Emerging Leaders

Dear Fellow ELs,

Our project team is working on a marketing plan for the Web site www.librarycareers.org and have a few questions we’d like to put to you. 1) How did you become interested in the library profession? 2) What tools did you use (print, Web, or in person) to find out more about the profession? Our goal is to learn where people who have recently joined the profession got their information to see where we should be marketing. We also want to see what roadblocks people might have run into that might be able to be addressed with the site. Please feel free to be as open ended as you like.

Thanks in advance for your help!
Regina Cortez, Alexia Hudson, Qiana Johnson, Robin Rousu, and Carolyn Wood
Project DD

One small idea from the conversation "Working with Presence":
Many organizations have "psuedo harmony" where there is a lot of stuff under the surface, but they are not dealing with it. One way to get change, Senge says, is to listen to the fringe of the organization. The fringe are the people the establishment doesn't quite trust yet because they are too new or too different in gender or ethnicity. They don't share the history. A productive team listens to the people on the team who are less invested in the status quo.

Connie's reaction: Seems obvious, and if not easy, then at least linear, when it comes from the top, from the leadership. How have you, ELs, been successful in contributing to a team from "the fringe" of the organization, especially an organization which was invested in the status quo?

As I am going through some of my notes from ALA, I was reading some of the highlights from Susan Erschler, one of the Seattle Sunrise Speakers. Both were excellent! I thought I would just share some of the highlights from her presentation that are pertinent and encouraging as I am working on the projects for Emerging Leaders and life.

• Vision drives activity. If you have 100% commitment to a vision, the right activity follows.
• Put your goal in writing. Put it where you see it all the time. Burn it in your mind.
• DREAM BIG…break down into manageable pieces…plan!
• Track your progress.
• Don’t be a loan ranger.
• High risk is associated with high goals. Manage the risk through preparation.
• Take your mind off the obstacle.
• Push through pain.
• Yesterday’s challenges are today’s norm.
• Surround yourself with positive quotes. Some of hers:
"Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you are going to do now and do it." - William Durant founder of General Motors
“You can have anything you want-if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, have anything you desire, accomplish anything you set out to accomplish-if you will hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.” –Robert Collier

Here is a link to her book http://www.susanershler.com/book.html if you want to read more on what she has to say.

The Emerging Leaders Program was featured in the Sunday Edition of Cognotes, if you didn't get a chance to read it here is the link:
Emerging Leaders Program Debuts, Cognotes,1/21/07 p. 17.