Yesterday’s session on leadership was inspiring. With panelists sharing their experiences working on NEXUS LAB to develop leadership compentencies and a training series. The goals of the program, which includes establishing leadership competencies through a common framework across LAMs, evaluation of learning, and offering curriculum resources to foster development. This work is in part based on Layers of Leadership across Archives, Libraries, and Museums. Using the Center for Creative Leadership as a guiding framework, the panelists articulated that leaders display these behavior traits:
Garner trust and respect
Excellent facilitators of groups
Bridge across cultures with ease
Act as catalysts
Encourage and nuture staff
Committment to collaboration
Help others focus on solutions for the broadest interest
Constructed using the principle of “networked leadership strategies” in which more people become mobilized to build or shore up their knowledge in a more efficient way to expand our common practice, the NEXUS Layers of Leadership has six layers:
Leading self
Leading others
Leading department
Leading multiple departments
Leading organization
Leading profession.
Within each of these layers are traits and behaviors for practicitioners to consider and develop. As the panelists emphasized, “You don’t have to be a manger to be a leader in your organization.” The lab modules are designed to explore these layers, and develop leaders as they consider their role and challenges, tasks associated with being leaders, the skills and compentencies needed to be an effective leader, the behavior changes nededed to put those skills into practice, and the the greater outcomes of this behavior change. Very exciting was the news that the NEXUS Lab is customizable and isn’t copyrighted by any institution. Libraries, museums, and archives can “plug and play” to meet the needs of their staff and organizational development.
Each of the modules builds on the previous one and include:
Articulating the case for change
Engaging diverse stakeholders to lead change
Assessing impact of advocacy efforts
Fostering innovation and creativity
Positioning the organization within the community, economy, and social issues
Building a networked approach to leadership
Further advocacy
How do you develop your leadership capacity?