Nurturing Library Leaders

Individual Development Program Many of us live below our potential. We think we might be capable of making a greater contribution in our jobs, libraries, and professional community, but lack either the confidence or the roadmap to get there – and often, both. The Individual Development Program is a highly personal program that has helped many build confidence and create a roadmap to a future they choose. Whether you are a supervisor, manager, project leader, initiative/program leader, or an individual contributor, if you are thinking that you might want more out of your career, consider giving yourself the gift of this program – a safe space to consider your untapped potential and build a plan with the support of others. This highly personal, 9-month program focuses on you – your strengths and your areas of opportunity for development. You’ll get one-on-one coaching from professionals who have experience coaching librarians and library staff. They’ll give you individual support to help you set a direction for your job and career and help you create the development plan to get you there. Although we most often think of leaders as those who have formal positions as supervisors or directors, leaders can come from anywhere in the organization. Libraries are filled with people taking on leadership roles and assignments. Supporting and developing current and emerging leaders is the overall goal of this program.

What do graduates say? 

“Maybe I’ve not been looking in the right directions. Maybe I have not been seeing the potential I had and maybe other people were not seeing the potential I had, and so it looked like I was stuck on the track from now until when my career at the library will be over. But here I am at age 55 and have been given an opportunity to reinvent myself. This program was sort of the spark that got things going.” - Library Assistant promoted during the program to Manager in Data Systems & Services

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“When started the program I was 3 years as a librarian and at a personal crossroads... That was a time when I was kind of making a reevaluation about whether I should stay here or not. I think it was this program and working with the coach about what is the best, most rewarding ways I can work here and continue on [that helped me commit to staying].” – Science Librarian

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“Maybe traditionally here you don't always receive a lot of meaningful feedback. You may get some feedback about a task you're performing, but that's once a year. But I really received meaningful feedback on the 360. My supervisor wrote some extremely

insightful comments. My coworkers’ perspectives I never had access to before. And then there was the coach who pointed out what to focus on.” – Anonymous 

“I think we create the world we live in everyday for ourselves. This program provided the steps and structure to define what I want and how to achieve it.” - Cataloger in Acquisitions & e-Resource Management

What do their supervisors say? 

“What I have noticed about the employee is that she is more confident in herself and her abilities. She is building new relationships with people outside her department. She is maturing and becoming a great asset for the Libraries as she enriches herself by expanding her skill set and identifying personal long term goals.”

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“He has learned not to take feedback personally. That often got in the way of his development in the past.”

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“She certainly has gained confidence in her interactions with others.”

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“More poise and confidence. Reasoned approaches to decision making.”

What is this program about? The focus of the Individual Development Program is the creation and implementation of a customized development plan for each participant. This is done in consultation with an individual coach and the input and support of program participants. In the program participants: 1. Create and complete a highly personalized development plan based on the results of several assessments, the participant’s career goals, current job role, and their strengths and interests. 2. Receive individual coaching to help the participant create and implement their development plan. 3. Are matched with a small peer coaching group to which participants can turn to for advice, direction, and support during and even beyond the formal program.

Who is this program for? This program is for all types of library staff and librarians interested in developing and leveraging their strengths and in challenging attitudes and behaviors that may be getting in the way of their career goals. The success of this program depends on participant willingness to reflect on themselves, receive constructive feedback, and push themselves to develop.

What does the program entail? Participants complete a self-assessment called the Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ) which provides insight on individual behavioral styles that impact work performance. They also participate in a 360-degree assessment, in which they will receive 2|Page

feedback about strengths and weaknesses from their colleagues, supervisor, and staff who report to them (if applicable). To help participants interpret and understand the results, a professional coach helps participants make sense of the data and craft an individual development plan. Participants also work with other program participants on their plan and progress as part of a peer coaching group. In terms of time commitment participants will participate in: 

Five online group meetings held over a nine month period.

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Four individual meetings with a coach held over a four or five month period.

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Two (or more) peer coaching meetings held over several months.

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Completion of a self-assessment.

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Completion of a 360 degree assessment which includes: o

selecting raters in several categories [e.g. manager, peers, direct reports (when applicable), and others] who rate participants relative to the assessment instrument's competency set

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taking the participant’s own version of the 360 questionnaire

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Refinement of an Individual Development Plan (designed in consultation with a coach).

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Execution of the Individual Development Plan during and after the program.

This is a nine month commitment.

Who coordinates and provides the program? Jerilyn Veldof is the program lead and coordinator. Jerilyn leads organization development for the University of Minnesota Libraries in the Twin Cities. In this role she provides consultation, leadership and oversight for initiatives that increase the Libraries capacity to realize its strategic priorities and work more effectively. This includes the University of Minnesota’s Individual Development Program which she has coordinated since its inception. Jerilyn has also served as Director of Coordinated Educational Services, Director of Undergraduate Initiatives, Coordinator of User Education, and Distance Learning Instruction Librarian at the U of MN Libraries. She began her professional library career at the University of Arizona and earned a Masters in Library Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Bachelors in Anthropology, Film and Video from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. Jerilyn has given over 80 workshops and presentations, written more than a dozen articles and book chapters and published a book with the American Library Association. Patty Bales provides coaching services for the program. Patty is a consultant in Organizational Effectiveness, a unit in the University of Minnesota’s Office of Human Resources. In her role, she works with employees to assist with their career exploration and planning, coaches individuals regarding their professional development, and works with groups to help increase their effectiveness. Patty helped to develop the first version of the Individual Development Program for the University of Minnesota and has coached dozens of library staff through their individual development plans. Patty holds a master’s degree in Human Resource Development from the

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University of St. Thomas and has over 17 years of organizational development experience as both an internal and external consultant in a variety of Twin Cities companies.

What is the cost of the program? $795 per person. This includes the cost of assessment tools. $695 per person if 2 are from the same institution $595 per person if 3 or more are from the same institution.

How can I be sure this is a good investment? To get an idea of how the program has made a difference to participants check out this video taken after the first year of the program offered at the University of Minnesota Libraries in 2012. http://z.umn.edu/ae8 (Note that some of the program details discussed in the video have changed over the last few years.) Since the first year in 2012 two more cohorts of 12 have gone through the program. Starting in May 2014 all the directors in the U of MN Libraries will also take part in a special version of the program only for directors.

Questions? Contact Jerilyn Veldof at [email protected] or 612/624-1529.

“Training and development empowers people to take more active, leading roles in the organization….” – U of MN Library Staff Member in a Focus Group

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