When I moved into a library director position, I was suddenly working directly with other department heads (over police, fire, public works, etc.), as well as answering to a commission, a city council, a city manager, support groups, other community organizations, my employees, and the public.
Sometime during my first year on the job I read the 1977 book “Games Mother Never Taught You: Corporate Gamesmanship for Women” by Betty Lehan Harragan. While dated, the main tenet of the book held up (and not just for corporate positions). That tenet translated to this— my primary duty in my new position was to put my “game face” on and help the City move the ball further down the field. As an independent creative type, someone more inclined to surfing than softball, I had to learn to think in terms of team sports.
I began to observe how the various department heads kept their cool under fire, masterfully redirecting conflicts into solutions. Councilpersons, commissioners, board members, the general public, and employees are not under the same imperative to keep their emotions and opinions in check, so grace under fire is an essential skill requirement in a high-level position.
Everyone should learn how to avoid committing microaggressions, and all employees need training on recognizing and reporting behaviors that cross the line legally. Beyond that, library employees who want to move into leadership roles need to learn how to effectively navigate all manner of perceived slights, disappointments, and disagreements, and current leaders need to coach them on tactics for reaching consensus. While learning self-care techniques is essential to flourishing, future leaders will need to go beyond self-care to develop emotional resilience (something I definitely needed to work on) in order to prevail.
Otherwise, we may have a generation of library workers without team captains.
This is something I think everyone in admin. needs to consider.