The Coaching Librarian Newsletter hits your inbox every other week. You can check out some past issues below, but only some issues get posted to the web. I keep some of the best content for email subscribers only!
What’s happening is just the latest iteration of trying to come up with a good name for a list with regular updates about what I’m up to 😂 That comes out once a month + whenever I have something exciting to share that I can’t wait to tell you about!
Do you give nice or kind feedback? Distinguishing between nice feedback that prioritizes your own need to avoid conflict and kind feedback that helps your team member develop. Read more
Train your brain to choose curiosityOnce you train your brain to lean into curiosity before it jumps to giving advice, then everything else comes more easily. When you're genuinely curious about what ideas your team member already had to solve a challenge, instead of just focused on a technique to reach an outcome, then it's a lot easier to ask open ended questions. Read more
What does confident leadership mean to you?My “tag line” as a coach is that I help library leaders confidently manage change and conflict, so that you can feel better about going to work. I know what I mean by that, but a few conversations recently have left me wondering: What does that mean to you? I had a conversation recently with Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, who raised the question of how we respond when someone is confidently leading in a way that does harm. I didn't have a good answer at the time, because I attribute so much of the…Read more
"Why does a library leader need coaching skills as professional development?"I had a whole draft ready to go for you today about common ways to improve your coaching questions, but then someone sent in a question that preempted that! So you can look forward to a discussion of coaching questions next time! Today, though, we’re just about 3 weeks away from the deadline to register for Lead With Curiosity: Coaching skills for library leaders, so it feels pretty urgent to respond to this question: How do you advocate for the value of coaching in a way that will convince…Read more
Using a coaching approach to build a culture of accountability – including clear expectations, support, and clear consequences.Read more
Distinguishing between nice feedback that prioritizes your own need to avoid conflict and kind feedback that helps your team member develop. Read more
Effective team-building requires shared purpose and priorities. Before committing to your next team-building exercise, keep these 5 elements in mind.Read more
6 steps to help your team members (and yourself!) set and achieve goals that matter. Read more
Once you train your brain to lean into curiosity before it jumps to giving advice, then everything else comes more easily. When you're genuinely curious about what ideas your team member already had to solve a challenge, instead of just focused on a technique to reach an outcome, then it's a lot easier to ask open ended questions. Read more
Strategies for using a coaching approach as a leader when you feel like you don't have time for coaching.Read more
My “tag line” as a coach is that I help library leaders confidently manage change and conflict, so that you can feel better about going to work. I know what I mean by that, but a few conversations recently have left me wondering: What does that mean to you? I had a conversation recently with Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, who raised the question of how we respond when someone is confidently leading in a way that does harm. I didn't have a good answer at the time, because I attribute so much of the…Read more
How using a coaching approach can help you manage situations where you may need to give some difficult feedback.Read more
These are the most common areas for improvement that I see from managers when they practice asking effective coaching questionsRead more
I had a whole draft ready to go for you today about common ways to improve your coaching questions, but then someone sent in a question that preempted that! So you can look forward to a discussion of coaching questions next time! Today, though, we’re just about 3 weeks away from the deadline to register for Lead With Curiosity: Coaching skills for library leaders, so it feels pretty urgent to respond to this question: How do you advocate for the value of coaching in a way that will convince…Read more