{"id":110,"date":"2025-04-08T21:44:05","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T21:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eportfolio.ericaleff.io\/?page_id=110"},"modified":"2025-04-08T21:44:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T21:44:05","slug":"competency-m","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/eportfolio.ericaleff.io\/index.php\/competency-m\/","title":{"rendered":"Competency M"},"content":{"rendered":"

Demonstrate professional leadership and communication skills.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Introduction<\/h1>\n

As in any profession, it is important for those working in library and information science to have professional leadership and communication skills.<\/p>\n

Leadership<\/h2>\n

Leadership skills are important for information professionals to develop. Leadership is not the same as management; it is \u201cfocused on managing change; thus, the skills and competencies of leaders have great bearing on the ability of a leader to guide change\u201d (Albright, 2022). Where managers administer, leaders innovate; where managers accept reality, leaders investigate it.<\/p>\n

Change management is one of the most important skills for a leader. Change leaders can have a positive impact on an organization\u2019s environment; they \u201care often the first to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset, exhibit a high degree of comfort with risk-taking, and lead pilot projects happily and with a true interest in finding sustainable answers\u201d (Barefoot, 2022). Information professionals can improve their change leadership skills by getting to know themselves better and interviewing change leaders. \u201cEffective change leaders begin by fostering an atmosphere of acceptance and transparency\u201d (Barefoot, 2022).<\/p>\n

In the archives profession, there are leadership training programs like the Archives Leadership Institute that build skills while also \u201cexpanding, reinforcing, and strengthening professional networks,\u201d although the program only admits 25 members per year (Soyka, 2022, p. 632). Archival leadership happens at least on four levels: \u201cin the archival repository \u2026 in the larger institutional setting \u2026 in the archival profession, at local, regional, and national levels \u2026 and in our public interactions with society\u201d (Mariz et al., 2011, p. 115).<\/p>\n

Communication<\/h2>\n

Information professionals need to be able to communicate in a variety of ways, both face-to-face and in virtual environments. Successful communication happens \u201cwhen others receive the exact message that was intended by the sender\u201d (Alman, 2022). Communication may be two-way, where \u201cthe receiver should respond to the sender\u2019s message,\u201d or one-way, such as a post on social media. Sauer (2009) argues that archivists should be leaders in scholarly communication to \u201cstrengthen ties to library colleagues while also providing opportunities for outreach to faculty and, possibly, greater visibility within the institution,\u201d as well as to promote collaboration with others in institutional organizations (p. 57).<\/p>\n

Soft skills, ones that are not hard skills like technical knowledge and professional skills, are an important part of communication. Shlenova (2024) states that soft skills include \u201ccritical thinking, effective communication, creativity, time management, and the ability to work collaboratively\u201d (p. 45). She argues that soft skills are \u201cindispensable for success\u201d in the information, library, and archival fields, because of the relationships between information professionals and users and \u201cthe rapid changes occurring in information technology and society\u201d (Shlenova, 2024, p. 45, 46).<\/p>\n

Effective virtual communication is important now due to \u201cthe increase in virtual meetings and social media announcements\u201d (Alman, 2022). Clear speaking and writing are more needed skills than ever, especially for information professionals who work with the public. If an information professional does not have the skills to understand nonverbal cues, they should focus on improving them, since \u201cnonverbal behaviors account for 60 percent or more of the message that is transmitted from the sender,\u201d and those cues are more difficult to \u201cread\u201d in virtual settings.<\/p>\n

Evidence<\/h1>\n

Artifact 1<\/h2>\n

Assignment:<\/strong> Discussion Post: Leadership Characteristics<\/a>
\nCourse:<\/strong> INFO 204, Information Professions
\nDescription:<\/strong> This assignment had two parts. I had to identify and cite an article that helps identify and define leadership characteristics and traits like emotional intelligence, servant-leaders, and e-leadership. Next, I had to pick a leader, preferably in my area of interest in the information professions, and analyze the individual and their leadership characteristics.<\/p>\n

I chose to discuss Brewster Kahle, a digital librarian, computer engineer, and leader for the Internet\u2019s democratization. He is best known as the founder of the Internet Archive, and is still the digital librarian for the Archive. I discussed Kahle because I am passionate about digital preservation, web archiving, and democratizing the Internet. This post demonstrates my understanding of professional leadership skills. I talk about servant leaders, who focus on the needs of their followers, allowing them to become leader themselves, which I categorize Kahle as. I also discuss how Kahle uses change management and forward thinking skills to improve the Internet Archive.<\/p>\n

Artifact 2<\/h2>\n

Assignment:<\/strong> \u201cSeveral archivists were injured, but none critically\u201d: Dangerous archives in Star Trek<\/em><\/a> (p. 10-12)
\nCourse:<\/strong> no course
\nDescription:<\/strong> This piece of evidence is an article written for Archeota, the official publication of the Society of American Archivists chapter at SJSU. In 2024, after watching an episode of Star Trek: Discovery<\/em> that depicted archives in a particularly dangerous way, I decided to look closer at different depictions of archives across all of Star Trek<\/em>. Archives are depicted as both places where danger happens and the danger itself. In entertainment in general, archives are often depicted as esoteric, dangerous, dark, and mysterious. In my article, I argue that because Star Trek<\/em> associates archives with negative plot points and connotations, it is contributing to the mischaracterization of the profession in the media.<\/p>\n

I chose this article as an example of my communication skills, particularly scholarly communication, which Sauer (2009) argued is important for archivists as a way to improve ties to colleagues and gain greater visibility.<\/p>\n

Artifact 3<\/h2>\n

Assignment:<\/strong> Peer Mentor Reflection<\/a>
\nCourse:<\/strong> INFO 298, Peer Mentoring for INFO 203
\nDescription:<\/strong> This assignment asked me to write a reflection about my time peer mentoring for INFO 203. I was excited to get to peer mentor new students, since I had been in their situation less than two years before. I got to use the skills and knowledge I have learned in the MLIS program to prepare new students for their own programs. I gained experience as a leader at different levels, since I was a leader to the students, but answered to the professor, who helped me hone those leadership skills.<\/p>\n

In the reflection, I specifically talk about how my time peer mentoring meets Competency M. As a peer mentor, I had to communicate with students from the perspective of an instructor for the first time. I learned that students communicate in many different ways, some clear and some not. One of the more surprising things I learned was how different students communicate with instructors, especially when talking about their assignments. Some students messaged me to apologize for not finishing them, which was surprising, while others completely ignored my messages to them. I had to learn how to clearly communicate expectations to students the fact that the burden of doing the work falls on them.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h1>\n

I will continue to hone my professional leadership and communication skills as I enter the information profession. There are many resources I can use to keep up with research and trends, from professional organizations\u2019 publications like the Society of American Archivists\u2019 Archival Outlook<\/em> to the American Library Association\u2019s list of library leadership training resources<\/a>.<\/p>\n

References<\/h1>\n

Albright, K. (2022). Leadership skills for today\u2019s global information landscape. In S. Hirsh (Ed.),\u00a0Information services today: An introduction<\/em>. Rowman & Littlefield.<\/p>\n

Alman, S. W. (2022). Communication, marketing, and outreach strategies. In S. Hirsh (Ed.),\u00a0Information services today: An introduction<\/em>. Rowman & Littlefield.<\/p>\n

Barefoot, R. (2022). Change management. In S. Hirsh (Ed.),\u00a0Information services today: An introduction<\/em>. Rowman & Littlefield.<\/p>\n

Mariz, G., McCrea, D. E., Hackman, L. J., Kurtz, T., & Jimerson, R. C. (2011). Leadership skills for archivists. The American Archivist<\/em>, 74<\/em>(Spring\/Summer), 102-122. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.17723\/aarc.74.1.h65171q8q115557g<\/a><\/p>\n

Sauer, A. (2009). Why archivists should be leaders in scholarly communication. Journal of Archival Organization<\/em>, 7<\/em>(1-2), 51-57. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/15332740902897444<\/a><\/p>\n

Shlenova, M. (2024). Soft skills as a key factor in the future professional success of students majoring in information, library, and archival studies. Image of the Modern Pedagogue<\/em>, 6<\/em>(219), 44-47. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.33272\/2522-9729-2024-6(219)-44-47<\/a><\/p>\n

Soyka, H. (2022). Professional career building in the archival field: Studying the Archives Leadership Institute. The American Archivist<\/em>, 85<\/em>(2), 609-637. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.17723\/2327-9702-85.2.609<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Demonstrate professional leadership and communication skills. Introduction As in any profession, it is important for those working in library and information science to have professional leadership and communication skills. Leadership Leadership skills are important for information professionals to develop. Leadership is not the same as management; it is \u201cfocused on managing change; thus, the skills … Read moreCompetency M<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-110","page","type-page","status-publish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.ericaleff.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.ericaleff.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.ericaleff.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.ericaleff.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.ericaleff.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.ericaleff.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.ericaleff.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/110\/revisions\/112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.ericaleff.io\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}