#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Aug 27 2018 - 8:30pm ET

Digital Public Library of America planning meeting via wikicommons

TOPIC

Advocating for yourself: Tips for getting your voice and ideas heard at work and on committees

Continuing our discussions about communications in and about libraries. Let's discuss how to advocate for ourselves within our libraries. Let's share tips and strategies for getting ourselves seen and heard in our workplaces, the organizations we volunteer for and on the committees, we serve on. Here are some articles to get you thinking:

10 ways to get your boss to support your ideas
How Can I Get My Boss to Listen to My Ideas?
Four Times Your Boss Doesn’t Want Your Input (And How To Get Heard Anyway)
How to Get Your Ideas Heard at Work
6 Ways to Make Yourself Heard with Your Boss
How to Get Your Voice Heard in Meetings
How to Make Yourself Heard — in Meetings and in Life
9 Ways Introverts Can Get Heard in Meetings
How to Be Heard When You Aren’t the Loudest Voice in the Room
10 Ways To Make Sure You're Heard In Meetings

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 How do you build your confidence when you're thinking about presenting an idea to your boss/your committee?

Q2 What tips do you have for getting more active in committee work and making impactful contributions on your committees?

Q3 How do you get your voice and ideas heard by those above you in your workplace and committee hierarchies?

Q4 What are your strategies for making sure your ideas are ready to be presented?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, AUGUST 27 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Feb 5 2018 - 8:30pm ET

by Nick Youngson

TOPIC

Leadership skills & how to build them

I've been in my first leadership role at work since May of last year, and I just finished filling out my first performance review for this role. So to say I've been thinking a lot about how to improve as a leader lately is accurate. Leigh has been doing the same, she just came back from the SLA conference where they talked a lot about leadership. That's what we're going to do this week in our chat. I checked all of the articles on the first page of the Google results for "what makes a good leader" and here are the top 5 most commonly listed skills:

1. Communication skills
2. Knowing/understanding your team and making time for them
3. Being able to focus on the positives
4. Being able to learn from your weaknesses and mistakes
5. Being able to motivate and persuade people

One that I feel is an important runner-up is a drive to continue to learn and improve, after all that's how you'll build your leadership skills. Here are a few articles with tips for just how to build those skills:

7 Ways to Start Building Your Leadership Skills Today (No Matter Where You Are on the Ladder)

9 ways to develop your leadership skills

How to find out your style of leadership

7 ways to build stronger leadership skills

Becoming an Effective Leader (edX MOOC)

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

While you're here please consider checking out our new feature for 2018: #LISPROCHAT Reads, our professional development book club. The first book club session will be running next Monday, February 26, at 8:30 pm ET.

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 What skills do you think make someone a good and effective leader? Do you think being a good leader is the same as being a good manager?

Q2 What resources do you use in order to build your leadership skills at work?

Q3 What resources do you use to build your leadership skills outside of work?

Q4 Do you think that library schools are doing enough to help produce good and effective library leaders? How would you have them change if not?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

LISProchat Reads the #LISprochat #BookClub - NEW FEATURE ALERT! - Starting January 2018!

book image via Dave Dugdale

As mentioned at the end of last night's chat, Leigh and I will be introducing a new feature starting with a trial run in January. We're hosting a book club! And you're all welcome to join us!

WHAT?

A book club! On Twitter! Where we read and discuss books to help us with our professional development in library land!

WHERE?

On Twitter, using the same hashtag we use for our chats! #LISprochat.

WHEN?

We'll announce the upcoming book in the last chat of the previous month and then have the discussion on the last Monday of the month regardless of whether it's a normal #LISprochat day or not.

WHY?

For a few reasons, Leigh and I thought it would be fun to have a book club. I mentioned that I was giving myself a new reading goal to try and read 1 professional book a month, and this is a good way for me to motivate myself to meet that goal through accountability!

January 2018 Book Selection

This will be our inaugural book and discussion, the chat will take place on Monday, January 29, 2018, at 8:30 pm.

Title: Out Behind the Desk: Workplace Issues for LGBTQ Librarians
Editor/Author: Tracy Nectoux (Editor)

Publisher: Litwin Books, LLC

Date Published: 2010/1
No. of Pages: 294

WorldCat link: http://www.worldcat.org/title/out-behind-the-desk-workplace-issues-for-lgbtq-librarians/oclc/957634734?loc=

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Out Behind the Desk: Workplace Issues for LGBTQ Librarians is an anthology of personal accounts by librarians and library workers relating experiences of being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, or queer at work. A broad spectrum of orientations and gender identities are represented, highlighting a range of experiences of being and/or coming out at work.