The Roles of Coaching and Mentoring in Attracting Recruits and Socializing Entrants to the Profession Margaret B. Edwards & Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe

Moving In, Moving Up, and Moving On: Strategies for Regenerating the Library and Information ProfessionIFLA Satellite ConferenceBologna, Italy, August 18-20, 2009

Welcome and Introductions

Meg

Lisa

Background – Studies of Skills Needed

• Image and Reputation (IFLA, 1992 – inter-professional study)“The reputation of the profession is low and consequently the status of employees in this field is also low, made manifest by poor salaries and inadequate conditions of service. The picture is not standard worldwide but it is to varying degrees, and it is fairly accurate for most countries.”

“The curricula are highly dependent on the educational system and traditional ideas about librarianship, and seldom based on the specific needs of society (task description). There is a gap between practice and education because of an inability to become flexible in today’s market.”

“Librarians must feel and act like entrepreneurs with an open eye for the specificneeds of clients. Re-define for each specific job a clear position in the marketplaceand prove to be vital. Show the value added in the information transfer chain andarticulate, Value for money!”

Background – Studies of Skills Needed

• Image and Reputation (Fleck, 1995 – external and internal study)

– User Comments

“Not a career path that seems to lead too far or (with exceptions) make great demands on person carrying out job. Therefore, seems to be chosen by people with intelligence and capability for higher profile jobs, but wishing to avoid some of the pressures inherent in them.”

“The professional standing of an LIS professional is not such as to attract those that are dynamic or ambitious.”

“While our head librarian in intelligent, dynamic etc., I do not think that the basic requirements for a librarian tend to attract such people. I am willing to concede, however, that the advances in Information Technology may be leading to changes in that respect.”

Background – Studies of Skills Needed

• Image and Reputation (Fleck, 1995 – external and internal study)- Professional Comments

“People who are bothered by their status are those that have a problem with who they are and what they are.”

“If you are a professional working with professionals then your qualifications do not need to be questioned. People take the service as it is offered and the work that we do in the library stands for itself.”

“There are people who have been in the firm for years, but who never use the library and do not know what the services are that are on offer, whilst others use it every day... The library has always had a high profile, and there has beenno need to ’push it’ ... the library is busy enough without any extra publicity.”

Background – Studies of Skills Needed

“Again, the overall impression is that LIS staff are highly thought of by the respondents, but perhaps stereotyped as a particular type of person who, although effective, intelligent and valuable to their organization, is not, for the most part, ambitious, nor obviously pro-active or dynamic, but more there to help others with their needs.”

Background – Competency Statements

• ALA• SLA• ALSC• MLA• ACRL• Accreditation Standards• ALISE• IFLA

Background – Competency Statements

Commonalities - Soft Skills! (CI Soft Skill Competencies - Neil Simon)

*Intrapersonalindividual perception and analysis of the world

*Interpersonalindividual’s ability to connect and

communicate with others*Social/Organizational

individual’s ability to contribute and participate in an organization and society at large

Coaching and Mentoring

Coaching = instructing, directing and/or training an individual in regards to a particular task, project or action to ensure needed knowledge and skills are developed for successful performance

Mentoring = a continuous and evolving, and therefore somewhat ambiguous, relationship developed for the purposes of personal and professional growth.

Socialization

• discovering and gaining awareness of profession

• exploring educational and career possibilities

• developing professional identity

• committing to leadership and relationship development in profession

process of internalizing the culture, values, beliefs, and norms of a profession and thereby becoming

part of and identified with the profession

Discovering and Gaining Awareness

• Sharing Information • Asking Questions • Observing Talent and Aptitude

Coach - In a supervisor to hourly employee relationship at a digital archive, supervisor acknowledges employee’s adherence to and precise implementation of archival standards during a large scale digitization project.

Mentor - In a director to reference librarian in a public library, the director discusses the natural leadership qualities they possess in regards to future management opportunities.

Exploring Career Options• Sharing Information • Write Letters of Reference & Recommendation • Review Personal Statements & Resumes • Facilitate Job Shadowing & Internships • Provide Informational Interviews

Coach - In a corporate librarian to intern relationship, librarian offers to review job application, resume and corresponding professional statements.

Mentor - In a community college librarian to graduate student intern relationship, librarian and graduate student meet on a regular basis to discuss and analyse the practical work in relationship to professional goals. These parallels prove beneficial when writing and reviewing personal statements and resumes.

Developing Identity • Encourage Professional Risk Taking • Demonstrate Faith • Offer to Partner and Collaborate • Challenge • Celebrate Successes • Reflective Conversations

Coach - In an academic librarian to undergraduate student workers relationships, the librarian inquires as to the students’ passions and interests and as appropriate shares information about librarianship career paths.

Mentor - In an academic librarian to undergraduate student worker relationship, when the student has identified librarianship as her intended career, the librarian regularly shares how he is approaching professional tasks and responsibilities, the values and ethics involved, and the decisions that are reached.

Commitment to Leadership and Development

• Stepping Back • Develop Interdependence Relationship • Nomination and Invitation for New Roles and

Responsibilities

Coach - In a head of a professional association to mid-career member who has volunteered for his first association project, the head recognizes the experience of the member in chairing committees in his library and asks him to serve as chair of a new working group. The head also provides documents of best practices and procedures for leading groups in the association.

Mentor - In a corporate librarian to colleague librarian relationship, the mentor librarian talks with the mentee about areas of skills and knowledge that are not used in her current work assignments and suggests the mentee as lead for a new initiative to their shared supervisor that are a good match for her skills and abilities.

Conclusions and Discussion

Communication

Collaboration

Flexibility

Continuous Learning

Questions?

Comments?