Tips and Tricks for Effective Library Supervision

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Tips and Tricks for Effective Library Supervision

• Instructor
• Gail Griffith
• gailg_at_carr.org
• An Infopeople Workshop
• Fall 2005-Winter 2006

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This Workshop Is Brought to You By the Infopeople
Project
Infopeople is a federally-funded grant project
supported by the California State Library. It
provides a wide variety of training to California
libraries. Infopeople workshops are offered
around the state and are open registration on a
first-come, first-served basis. For a complete
list of workshops, and for other information
about the project, go to the Infopeople website
at infopeople.org.
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Introductions

• Name
• Library
• Position
• One or two words that describe the best
  supervisor you ever had

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Workshop Overview

• Supervisory Style and Motivation
• Coaching for Development
• Performance Reviews
• Disciplinary Procedures

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Whats a Supervisors Primary Job?

• Getting things done through people

Does that mean you need them more than they need
you?
Just a reality check!
Hmmm Thats interesting
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Even the Best Supervisors Have

• Biases
• Blind spots
• Bad days
• (Thats the bad news.)

• The good news? We also have
• Skills
• Experiences
• Inspirations

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All Contribute to our Supervisory Style

• And there is a link between supervisory style and
  employee motivation, as well see

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Where does motivation come from?
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Research on Employee Motivation Says These
Factors are Critical

• High expectations
• Treating people fairly
• Setting work-related goals
• Effective discipline
• Satisfying employees needs
• Restructuring jobs
• Basing rewards on job performance

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Something to Think About

• How does your supervisory style affect the
  motivation of the people you supervise?

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Situational Leadership

• Four stages of employee development
• each stage has different needs
• Four supervisory styles
• each style makes different contributions
• Challenge
• match supervisory style to employees development
  needs

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Stages of Employee Development
D3 Capable But Cautious Learner conscious competence D2 Disillusioned Learner conscious incompetence
D4 Peak Performer unconscious competence D1 Enthusiastic Beginner unconscious incompetence
consciousness
competence
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Supervisory Styles
S3 Coaching Low Direction, High Support S2 Supporting High Direction, High Support
S4 Delegating Low Direction, Low Support S1 Directing High Direction, Low Support
support
direction
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The Best Match
D3 Employee Capable Yet Cautious S3 Supervisor Coaching D2 Employee Disillusioned Learner S2 Supervisor Supporting
D4 Employee Peak Performer S4 Supervisor Delegating D1 Employee Enthusiastic Beginner S1 Supervisor Directing
support
consciousness
competence
direction
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Exercise 1

• Diagnosing Development and Making the Match

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Break
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• What does the term coaching mean to you?
• Whats your experience of coaching, or being
  coached?

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Coaching for Development

• You set the tone
• make expectations clear
• regular, clear communication
• keep the door open

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Coaching Basics

• Its done for someone, not to someone!
• Ideally initiated by the person who wants to be
  coached
• May be peer-to-peer, supervisor-to-staff, or even
  consultant to executive
• May be formalized or scheduled
• May be informal when opportunities are seized

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GROW Model of Coaching

• Goal
• Reality
• Options
• Willing to do

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Exercise 2You Be the Coach
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• How do you make time for observation and
  coaching?
• What happens if you cant?

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Try Coaching Your Staff

• Introduce GROW model
• Schedule 15 minutes of uninterrupted time each
  month
• Give coachees a tool to help them plan
• Be sure to contribute, not control
• And remember, youre a D1 at using the GROW model!

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Lunch!
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Writing Performance Reviews

• Know your environment
• law
• union? civil service?
• local policies and procedures
• local resources to help you
• Opportunity to engage employees in
  self-assessment
• Snapshot in time
• No surprises!

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Making the Best of the Forms

• What would your ideal performance review form
  contain?
• What are forms good for?
• address things your organization considers
  important (some are even updated regularly!)
• way to document the ongoing communication between
  you and your staff
• resource for references, promotion decisions,
  other personnel actions

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Be Specific in Your Comments

• Focus on behaviors and results
• not motives, personalities, feelings, attitudes
• Tell employees what behaviors you want to see
  more of
• Tell employees what behaviors need to change

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Why Behaviors?

• Three realities
• yours
• theirs
• actual behavior

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Which comment lets Jim know what he needs to
change?

• Jims attitude needs to improve. He doesnt care
  about this job.

• Jim was 15 minutes late twice last week without
  an excuse.

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Which comment do you think Mary Jo would rather
see?

• Mary Jo has a great customer service attitude.

• Mary Jo received three letters of thanks from
  customers, including one from a disabled woman
  who appreciated her volunteering to deliver her
  books.

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Describing Behaviors

• Key to effective praise and correction, whether
  oral or written
• Critical in handling all difficult supervisory
  conversations and documentation
• Requires practice

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Exercise 3

• The Balls in Your Court

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Break
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When Your Best Efforts Dont Work

• Typical Progressive Discipline
• verbal warning
• written counseling
• final written warning
• There must be consequences

You have a sample policy in the handouts
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Documentation for Counseling

• What to include
• behavior that is occurring
• steps already taken to get improvement
• next step that needs to occur
• consequences
• Who should review it

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Conducting the Counseling Session

• Before the session
• anticipate their responses and plan
• practice
• During the session practical tips
• schedule the session late in the shift
• sit closest to the door
• bring tissues
• consider bringing back-up
• After the session
• make notes while your memory is fresh
• take time to reflect and grow from the experience

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Exercise 4

• Whats Next?

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Evaluation and Learning Agreement