One thing that I became interested in when working at IUB was the topic of "management." Never in a million years did I think that I'd be inclined to read any books on the subject. Now that I'm back in it, I find myself being pulled that way again.
I browsed the shelves at Half-Price Books last night and found a good candidate to read. Patrick Lencioni's 5 Dysfunctions of a Team seems very appropriate to my current situation. Now, don't get me wrong. The folks at my current job are very willing to work together. However, it's been my observation that the structure to support each other in meaningful, efficient ways is lacking. I'm not accusing or judging, just observing.
What I liked after thumbing through 5 Dysfunctions is that it not only gives the "leadership fable," but it also provides the model behind it separate from the narrative, which is a presentation of information that I appreciate.
Any other suggestions on books to read? I've also heard Good to Great is another one worth checking out.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
New job
So, I've been at my new job for two weeks now.
It's been a great experience, everything considered. Let me just say that my position--Chief Operating Officer--was sorely needed. I'll be creating lots of processes and procedures over the next several months, and realigning some chain-of-command issues.
I survived my first board meeting with no incident, but it got me thinking about the fact I was witnessing local government in action. Very cool.
I think the biggest challenge I face is balancing all of my new responsibilities. There is so much to do that it's tempting to work all the time by staying late, taking stuff home, and so forth. But, I really want to be intentional about role modeling behavior, so I'm resisting the urge to do that.
I feel like I've done a good job of getting to know my co-workers. I've got planning meetings set up to work on projects and update meetings to keep in touch with supervisors with regards to personnel or procedural issues. I hope these means of communication really add to the substance of what the library is good at doing already.
We'll see what this next week brings.
It's been a great experience, everything considered. Let me just say that my position--Chief Operating Officer--was sorely needed. I'll be creating lots of processes and procedures over the next several months, and realigning some chain-of-command issues.
I survived my first board meeting with no incident, but it got me thinking about the fact I was witnessing local government in action. Very cool.
I think the biggest challenge I face is balancing all of my new responsibilities. There is so much to do that it's tempting to work all the time by staying late, taking stuff home, and so forth. But, I really want to be intentional about role modeling behavior, so I'm resisting the urge to do that.
I feel like I've done a good job of getting to know my co-workers. I've got planning meetings set up to work on projects and update meetings to keep in touch with supervisors with regards to personnel or procedural issues. I hope these means of communication really add to the substance of what the library is good at doing already.
We'll see what this next week brings.
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