Yesterday, Greg Schwartz wrote that Library Journal’s Movers & Shakers Award nominations had been opened. As you can see (I hope), there’s been some interesting discussion on this topic.
I’d like to focus, in particular, on the idea expressed by a few people – that we do not recognize the work of our colleagues nearly enough. Assuming ‘recognize’ was meant in a positive light, I think the reverse can be true, as well. I’ve had jobs where any feedback, negative or positive, was hard to come by. This is a topic that has been on my mind lately (though I just realized that now).
It’s not always easy to give tactful and constructive negative feedback to colleagues – especially when it’s unsolicited – so I’ll focus on positive feedback. I think it’s much easier to give positive feedback, and no one cares if it’s unsolicited.
In my last post, I wrote about how I set up a Google alert to notify me when new mentions of my library come up. While I enjoy telling my colleagues about these things, I think what I enjoy most is when a colleague is mentioned and I can say, “Hey, look how awesome our people are.”
I’ve also tried to make a point to tell supervisors when I think someone is doing a good job. I’ve been really impressed by my new office-mate, specifically her work making connections with her faculty members. She’s a recent graduate, and new to the job. I think forging those relationships can be difficult for any liaison librarian, and so I admire that she is doing this and I hope I can learn something from her. (I e-mailed both our boss and our boss’s boss to let them know I thought she was doing a good job.)
I do try to comment in ways I think will be useful to them – my own contract review is coming up in the next few months, and so I try to be slightly formal in my e-mails with the idea that the person in question may want to use the e-mail as “supporting evidence” in his or her own review portfolio.
The discussion about Movers & Shakers has made me think about how I can recognize colleagues that work at other libraries, and how I can do so in a meaningful way. While I toss out the occasional “I love you guys!” on FriendFeed, I’d really love to do what I can to support you in a way that might do you some professional good. Something you might be able to use when you’re up for contract review or tenure, something that might help get you a raise, or something that might help you snag a job.
I do plan to nominate several people for the Movers and Shakers Award – but how else can I recognize your work? Perhaps I should start looking up contact information for your deans and directors so I can start writing them letters about how you inspire me.
I would love to hear suggestions: what can one person do to recognize the influence of his or her colleagues?
When someone at MPOW goes above and beyond in a way I can see, I like to send unsolicited written praise and expressions of gratitude to that someone’s supervisor.