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The Right Leader at the Right TimeLeslie + Alan BurgerLibrary Development SolutionsPrinceton, NJ
+So your director is leaving, now what?
Panic
Fear
Who will run the library?
How will we ever replace her or him?
We don’t know where to look for a new director
+First Things First: What is the reason for the change
Retirement
New opportunity
Life event
Separation
+Manage the Transition
Communicate with staff, stakeholders and the community
Plan for interim leadership
Think about what you want in your next leader
Identify challenges for your library
Devise a search strategy
+Interim Leadership
Identify internal leadership
Interim director
+Who Do You Want for Your Library?
Do you want someone to change the community’s relationship with the library or change the hours?
Keep the doors open or remove the doors?
Pull or push?
+What are the Challenges You Face?
Creating the library of the future
Building improvements
Increased support
Build the right staff team
Effect a turnaround
What’s going on in your library?
+Getting Started: The Recruitment Process
Agree on the search process
Establish a timeline
Create a leadership profile
Recruit a great applicant pool
Conduct interviews
Interview again
Design a compensation package
+Leadership, Skills and Talents for Your Next Director: Must Have List Vision
Understands the “why” of libraries and is passionate about what they do
Follows trends
Knows what needs to happen to create the library of the future
Understands library fundamentals: talent management, planning, budgeting, technology, collections, services, programs, marketing
Talents: strategic thinker, leader, articulate, engaging speaker, good listener, risk-taker, confident
+Search Process: Step One – The Search Committee
Who will serve on the search committee?
What is their charge?
Who will do the work?
How will you keep your deliberations confidential?
+Search Process: Step Two – The Candidate Pool
Advertise
Recruit
Sort
Interview
Final candidates
+Search Process: Step Three – Make an Offer
Identify the best candidate
Check references and complete background checks
Employment agreement: at will, union, civil service, contract
Make an offer
Negotiate
Written acceptance
+The Employment Offer
It’s not only about the money
Consider the total package:
Salary
Benefits: health, dues, cell phone, car allowance, etc.
Work environment
Hours, vacation, sick leave, personal leave
Relationship with the Board, Town Officials
Community support for the library
+Effective Searches
Managed transition
Results in the right choice for the next leader
Demonstrates Board leadership
Results in a library that is ready for and embraces the future
+It’s All About Change
It’s not so much that we’re afraid of change or so in love with the old ways. It’s that place in between that we fear. Like Linus when his blanket is in the dryer – there is nothing to hold onto.
Marilyn Ferguson