Communication Skills for Managers
June 28th, 2005 by michelleDavid Orenstein’s presentation, in his own words, was a “little schizophrenic.” Schizophrenic or not, he had some excellent information to share that he’s garnered over several years of management experience.
His talk started with an overview of salary advocacy and communicating the need for fair compensation in libraries. He led a multi-year fight to increase wages for the Montgomery College in Maryland. The advocacy resulted in an 8-10% increase in salaries for Librarians, LTAs and Circulation Supervisors.
David shared a few inspirational, practical communication strategies that he learned from the advocacy process. Some to note:
~ Be a visionary, and communicate your message in a focused and concise manner.
~ Have a sense of humor! Smile when someone is yelling at you.
~ Don’t be mean or mean spirited.
~ Give credit to others.
~ Listen sympathetically and respond with empathy when employees approach you.
~ Remain calm at all times!
As a fairly new supervisor, I also took his suggestion to heart to discuss solutions with employees. If someone brings you a problem, ask the person to think of ways to make it better, then have the person write the solutions down. Too often we have the urge to immediately jump in and fix problems, but that action disables the employee from creatively thinking through the problem and accepting responsibility for a solution.
David also gave good advice when he said that “CW” - or conventional wisdom - needs to be challenged. And when you challenge it, don’t give up on what you know to be the right solution to advocacy or other issues that are important to the growth of libraries.
(David’s talk was sponsored by ALA APA, the Allied Professional Association.)
Tags: ALA2005, conferences
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