Mission Statement: “The mission of Wythe County Public Schools, in partnership with our community, is to ensure students are empowered with the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the challenges of the future” (WCPS, 2020, p. 2). 

Wythe County Public Schools (WCPS) lacks vision and mission statements, objectives, strategies, and an action plan specific to the school libraries within the district.  Some schools within the district have parts of these statements and materials on their website, but they are not posted for all schools.  Fort Chiswell Middle School (FCMS), the library I have chosen to visit, does not have these materials available.  Due to this, I have chosen to examine the district-level materials.  WCPS states, “The mission of Wythe County Public Schools, in partnership with our community, is to ensure students are empowered with the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the challenges of the future” (WCPS, 2020, p. 2). 

 Referencing who, what, and how, Moran and Morner claim “the mission statement should answer three primary questions” (2018, p. 91).    The Center for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas states mission statements include what and why, and begin to suggest “how your organization might fix these problems or reach these goals” (2019, para 8).  WCPS has addressed the who and what, but the statement could be improved upon by including how they plan to provide students with knowledge and skills.  A library-specific mission statement could also be addressed, indicating how the library/media center could affect these desired outcomes for students.    

Wythe County’s “Strategic Plan 2020 Vision” document enthusiastically outlines the achievements of WCPS and the process used to create their commitments and strategic plan (WCPS, 2020).  The plan was carried out with emphasis on results of staff, school community, and student surveys, an appropriate implementation of “organized, systematic feedback” (Moran & Morner, 2018, p. 81).  Based upon survey results, WCPS even went one step further and outlined “Commitments.”  This encouraging and straightforward document further lists 11 goals to make progress towards by the conclusion of the 2021-2022 school year.  These objectives are a good start towards the development of strategies and an action plan; however, they do not meet the criteria of providing “specific measurable results” (Center for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas, 2019, para. 12).  WCPS could improve upon these objectives by ascertaining and articulating specifically how much progress they plan to make within this timeframe. 

As a stakeholder (community member, parent, and employee), I appreciate the positivity, inclusion, and transparency the strategic plan provides.  I am, however, stymied by the fact that, despite the document being titled “Strategic Plan 2020 Vision,” it does not include a vision statement.  A vision statement could help bring clarity to both the school system and “the greater community” (Center for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas, 2019, para. 3).  The development of a vision statement, along with an indication of how the mission could be accomplished and measureable goals, would provide more credence to the WCPS VMOSA.  Furthermore, developing vision and mission statements, as well as a strategic plan, for the library/media centers within the district would provide guidance and direction to all stakeholders and ensure the centers stay relevant.

References

Center for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas. (2019). An overview of strategic planning or “VMOSA” (vision, mission, objectives, strategies, and action plans). Retrieved January 26, 2020, from Community Tool Box website: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/structure/strategic-planning/vmosa/main

Center for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas. (2019).  Proclaiming your dream: Developing vision and mission statements.  Retrieved January 26, 2020, from Community Tool Box website: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/structure/strategic-planning/vision-mission-statements/main

Moran, B.B., & Morner, C.J. (2018).  Strategic planning, decision making, and policy.  In Library and Information Center Management (9^th ed.). ABC-CLIO.

Wythe County Public Schools.  (May 2020).  Strategic Plan 2020 Vision.  [PowerPoint Slides].  https://wythe.k12.va.us/UserFiles/Servers/Server_433895/File/20-21%20Documents%20and%20Files/WCPS%20Strategic%20Plan%202020%20Vision.pdf

My Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid scores placed me in the category of “Team Leader” (The Vision Council, n.d.).  This type of leader has a “concern for both people and production” (Moran & Morner, 2018, p. 344).  I believe I can benefit from being aware of my strengths and weaknesses.   

Tasks are my strength; my score total was 8.4.  I love efficiency.  I will, however, draw the line if a given task intrudes upon something I have deemed as having a greater value.  I think I prioritize very well; I get a lot done.  I believe that sometimes it is necessary to call “good enough” to save my sanity as well as the sanity of everyone else.  After living through a stint as a perfectionist, I have come to believe it’s dangerous.  Do as well as you can.  Move on.  I feel this strength will be beneficial for fulfilling a library position in a school.  Through their work in the Lilead Program, DiScala et al. (2019) report that “44 percent of supervisors said they spend a portion of their time on something other than school library services” (p. 70).  From observation, it is clear that these extra tasks are also pressed down from district library supervisors to building-level librarians, a position in which I foresee myself beginning this career path. 

My people score was slightly lower, so I look here for improvement.  I plan to grow in areas I ranked lower in, and believe I can, now that I have identified them.  I know that building these competencies and people skills will help provide a better workplace for myself and others, and I am also aware that increasing my people skills will increase efficiency from a leadership and/or management perspective. 

As I look towards growing as a leader and manager in a library setting, I anticipate taking the advice of Becnel (2011) to heart and “be willing to listen and to compromise, to serve as well as lead” (p. 30). I am hopeful that my designation as “Team Leader” will lend itself well to the structure of most libraries, which today are neither mechanistic nor organic but rather “hybrid structures moving gradually toward the organic end of the continuum” (Moran & Morner, 2018, p. 197).  I like knowing what I need to work on because I can put it on my list and, with some effort, check it off. 

References

Bencel, K. (2011).  When you’re not (exactly) the boss: How to manage effectively in a “coordinator” role. In C. Smallwood (Ed.), Library Management Tips That Work (pp. 28-30).  Chicago, IL: American Library Association. 

Moran, B.B., & Morner, C.J. (2018). Library and information center management (9^th ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

DiScala, J., Weeks, A. C., & Kodama, C. (2019). The school district library supervisor and the National School Library Standards.  Knowledge Quest, 47,(5), 64-71.  

The Vision Council. (n.d.).  The Blake and Mouton managerial grid leadership self assessment questionnaire.  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h07zdMPVzfE0jpl9cCVEqkY_4_rNYyEq/view

Bennis and Nanus (1985) wrote, “Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing” (p. 21).   “Doing things right” implies achieving a targeted outcome of a project or task.  “Doing the right thing,” however, speaks more to the process involved to arrive at the outcome; it insinuates the application of ethics and empathy.  This subtle difference in semantics is nevertheless important.

Although managers and leaders seem similar on a superficial level, the differences between the two are distinctive and important.  Managers are placed in their position; they are fulfilling a specific job.  Power is part of their job description.  Leaders, meanwhile, “command it based on their personal attributes” (Moran & Morner, 2018, p. 335).  Leaders have power as well as a vision that their followers accept (Moran & Morner, 2018, p. 337).  Ryan (2016) asserts that “leadership has very little to do with controlling, budgeting . . . with assigning work and evaluating it” (para. 3).  These distinctions set one role apart from the other.

In theory, managers will do things right and leaders will do the right thing.  This overly-simplistic view, however, omits an unfortunate reality; sometimes managers do not do things right, and toxic leaders exist.  These leaders are able “to manipulate others to further their own advancement” (Moran & Morner, 2018, p. 339).  Farkas (2017) stresses the importance of identifying “organizational factors that might lead to burnout and for managers to protect their employees’ time” (para. 7).  It is clear that sometimes management and leadership are not ideal.  Mismanagement and weak leadership produce poor results and lower team morale.  However, doing things right and doing the right thing are not mutually exclusive, nor should they be.

I have worked many jobs and found a range of managers and leaders. The best managers don’t just manage – they lead.  They simultaneously do things right and do the right thing.  Similarly, a great leader is able to adapt to varying situations and colleagues.  These people are able to evaluate and adjust to a given situation to achieve the greatest outcome in regards to both people and projects.  This can be a harder task than doing just one or the other, and these people tend to hold themselves to a higher standard.  These people, when found, are those from whom we can all learn.

References

Bennis, W.G., & Nanus, B. (1985). Leaders: The strategies for taking charge.  New York: Harper & Row.

Farkas, M. (2017, November 1). Less is Not More.  American Libraries. Retrieved from https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2017/11/01/resilience-less-is-not-more/

Moran, B.B., & Morner, C.J. (2018). Library and information center management (9^th ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Ryan, L. (2016, March 28). Management vs. leadership: Five ways they are different.  Forbes Magazine.  Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2016/03/27/management-vs-leadership-five-ways-they-are-different