Leadership and initiative: The case of the empty chairs
From PLN
Leadership and initiative: The case of the empty chairs
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by Walt Crawford, published January 18, 2008.
The Midwinter 2008 schedule included an intriguing session from LAMA: “Leaders, Not Managers.” At least that’s an intriguing title if you’re running a leadership network where much of the original material is about managing! So I went, to sit in the back, take notes and, if possible, promote PLN briefly.
I wasn’t the only one who found the title intriguing. By 10:30 a.m. (starting time for the session), there were at least 35 or 40 people in a room set up for perhaps 50. Who was not there by 10:30 a.m.: Chairs or convenors. The chairs at the table in front of the room were empty.
10:35 a.m. People continued to trail in—but those chairs remained empty. At that point, I thought I’d use the opportunity to promote the PALINET Leadership Network. I spent maybe three minutes saying what it was, who it was open to (everybody), why people would find it worthwhile and repeating the URL. I’d already left a few copies of the PLN one-sheet on the table in the back of the room.
10:40 a.m. I was done talking about PLN. The room was almost full. Another attendee, at that point, said “Why don’t we co-facilitate?” So we did—-she and I took seats at the front of the room and coordinated a really good discussion for the next hour or so. By the end of the discussion, I think a full 50 people were involved—and at least half of them took part in the discussion at some point.
Since I was coordinating the discussion, I didn’t take very good notes. I know that a library school student made a distinction between managers (who handle day-to-day issues) and leaders (who find ways to improve the organization), that we discussed how managers do (or don’t) become leaders (“vision” was one keyword), that ALA was mentioned as a source of inspiration. They talked about collaboration with staff, peer consulting, advocacy, how leaders influence people, leading even when you disagree. Some tough topics included leaders who have no interest in being top-level managers (or university librarians), how hard it is to be a leader in a dysfunctional organization, difficulties in demonstrating leadership—-and an apparent gap in the library literature relating to leadership. In that last case, I think PLN is there to fill the gap, albeit not with peer-reviewed articles.
At some point, I mentioned “guerilla leadership”—finding ways to lead in spite of obstacles, by going under or around them. And I began to think about this particular meeting as an indication of a leadership issue that isn’t always discussed: Initiative.
Find a need and fill it?
That’s how I started to describe this situation—-but, as it turns out, that’s wrong. That actually describes the failure in leadership: The LAMA people who saw a need for a discussion on “leaders, not managers” set up the meeting but failed to carry through and lead the discussion.
On the other hand, that slogan—which I remember from Kaiser Sand and Gravel cement trucks in earlier days—needs a creator. A little “research” yields a number of possibilities, including Robert H. Schuller in 1926, but the most frequent citation is for Ruth Stafford Peale, Norman Vincent Peale’s widow. (I’ve also seen it credited to Norman Vincent Peale, Ruth Handler, founder of Mattel, Martin Small, and Henry J. Kaiser himself…and I’m sure there are other claims for original authorship.)
Yes, in a sense, the two of us saw a need and took action to fill it. I have no doubt that others in the room would have done so if we hadn’t; after all, most of them are either AULs or at least middle managers, and I can only assume that most of them are leaders.
Finding a need and filling it is all about initiative. We took the initiative to assure that people’s time wouldn’t be wasted. Leaders learn to take initiative—but institutions don’t always reward or even admire initiative.
Still, “find a need and fill it” is the wrong motto. A better motto is much older, going back more than 2,000 years, and can be credited to Horace.
Carpe diem
Seize the day—or harvest the day. More specifically, take initiative when a clear opportunity presents itself. That’s what we did. It’s not always comfortable. I’m not even a LAMA member, I’ve never been a high-ranking manager, I was just there to take notes.
But there was an opportunity—-and a real loss if the opportunity slipped away. Several dozen people came to a room to discuss something that mattered; if they left without that discussion, several dozen person-hours would be wasted. That didn’t happen because we seized the day.
This isn’t the first time I’ve done this, although it’s probably the first time outside of LITA sessions. I’ve encountered a few too many cases where chairs or leaders don’t show up—maybe for good reasons, maybe not. (With cell phones and all, it’s getting harder to accept that “something came up” and there was no way to find a substitute, but never mind. I came very close to canceling my Midwinter trip at the last minute, so I’m sympathetic to emergencies.)
My own rule of thumb is that if at least ten people are in the room and it’s five minutes past the starting time, it makes sense to ask whether people want to start discussing the topic at hand while we wait for the proper leadership. Usually, the answer is “Yes.”
Try it yourself the next time such an occasion arises. Maybe people are only there because they felt they had to be, in which case the room will empty out. Maybe the leaders are just a few minutes late, in which case you can just turn the meeting over to them (and if they’re true leaders, they’ll make a point of thanking you). In any case, you’ll be taking initiative and showing leadership.
Oh, and if you are the chair of a discussion group: Either cancel the meeting beforehand or make sure somebody shows up. Just because you and your buddies (including the core of the interest group or discussion group) don’t think there’s anything to discuss, you requested a meeting time—and that meeting time is the best possible place to find new members and interested parties. Failing to show up undermines your own group and the division it’s part of. Leaders also carry through with initiatives.
Postscript
This essay will also appear as part of "Bibs & Blather" in the February 2008 Cites & Insights.
Here, though, I want to challenge those of you who were there, either to add your comments at the end of this page or to do so on the Talk page.
- Would you have taken over the meeting if we hadn't done so? If so, how long would you have waited?
- If you would not have done so, you might say why.
- Does leadership require initiative?
And if you're the co-facilitator, add your own comment. I failed to write down your name and didn't really think about this essay until a day later. You showed more initiative than I did and should seize a little credit for it.
