Leadership Skills

It has always been easy for me to "take charge" when working in groups. During my time in the iSchool, I challenged myself to become more of an advisor when leading others. As an undergraduate student, I worked as an Assistant Resident Director. Part of this position included the responsibility of leading three separate groups of my peers. I supervised the elected members of the hall council as well as the information desk staff, and also helped to advise twelve resident advisors in an on-campus residence hall. In these roles I could have acted as a director and taken ownership of our projects. Instead, I allowed the other group members to assume responsibility and work together. In the end I was accountable for the outcome and available when they needed help, but also welcomed their ideas and creativity. Their teamwork led to success and I was proud to be their leader. I learned valuable lessons from this experience and applied them to the leadership roles I served in at the iSchool.

The main leadership positions I held as a MLIS student were in SALA, the UW ALA student chapter. In my first year I joined the board as first-year representative. I was the first student to fill this role on the board and I had little direction, but I was excited to define my role on the board. I became responsible for attending officer’s meetings and serving as a voice for the students in my cohort. In turn, I shared the events and needs of SALA with first year students. As an additional benefit I was part of the inner workings of the organization, and when I stepped into the position of president in my second year I shared insights about how procedures worked in the past with the new officers. Because of this we were able to begin the school year with great energy and competence.

Taking LIS 580, Management for Information Organizations, helped me to successfully fill the role of SALA president as well. I learned the importance of having a vision and a plan for an organization. SALAs goals are:

• To facilitate and encourage participation in the American Library Association.
• To increase awareness and use of the resources or the American Library Association, including publications, promotional materials, scholarships, and conferences.
• To provide a local forum for the exchange of ideas and information about trends, issues, and opportunities in the profession.
• To develop skills and relationships that will enable students to have a creative impact on the profession.
• To promote involvement in professional activities beyond the classroom.
• To increase awareness of national issues in library and information science.

As president I oversaw a planning and budget meeting before the school year even began which ensured that all officers were working together to accomplish these goals through our group influence and programming. I think having a vision for the year has helped the success of the student chapter this year. I continue to gain knowledge in this area as I study how library and information management applies to the school library setting in LIS 585. I believe that no matter what type of library career I pursue I will definitely use the skills I have gained in both the management courses I had the opportunity to complete at the iSchool.

As president of SALA, I am ultimately responsible for the functioning of our organization and its relationship with ALA headquarters. Therefore, I maintain knowledge of what events are being planned and promoted by conducting officer meetings and overseeing each individual’s contributions. In addition to providing insights about past procedures and encouragement for future events, I took the initiative to lead one of the first large SALA events of the year. By spearheading a student field trip to the University of British Columbia’s School of Library, Archival, and Information Studies (SLAIS) I set an example of working together and delegating tasks so that other officers felt confident planning large events. The field trip was a success with nine students traveling north to participate in tours of SLAIS, their automatic storage retrieval system, and the Vancouver Public Library. We were welcomed warmly by the UBC students and the trip led to the opportunity to welcome them to Seattle and the UW iSchool during the ALA Midwinter Meeting.