Texas Accelerated Library Leaders: TALL Texans
Institute Participants

Sowing the Seeds of Leadership  |  Report on the TALL Texans Leadership Development Institute  |  Under the Oaks  |  In the Land of Giants: A Mentor's Experience with TALL Texans

Sowing the Seeds of Leadership
Victor Schill

One of the core strengths of the Texas Library Association is the commitment to programs that encourage the professional development of the members of the organization, leading to their involvement in library activities at the local level, within TLA itself, and the American Library Association as well. The identification and training of future library leaders provided through the TALL Texans Leadership Development Institute is an integral part of this process. This leadership workshop brings together a diverse group of academic, public, and school librarians from around the state—and in our case, the first library trustee—to participate in a week of training sessions conducted at Harambe Oaks Ranch in the Texas hill country. All participants, including the institute faculty, mentors, and project manager, are housed in a dormitory-style lodge with no television, radio, or phone in the rooms—except for one outdoor pay phone for this 75- acre area! Communal meals are eaten on picnic tables underneath several large oak trees, and everyone takes a turn at clean-up several times during the week. This arrangement seems somewhat spartan at first, but is an important aspect of the carefully considered structure of the institute: to create a relaxed, communal atmosphere free of outside distractions, allowing us to learn and play together as a community. I value those daily early morning walks with several of my colleagues to see the sunrise, the good-natured camaraderie of my fellow water volleyball enthusiasts, and the relaxed, informal atmosphere in which we could share personal and professional interests and concerns with the institute personnel, as well as among ourselves.

The TALL Texan conference is an intense but enriching and productive experience which is possible due to the dedicated and enthusiastic contributions of the institute faculty and mentors. Maureen Sullivan and Jack Siggins skillfully guided and educated us in gaining insights into the dynamic process and diverse styles of leadership, including identifying our own personality type and being sensitive to and valuing the different types; challenging our potential for professional change and growth; and ways to cultivate the leadership potential in others.

Our mentors—June Kahler Berry (who is the TALL Texan project manager and very much a mentor to us all), Steve Brown, Joan Heath, JoAnne Moore, Mark Smith, Mary Kay Snell, and Ben Wakashige—fully participated in the training sessions, and encouraged us to share our ideas with them in individual and group settings.

When we left Harambe Oaks after the close of the 1997 TALL Texan conference, I believe each of us left with a sense of personal enrichment and of professional empowerment. The seeds for leadership development were sown, encouraging us to challenge our potential. The seeds of friendships and professional collegiality were sown, providing rich sources for support and advice, as well as for future professional collaborations. The TALL Texan program is a time for sowing, and as those seeds begin to bear fruit, we can help to sow and develop those seeds in our colleagues in librarianship.

Report on the TALL Texans Leadership Development Institute, Harambe Oaks
Nancy Cunningham

Where perhaps we gained the most was not only in the facilitated sessions by Jack and Maureen, but in the informal conversations with mentors over meals, during long walks or runs, or just hanging around the common area. Hearing the stories and experiences from mentors and how they have dealt with challenges, we gained new insight into many things including how political battles for library budgets are fought and won and how difficulties can be overcome and also provide us an opportunity for change.

<In the classroom (l to r): Karen Stanley, Anthony Guardado, and Therese Varga

I remember specifically a story Mary Kay shared at lunch about the challenges she faced when first hired at the Amarillo Public Library. She related to us the time she was asked by a male interviewer how she would go about cutting the library’s budget 50 percent. Mary Kay handled the situation astutely, knowing that he wanted her to cave in and suggest severe budget cuts. Mary Kay’s response showed that she was no pushover as the new library director. With quiet politeness and deference that only a Texan woman can express, Mary Kay paused and responded, "Well, when Lyndon Johnson wanted to cut costs at the White House he just turned off the lights!"

She delivered the comment with such calculated sincerity and poise the interviewer fell silent. We looked at her amazed. "Mary Kay, did he make you cut the budget?" we asked.

"No," she responded. "He never did. He was a tricky one but I knew what he was up to!"

I learned from Mary Kay, Ben, and the other mentors that there is more than one way to win a battle and the most important thing is to chose your battles wisely and to learn from them.

The facilitated discussions led by the presenters Jack Siggins and Maureen Sullivan not only gave us the opportunity to share experiences on the issues but also to reconsider some of our traditional paradigms. One of the most lively discussions erupted quite unexpectedly on Friday, the last day of the institute. The general topic was quality in the workplace, reengineering, and how we as professional librarians add value to our work. What came to my mind immediately was how we as librarians sometimes cannot clearly articulate how we add value in society and especially how we add value in our libraries.

In fact, the question of what special value I, as an academic librarian, add to the educational process was put to me by a fellow MBA student at the university where I work. It was difficult to respond because I had never thought much about it. Of course, I thought, everyone knows librarians add value! That is what I assumed. The question was put to the group and it provoked a variety of responses and reactions. Some questioned the appropriateness of current graduate library curriculum while others remarked on the value we do add in libraries compared to any other trained professional. Some questioned if there was truly a value difference between an MLS librarian and other professionals with similar skills.

Questions such as these raised by Maureen, Jack, and others were difficult to respond to but necessary to engage if we are to begin to think "outside the box" and envision the future role of libraries and librarians.

Under the Oaks
Tess Trost

Arriving at Harambe Oaks Ranch to begin this year’s week-long TLA TALL Texans Leadership Development Institute, I wondered how useful the institute would be to me and, ultimately, to my organization. I began with a certain amount of ambivalence, but ended the week convinced that the institute was worthwhile for me both professionally and personally.

<JoAnne Moore presents Jack Strawn his certificate of completion.

Meeting and living in close proximity with 30 strangers for five days could have turned out to be a real disaster. But our group had great chemistry, with everyone contributing to both formal and informal discussions. Having a mixture of public, school, and academic librarians both as participants and mentors is an important component to the success of the institute. Our class was further enhanced by having a nonlibrarian who is active in Friends of the Library and is also a city council member. He provided a useful perspective for all librarians planning advocacy activities at any governmental level.

Like all good workshops, TALL Texans had an agenda, a notebook, and class exercises; no homework, though, except to use what we learned and share it with our colleagues back home. The workshop presenters, Maureen Sullivan and Jack Siggins, were integral to the success of the discussions and to the direction of the workshop. The ability to guide but not stifle discussion, to follow the agenda but not to be rigid is an art they have mastered. Six mentors brought to the discussions a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Like the best workshops, TALL Texans provided unscheduled time for participants to interact on professional, personal, and recreational levels. Playing wild and wacky water volleyball games went a long way toward making friendships. Eating meals together under the oaks, cleaning up afterwards, and taking out the garbage also formed a sense of community.

The importance of community for the profession as a whole was not a concept that I had given much thought before attending the institute. A comment by a public librarian that she had not realized how much she and I, an academic librarian, have in common gave me pause. We are interdependent. Academic librarians help students who come from school libraries. Our students use public libraries for information in areas we do not support. Public libraries send people to academic libraries for esoteric information. We share similar problems of shrinking resources with increased demands for service. And all of us are looking for better and cheaper ways to cope with ever changing technology. As more people from different types of libraries participate in the leadership institute, there should be a better understanding of what each of us does and how alike we really are.

A variety of topics was covered at the workshop, including understanding leadership styles with the ubiquitous Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test. Most interesting to me were the sessions on risk taking and conflict resolution. When talking about risk taking, some people had trouble establishing what would be risky behavior. What might seem risky to one person is normal procedure to another. We concluded it could be almost anything from arranging a workshop with an expensive speaker to speaking out about an unpopular policy. For people to be willing to take risks, there has to be organizational support and rewards. Risk taking can be scary. It implies change and taking responsibility for one’s behavior and the possibility of failure. The idea that it is all right to fail at a task or project was one that came up several times in different contexts during the workshop. Failure is not something that anyone likes to face, but we concluded that people grow and learn by mistakes.

Conflict resolution implies working with others. Based on my experiences at work, with volunteer organizations, and at home, conflict resolution should be practiced more often. It is a way to establish a balance for cooperation without fighting. The session on conflict resolution at the Leadership Development Institute involved common sense kinds of things, but presented in the context of "if you can do this, here is how you might get good results." Sometimes validating common sense is not a bad idea

Like other librarians, I probably do not give my professional organizations the attention they deserve. During our discussions, it occurred to me that yes, TLA is important as an advocate with clout for librarians and libraries. It helps to define our profession and what we do as librarians. It is much harder for individuals to influence the legislature, to fight censorship, or to set up consortia than it is for an organization with many members. However, members must be active participants even though it takes time, money, and energy. Volunteer for a TLA committee, participate in Legislative Day, support your public library at a public hearing. Do something extra for libraries and TLA. (I was not paid, coerced, brainwashed, or influenced in any way to write this paragraph!)

Would I recommend applying to and participating in TALL Texans? Obviously, yes. There are opportunities for both large and small group discussions, one-on-one interaction, and time for reflection as well as recreation. The material covered and suggested for additional reading is useful and meaningful. Working, learning, and playing under the oaks is a good experience.

In the Land of Giants: A Mentor’s Experience with TALL Texans
JoAnne Moore

The TALL Texans Leadership Development Institute had its fourth anniversary this year. My hat is off to those outstanding TLA leaders who conceived the idea of the Leadership Development Institute aimed at providing mid-career librarians a process-oriented, interactive career development opportunity. Pat Smith planted the first seed in 1990 when she said, "Why don’t we. . .?" Then James Stewart came by from a PLD meeting of ALA in the early spring of 1991 talking about a Michigan leadership program. He threw down the gauntlet when he asked the Board, "Why don’t we grow our own leaders?" President Cindy Gray named a committee in the spring of 1992 composed of Ron Hamrick, Irene Hoadley, Bonnie Juergens, June Kahler, Mary Lankford, Cyd Sheffy, Brooke Sheldon, James Stewart, Julie Todaro, and Julie Walker.

The institute pulled on its boots when Irene Hoadley suggested naming it, Texas Accelerated Library Leaders: TALL Texans. The initiative was approved by council members in 1993 with the first class beginning in the summer of 1994. Since the fall of 1993, June Kahler Berry has managed the project in her own inimitable way leaving no detail to chance. She is the consummate hostess, endearing herself to all who directly and indirectly participate in the institute. She has been affectionately named "Mama June" by one of the TALL classes. As the rippling affects of leadership development continue to reach out, members of the board and units of TLA should take a big bow for supporting TALL.

My invitation to serve as a mentor came by e-mail from June Garcia, who had previously been a mentor herself. I had invitations in the second and third years of the institute from Irene Hoadley and Ruth Dahlstrom, but I was in Colorado. Each of them echo what a fantastic experience they had as mentors. This time I responded with a resounding "yes" because I selfishly wanted to take advantage of leadership training from presenters with the reputation and prestige of Maureen Sullivan and Jack Siggins. I felt like it would be beneficial for the president-elect of TLA to learn from the masters and from one another. As it turns out, other mentors and TALL Texans believe that all president-elects from this day forward should be one of the mentors. What a deep well of human resources we can draw on for the association!

From the moment our 1997 sessions began, I could feel the energy from the TALL Texan participants, the mentors, and the presenters. I have reflected on how energy generates power and power generates change. I am convinced that the power of the human mind and heart can move mountains especially when it links with other bright minds and passionate spirits who have been stimulated with phenomenal topics, materials, and activities in a quiet hill country setting where we had one pay phone, no fax equipment, and no televisions. I truly feel energized, renewed and enriched by interacting with the 24 TALL Texans, mentors Mary Kay Snell, director of Amarillo Public Library; Joan Heath, director of Southwest Texas State University Library; Ben Wakashige, director of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Library; Steve Brown, director of North Richland Hills Public Library; and Mark Smith, TLA staff member and editor of Texas Library Journal, the presenters, Maureen Sullivan and Jack Siggins and June Kahler Berry.

June Berry tells us that each TALL group has its own unique personality. I would like to comment on the camaraderie, humor, talent, creativity, dedication, commitment, and accountability of the 1997 graduates. I was struck by their diversity and their individual strengths and styles. It was with forethought that a diverse group was selected to begin and continue their leadership journey. What a distinct privilege it was and is to be their mentor, colleague, and classmate. I learned from them as well as from the presenters and the other mentors. I felt like I had entered a land of giants.

Moving the spotlight to the mentors reveals leaders and managers whose stature in the profession is notable. Their journeys have been laden with rich experiences, education and electric success stories. Mentor Joan Heath had this to say about her TALL experience: "To begin with, it is an honor to be asked to serve. You get an opportunity to give something back to the profession and an association that has given a tremendous amount to you. For one week, you get to focus on learning—what a luxury! You find yourself reassessing what you’re doing in your work life, and how you’re doing it. You relax and think and laugh and have fun!"

Mentor Mary Kay Snell revealed these thoughts about her TALL experience: "To me, the two best aspects were that we had time and space—time and space to be together, time and space to be alone, but most of all we had time and space to learn—about ourselves, about others and about our relationships as librarians and as people. In addition, there was enough time and space and learning to allow the special talents of each person to come forth and be appreciated. Everyone had an opportunity to make a specific contribution to the week and everyone did!"

Mentor Mark Smith shared his thoughts as well: "TALL Texans renewed my enthusiasm for the importance of what librarians do and the tremendous talent that members of our profession bring to their jobs. The truly great thing that Maureen and Jack did in this institute was to bring participants to recognize that they have within themselves the ability to make a positive difference on all levels in which they work in their libraries, in the association, and in the lives of the people they serve. That’s no small task. I felt truly fortunate to be able to participate in this project and found that I needed the content as much as any of the participants."

I know why presenters Maureen Sullivan and Jack Siggins have been invited to play leading roles in the TALL cast of 33 stars for three consecutive years. This dynamic duo practice what they preach. Their track record in leadership development is clearly demonstrated in their organizational style, their presentation skills, their ability to adapt their rich bank of resources, information and materials to the needs and interests of the group, their tremendous graphics, excellent assessment tools and activities, the notebook of resources, and the extensive bibliographies. Topics included leadership, self awareness and understanding, risk taking, interpersonal skills, work

ing with others, working with groups, building commitment, developing others and personal development. Graphic models focused our thinking, learning and forecasting skills. The activities moved us to an immediate application level and gave us ample opportunity to interact with one another. The greatest testimony to what an exceptional educational experience I had is how many times I have already related what I learned at the institute.

I would conclude by encouraging librarians across the state in all types of libraries to nominate colleagues who are emerging leaders. I would further entreat librarians who are nominated to follow through with the application process. Now isn’t too soon to begin getting letters of support.