A Supervisor's Academy: Essentials of Supervision for the Professional Librarian

It is not easy being the boss - one day you're a professional librarian working in a technical services department and the next day you are promoted to manager and your world changes.  If not handled correctly, new supervisors will make mistakes that may make their new job a living hell, ruin relationships with former colleagues, as well as disrupt the organization.  Mistakes like over managing, becoming a workaholic, or believing that they are irreplaceable can lead to disaster for any manager and for their organization.

Great managers may be born but the overwhelming majority are made into leaders through training and positive work experiences. That said, management is not a common subject in library school and organizations do not spend time training and developing management skills in new technical services professionals. Managers need to understand the people they supervise and treat them as their most important customers, building relationships that are beneficial to both the manager and the employee. Managers must help all workers to succeed and that the best way to accomplish this is through positive communication and employee empowerment.

Taught by William Sannwald, this two-day workshop provides you with the skills and tools required to go from being a technical services expert to a supervisor. It explores modern management techniques ranging from communication to understanding organizational culture in order ease the transition from being a professional to becoming a manager of professionals. It also examines what motivates people at different levels, as well as why one type of motivation might not fit all types of workers. This workshop is participatory with discussion, role-play, exercises, and videos.

William Sannwald  is an Assistant to the City Manager and Manager of Library Design and Development and was City Librarian of the San Diego Public Library from 1979 to 1997.