know that even seasoned leaders in our profession still encounter challenges with parts of their work.
Mark Estes concluded the discussion by warning the audience about the pitfalls of failing to articulate your vision as a leader, because if your team does not know what the goal is, they will surely not reach it. As a leader it is your responsibility to seek improvement and take opportunities to create situations for your team to lead. Mark’s example was a rule he made that prevented one person from speaking at the AALL Annual Meeting two years in a row. That had the effect of exposing a lot more people to the opportunity to present at the annual meeting.
Overall, this program was a great look at the qualities some of the current leaders in our profession find important in the development of future leaders. These characteristics are sure to serve all law librarians whether they want to be a future president of AALL or motivate smaller committees in their own library.