Tips and Tricks for Effective Library Supervision Instructor: Gail Griffith An Infopeople Workshop Fall 2005-Winter 2006

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.

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

Workshop Overview  Supervisory Style and Motivation  Coaching for Development  Performance Reviews  Disciplinary Procedures

What’s a Supervisor’s Primary Job?  Getting things done through people Just a reality check! Does that mean you need them more than they need you? Hmmm… That’s interesting

Even the Best Supervisors Have  Biases  Blind spots  Bad days (That’s the bad news….) The good news? We also have  Skills  Experiences  Inspirations

All Contribute to our Supervisory Style  And there is a link between supervisory style and employee motivation, as we’ll see

Where does motivation come from?

Accel Team 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

Something to Think About  How does your supervisory style affect the motivation of the people you supervise?

Hersey and Blanchard 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 employee’s development needs

Hersey and Blanchard 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 competence consciousness

Hersey and Blanchard 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 direction support

Hersey and Blanchard 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 direction competence consciousness

Exercise #1 Diagnosing Development and Making the Match

Break

What does the term ‘coaching’ mean to you? What’s your experience of coaching, or being coached?

Coaching for Development  You set the tone make expectations clear regular, clear communication keep the door open

Coaching Basics  It’s 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

John Whitmore GROW Model of Coaching  Goal  Reality  Options  Willing to do

Exercise #2 You Be the Coach

 How do you make time for observation and coaching?  What happens if you can’t?

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, you’re a D1 at using the GROW model!

Lunch!

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!

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

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

Bradford and Cohen Why Behaviors?  Three realities yours theirs actual behavior

Which comment lets Jim know what he needs to change?  Jim’s attitude needs to improve. He doesn’t care about this job.  Jim was 15 minutes late twice last week without an excuse.

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.

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

Exercise #3 The Ball’s in Your Court

Break

When Your Best Efforts Don’t Work  Typical Progressive Discipline verbal warning written counseling final written warning  There must be consequences You have a sample policy in the handouts

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

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

Exercise #4 What’s Next?

Evaluation and Learning Agreement