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Feedback on an idea and what to do when you’ve given someone too much responsibility
This issue describes an idea that I’d like to get feedback on, and then responds to the question: “What do you do when you think you have given someone too much responsibility/power? Or, how do you know when the person…
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Giving feedback using a coaching approach
You’re receiving this free newsletter because you subscribed yourself or you enrolled in a program with me. I hope you’ll find these letters valuable, but if you’d like to unsubscribe you can do that at the bottom of this message.…
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Powerful questions
When was the last time you gave yourself time to just focus on asking questions without pressure to get to the answers? In the most recent meeting of the current cohort of Developing a Coaching Approach to Leadership, we spent…
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Moving on from years of toxicity
I recently had an experience that sparked another realization about just how much dealing with years of toxicity in the workplace has skewed my perceptions. Almost 2 years ago, I realized I wasn’t happy where I was in my career,…
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Leaving Libraryland
In January of last year, I decided to leave academic librarianship. A huge part of that was due to factors that were particularly bad at my university, but that were part of a larger trend in academia – attacks on…
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From teaching to leadership
I regularly talk about how my leadership style builds on my work in critical pedagogy. But if you haven’t had the opportunity or a reason to spend as much time immersed in learning to be a better teacher as I…
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Developing a Coaching Approach to Leadership
Developing a coaching approach to leadership provides skills to help you build a kinder, healthier working environment. Low morale is a huge issue across different types of libraries, for workers and for leaders. Coaching won’t fix every contributing factor, but…
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July 2023 Updates
The past two months have flown by! Big personal news first: I have officially submitted my resignation as a library faculty member at the University of West Georgia, and my house is up for sale. I’m taking a gigantic leap…
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May 2023 updates
I have an accomplishment and some projects to share this month. First, the accomplishment – earlier this month, I officially completed my ICF-accredited professional coach training program. This included a performance evaluation that determined that my coaching practices meet or…
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Representation is not enough
This weekend, there are protests, demonstrations, and vigils being held across the country in response to the release of the video recording of another horrific incident of police brutality, in which police officers beat Tyre Nichols to death. The twist…
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From mentoring to coaching
One of the things I have most loved about my academic librarian job has been mentoring junior colleagues. Each relationship has differed, of course, but they have always felt rewarding. So when I started exploring what else I want to…
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Thinking about toxicity in libraries, and what to do about it
Back in January, I wrote about a major project I’m currently working on: a comprehensive review of library programs. Through a really extensive schedule of meetings, I’m mapping out the major work done across the library to achieve programmatic goals,…