This isn’t really advice I was given by someone but more of a personal observation I’ve made after seeing it repeatedly over the years. Whenever there is something decided, especially when its some sort of major decision, there’s usually an overt reason people give for the decision but also a covert reason they may or […]
I first heard this advice years ago when I was still in the role of Organization Development Specialist at Regina Public Library. In hindsight, I don’t think I appreciated what an amazing job that was to have right at the start of my library career. Our Director (still the same guy all these years later) […]
This advice is based on something that was inspired by the nicest compliment I have probably ever received as a librarian, only six short months into my career. The context was that I was doing a probation review with my first boss in libraries and he asked he what my strengths were. “I’m a real […]
This was a lesson I learned from my first manager at RPL (who also happened to be the Manager of HR so had tons of great insights into managing people, dealing with conflict and so on.) The context was that I was in a very unique role as Organizational Development Specialist, responsible for all staff […]
I’ve been thinking about actions vs. words a lot lately. One of the things that really brought home this important distinction was when I had to leave the Regent Place branch of Regina Public Library after eight years as Branch Head following a re-org of supervisors and managers. It was a pretty emotional time and […]
They may be introverted or extroverted, new to the role or with years of experience, heavily trained in management theory or have developed their approach through real-life experience. But, at the end of the day, there are really only two kinds of managers – those who see their role to control others and those who […]
This piece of advice ties directly to last week’s about how the absolute most vital piece of advice I’ve received in my 15+ years as a librarian is to do what you can to solve the problem of the person standing in front of you. In library school, I think I saw a stat that […]
I’ve been trying to write a post summarizing some of the various tips, pieces of advice, koans of wisdom that I’ve collected over the years – mostly from my time in libraries but from other workplaces, reading of books articles and just talking to knowledgeable people I respect. As that post grew and grew, I […]
It me! Generation X is weird. These 43-58 year-olds are so strange it presents golden opportunities. Here are 10 mind hacks to use with Gen X: — Michael Girdley (@girdley) June 10, 2023
So much of what we’re taught to believe from our earliest days, by our parents, by our schools, by popular culture, is outdated, incorrect and potentially even harmful such as the notion of “professionalism“.
