Workplace Expectations for Today's Library: What Do You Need to Be Able to Do in Order to Succeed in Today's Workplace?

Ever feel like you walked into work one day and no longer knew the workplace expectations? Sure, you do your best to be great at your job, but what is expected of a high-performing library staff member in today's workplace? Workplace Expectation #1: Change When you think about libraries over the past 20, 10, five, or even two years, a tremendous amount has changed. The same is true for the way we work. Today's workforce is expected to understand change. We all need to think about change and how it affects us. We need to learn about the change process and how it might affect our colleagues. People react to change in different ways, but when the reaction is negative, frequently it is fear based. Many kinds of fear can surround a change: fear of the unknown, fear of making the wrong decision, fear of success, fear of failure, fear of loneliness, fear of losing one's job. Anyone, in any change role may experience fear. Individuals who drive the change may fear they'll make the wrong decision; individuals who are subjected to the change may fear they will lose their jobs. Fears influence how quickly people adapt to change--if you can address these fears (in yourself or others) you can get everyone to a state of comfort with the change, which helps the whole organization. So talk about change and listen to the reactions of your colleagues. Keep in mind that the most important part of a successful change is making sure that all involved have the information needed. If you don't feel you are getting the information you need, ask for it. Workplace Expectation #2: Collaboration Another essential workplace expectation is collaboration--working together with people who have different areas and levels of expertise. This means that you have to know your stuff. If you are part of a work group or committee, or even just participating in a conversation about an issue, you represent your department's focus, viewpoint, and concerns. You may be the only person on a given project who knows what you know. You are a leader for your specific area, and your organization counts on you to get that done. Your organization trusts your judgment and you are expected to work with a certain degree of autonomy within specified guidelines. Workplace Expectation #3: Communication In today's workplace there are many more modes of communication than 20, 10, or even five years ago. It is important to know which mode of communication is most appropriate for your need. When is it appropriate to call instead of email or choose to text or talk face-to-face? The best guide for deciding is to know your audience and know your situation. Simply stop and think about what it is you need to communicate. Phone is generally best if you need a fast answer or if what you are discussing could be misinterpreted either because it's a complicated subject or if tone of voice is needed to convey something. Phone calls are also great if you don't want to overformalize a conversation or if you don't want to leave a record of what is discussed, if you need to convey personal passion, or when an email thread is getting out of hand. Sending a text is a great option if you have a quick question that is time sensitive. A meeting is a good option when the information is too complex to convey in any other way, or when some face-to-face time is needed to build trust. Email is appropriate when you need a record of the communication, can wait a day or two for an answer, or are communicating across different schedules or time zones. Recently I read a shocking statistic: we remember between 24 and 50 percent of what we hear. That is less than half. To improve this, two techniques are helpful: active listening and presence. While presence is 100 percent focus and attention on a moment, active listening includes careful listening as well as using speech to ensure that you are understanding what a speaker is trying to get across. …