Learn Library reference skills to improve yourself as a Librarian or Library Technical Assistant with the Soaring to Excellence series of satellite teleconferences, and now we offer videotapes of past conferences, all from the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn Illinois.

Soaring to Excellence 2004
Toolkits for Advancing Your Career

Friday, November 14, 2003
A Basic Toolkit: Good Manager and Good Employee Skills

Overview
The first teleconference of the 10th season offers a practical, grounded approach to improving the workplace environment and advancing your career. Debra presents different perspectives to help you gain a mutual understanding of what it means to be both a good supervisor and employee. She will provide you with specific information for improving skills that will both help you advance your career and make your workplace more enjoyable.

Debra Wilcox Johnson
Dr. Johnson is a partner in Johnson & Johnson Consulting, a firm specializing in management, evaluation, literacy and training. She consults and trains throughout the United States on topics such as customer service, coping with technology, and creating an effective workplace. Dr. Johnson has taught at the University of Wisconsin and currently teaches for the University of Illinois via the Internet. She holds a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is known for her practical and sometimes humorous approach to modern life in the workplace.

Program Outline
1. What's the Job
Discussing what a supervisor's job is in relation to a staff position
2. Communication
The roles of supervisor and employee in effective communication
3. Performance Appraisal
Looking at performance from both sides of the process
4. Understanding Differences
Work styles, motivations, and generations
5. What Makes a Good Workplace
What every person needs in the workplace

Discussion Questions—Before the Teleconference
1. What are the most important skills or characteristics of a supervisor?
2. What are the most important skills or characteristics of an employee?
3. How would you describe good communication in the workplace?

Discussion Questions—After the Teleconference
1. What would you recommend for both the manager and the employee to improve feedback in the workplace?
2. How can you improve communication throughout the library?
3. What are the most important standards for workplace behavior? How can you help make sure these standards are implemented in the workplace?

Selected Resources
Carson, Kerry David, Paula Phillips Carson, and Joyce Schouest Phillips.
The ABCs of Collaborative Change: The Manager’s Guide to Library Renewal. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1997.

Glanz, Barbara A. C.A.R.E. Packages for the Workplace: Dozens of Little Things You Can Do To Regenerate Spirit At Work, McGraw-Hill, 1996.

Holloway, Karen L. “Developing Core and Mastery-Level Competencies for Librarians.” Library Administration & Mgmt, 17, no.2 (Spring 2003): 94–98.

Keirsey, David. Please Understand Me II: Temperament Character Intelligence. Del Mar, CA: Prometheus Nemesis Book Company, 1998.
Web site: http://www.keirsey.com

Lancaster, Lynne C., and David Stillman. When Generations Collide at Work. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2002.

Lubans, John Jr. “She Took Everything but the Blame: The Bad Boss is Back.” Library Administration & Management, 16, no. 3 (Summer 2002): 156–158.

McAbee, Pat. “Library Leadership IQ: What Good Managers Know.”
Book Report, 21, no. 1 (May/June 2002): 38 – 39.

Myers, Isabel Briggs, and Peter B. Myers. Gifts Differing: Understanding Personality Type. Reprint ed. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1997. Web sites: http://www.myersbriggs.org/ and http://www.mbti.com

Solomon, Muriel. Working with Difficult People. Rev. ed. Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall Press, 2002.

Topchik, Gary S. Managing Workplace Negativity. AMACOM, 2000

Tulgan, Bruce. Managing Generation X: How to Bring Out the Best in Young Talent. W.W. Norton & Company, 2000.

“ Work Support.” Library Mosaics. This column in Library Mosaics often speaks to the issues raised in this teleconference. Some recent columns of interest include:
Be a Better Team Player – By Focusing on Yourself. Jan/Feb 2003.
Networking: More than a Job-Search Tool. July 2002.
Upping Your Reliability Factor. July 2002.
Think Before You Retaliate. January/February 2002.

Zemke, Ron, Claire Raines, and Bob Filipczak. Generations at Work.
New York, NY: AMACOM, 2000.

Time: Noon - 2:00 pm Eastern Time.

Statewide Licenses: A number of state libraries contract with us for statewide distribution of these programs. Please check with your state library training and development coordinator for details to see if they have made such arrangements for you.

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