Running Head: LEADERSHIP VISION STATEMENT 1

Leadership Vision Statement

Mindy E Brunkhardt

Emporia State University

LI 850 Leadership and Information Organizations

May 8, 2014
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Introduction
Historically, libraries have provided communities gathering places and individuals information to
improve him or herself. In rural parts of the United States, small Carnegie library buildings still hold the
community’s collection. In 2003, the library in the small, agriculturally-based town of Seward, NE,
vacated the tiny library created from Andrew Carnegie’s legacy and reestablish its community presence
in a new, comparatively-massive building one block away. This 25,775 square foot library now has
community meeting spaces, expanded collections for all ages, reading programs and clubs, and a
technology lab and classes for continuing education. Many libraries in agrarian America can create and
hold a similar value for the public. I believe that rural public libraries help build life-long learning habits
through information access, community relationships and reading opportunities organized by a team of
individuals based on strengths and formed by tasks.

Discussion of Organization
A library that creates and holds such an important position in the community is a functionally
decentralized flat organization partially designed based on financial necessity but with significant
advantages.

Benefits of a Flat Organizational Structure

The financial reality of libraries that serve less than 5,000 residents living in nearly 600 square miles
shows small staffs serve populations over a large land mass. For example, in 2011, Haskell County, KS,
had a population of 4,285 in a county of 577 square miles (Headwaters Economics, 2014). There are two
towns in the county: the county seat of Sublette, and the town of Satanta that holds the county hospital.
Both towns are approximately the same size; both towns, being only eight miles distant, would be in the
same section if the county were divided into eight equally sized sections; and both towns have a small
library. The Dudley Township Public Library in Satanta has one librarian and still resides in the same
building since 1961; the Haskell Township Library in Sublette recently remodeled and expanded services,
adding a library staff position to the library director and the library aide.

While these examples may seem an extreme form of a flat organization, in rural America, and especially
in southwest Kansas, this is the norm for library services. Many disadvantages may exist for small town
libraries, but there are multiple benefits from such organizational structures.

Patron-Librarian Relationships. A flat organization, especially one as severe as in Haskell County,

establishes close relationships between patrons and library staff, as well as board of directors and
friends of the library groups. The closer the relationship, the more accurately the library can determine
patron needs and develop services to meet the community. As a resident of Haskell County from
elementary through secondary school, the library offered a place of after-school refuge while my sibling
participated in school sports for two school years. After I had exhausted the library’s adolescent Indian
and western collection, the librarian collected books specifically with my interests in mind and directed
my interests into other genres and higher-level reading materials.

Staff Empowerment and Diversity. Directly in conjunction with the close relationships forged
between patrons and librarians in a flat organization is the staff empowerment to provide excellent
patron- and community-driven service. Furthermore, because the staff of the library is so flat, the
librarians have the opportunity to diversify his or her skills to meet the needs of the library and its
patrons. The Haskell Township Library aide from 1996 to 1998 was a high school student; she vacuumed
the library and organized the children’s area, cared for the library cat, checked in and out materials,
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shelved books, read to children during story time, helped locate library materials for patrons, and
assisted patrons with the brand-new computer and the new concept of web surfing. Even today, the
staff at the libraries in Haskell County perform similar tasks and services, and with the same aplomb as
the librarian and aide in the Sublette library in the mid-1990s.

Democratic System. Another advantage to the flat library is the democratic system in place between
the library director and staff and the library board of trustees. The library staff is the public face of the
library and the board of trustees represents the patrons; between the two entities, services, budgets,
patron issues and requests, and new ideas from staff and trustees can receive full perusal and discussion
from all angles. This type of communication can lead to library integration into every aspect and age of
the community. Upon meeting with the Clearwater, KS, library board of trustees for a job interview, I
found the trustees as excited as me about discussing possible ways the library could reestablish itself as
an active community center.

Additional Benefit from Functionally Decentralizing

In the examples from the Haskell County libraries described above, the library staffs were so small that
the library director was nearly the only employee. In slightly larger libraries, such as in Clearwater, KS,
and Seward, NE, the staff is still small but with more than one person, staff is organized by function and
strength. Organizational situations such as this still allow opportunities for rural libraries to build positive
learning habits in the community.

Library Director. A library director accepts the responsibility to lead and develop a staff, communicate
with and report to library trustees and government officials, advocate for the library by developing
public and patron relations, supervise facility maintenance, and develop the collection. These varied and
wide-ranging responsibilities require assistance from trustworthy, knowledgeable and experienced staff
that can help maintain the balance between individual and team work. The most important aspect, in
my opinion, of a library director is in that he or she accepts the responsibilities of the daily activities and
decisions in the library that affect the overall benefits to the community.

Discussion of Leadership
Working in a flat organization takes unique personalities. In every position, the staff must keep the
overall purpose of the organization in mind and use his or her unique talents and strengths to fulfill that
goal. The leader of such a group must understand how the individual human assets available to her can
function together to create a team with the shared endeavor of helping build life-long learning habits
among the community.

My Personality
Taking personality tests have become a common team-building activity in schools, university courses
and groups, and professional employment. In my undergraduate courses at Concordia University–
Seward, one professor used the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as an introduction to methods of providing
positive critique in a writing course. I am an introvert, preferring small groups and time alone; because I
know this about myself, I can move beyond my comfort and work in large groups to accomplish a task.

One family-owned organization in Satanta, KS, uses the iPersonic personality test as a way to facilitate
conflict resolution. iPersonic was recently developed by German psychologist Felicitas Heyne using
Jungian theory of the four opposites: Extrovert-Introvert, Sensing-Intuitive, Thinking-Feeling and
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Perceiving-Judging (“iPersonic Review,” 2014). The test has received mixed reviews but does provide
another insight about one’s personal and professional relationships (“iPersonic Review,” 2014).

My Type
Upon completion of the test, I classified as a Sensitive Doer. The following describes my type:

Sensitive Doers are gentle, modest and reserved persons. They cope well with everyday life and
like their privacy. With their quiet, optimistic nature, they are also good, sought-after listeners
and other people feel well in their company.

All in all, this type is the most likable and friendliest of all personality types. Tolerance and their
regard for others distinguish their personality. They are very caring, generous and always willing
to help. They are open to and interested in everything that is new or unknown to them.
However, if their inner value system or their sense of justice is hurt, Sensitive Doers can
suddenly and surprisingly become forceful and assertive.

Sensitive Doers take life as it comes and react flexibly to daily demands. They do not like too
much routine and predictability. Their talents come more to the fore when work processes are
variable and there are not so many rules. Sensitive Doers like to work alone; if they are part of a
team, they do not get involved in competitive or power games and prefer living and working
together harmoniously and openly (Heyne, 2014).

The type description illustrates my character very well. A sibling described me to an acquaintance as a
“very reserved individual,” while friends have often told me I am a great listener. I value differences in
people though I do prefer to work alone; if I work on a team, I avoid power struggles and antagonistic
attitudes and behaviors. I am unwavering in my convictions and stubborn about maintaining an honest
view of myself. I truly believe that life can best be lived through honesty, and if dissention arises
consideration for others above oneself best helps resolve problems.

Although I belong in the introverted group of doers, my amiable friendliness allows for great flexibility to
“work excellently and contently on [my] own to suit any situation, but also achieve extraordinary
popularity and professional satisfaction as a member of a team” (Heyne, 2014). I found working in the
university library during my undergraduate a most satisfying experience as the friendly, collegiate
environment fulfilled the necessity of harmony and mutual respect among coworkers inherent to my
character.

From other work experience as a teacher in a small private school and a public middle school, and then
as a call center representative for a large customer service company, I know I perform best when the
setting does not involve manipulation, and cooperation permeates the atmosphere. Furthermore, a
sensitive doer is “almost limitlessly tolerant and always prepared to accept others as they are” (Heyne,
2014). I rarely have problems getting along with different people except when my personal value system
is hurt or I perceive an injustice. This is what drew me to teaching adolescents; I love teaching, but I love
even more being a person in my students’ lives with solid convictions of right and wrong, and the
tenacity to stand in the face of prejudice.

In a Library
My personality fits well within a flat organization. I enjoy variable activities and thrive upon learning
something different. As a leader in a functionally decentralized library, I work well independently, but
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also work well in groups because I appreciate the inherent worth in my colleagues and prefer
consideration of all thoughts, opinions and experiences. My deepest motivation is to honestly and
forthrightly serve the community by providing access to free information, community relationships and
reading opportunity.

Focus Services
There are three services I believe a library must raise above the industry standard to best fulfill the
needs of the community. Information access, community relationships and reading opportunities are
these services.

Information Access and Community Relationships

Many patrons may prefer getting information from the internet, and the library must understand there
is little it can do to compete with such availability. A library, though, can provide access to reliable
information and resources that is unique to the service area. Living in rural America provides one a great
deal of privacy, independence and self-sufficiency. Access to the internet, while highly available even in
the agrarian culture, does not mean, though, access to worthwhile and accurate information.

For example, the best ornamental plants to grow around a home in southwest Kansas is highly different
from ones someone might choose to grow in Colorado Springs, CO, Wichita, KS, or Oklahoma City, OK.
The environment in southwest Kansas is unique enough that the internet only covers it in wide,
overarching generalities and is remote enough that few modern and accurate materials are even
published for library use.

The best place to get this type of individualized information is from a certified horticulturalist living in
the same area. However, here is the decisive factor…. How does one find such a unique individual?
Unsurprisingly, there are many sources available, including the owner of the house with the Yard of the
Month sign firmly planted in the front yard, the Kansas State University Extension Office network, and
independent, certified landscapers. The former will not want tell all, and the K-State Extension service
deals more with agriculture than ornamental, and a landscaper expects payment for services

The library holds a unique position in getting the professionals with the layperson. A class about
ornamental plants, advertized and publicized through the library’s established methods, can bring the
community together, raise awareness of best practices and help create a culture of life-long learning.

There are hundreds of topics that residents of a community may have questions about, but no real way
of finding reliable and ready answers. This is where the library can create its niche—connecting the
questioners with the answerers through presentations, classes, online webinars and videos.

Reading Opportunities
To express further the benefits that come from life-long learning, the library provides unique reading
opportunities to all ages of patrons, extending the lessons learned in school for the young and helping
seasoned patrons relearn the rewards reading holds.

Reading opportunities start with a story hour for pre-schoolchildren and summer reading programs for
those students filling their summer hours. However, the reading does not stop there; these
opportunities extend to
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 Book clubs based on

o award-winning books for children, teens and adults, or on
o themes, topics and genres chosen by library patrons, employees and board members.

 A countywide book read, similar to the Lincoln, NE, One Book One Lincoln program, where the
entire county reads and discusses the same book.

 A reading program specifically aimed at struggling young readers by pairing them with a
certified canine reading buddy1.

Benefits of Flatness
When considering the raised-up services of information access, community relationships and reading
opportunities, a flat organizational structure highly aids in the development of effective and current
programming and resources. Because a flatly organized library does not have as many levels for ideas
and viewpoints to transcend, the needs of a patron can receive immediate consideration and possible
implementation. Furthermore, a functionally decentralized organization can use all or part of the staff
when working toward a large project, or can set up a single individual to lead a specific club or class. The
choices and flexibility available in a flat organization are immense and immeasurably advantageous to
the community.

Conclusion
As a community center, libraries in rural and agrarian parts of world hold a special niche as helping
people build life-long learning habits. Access to information, relationships among community members
and organizations, and opportunities for young and old to build on reading skills and discussions are key
elements to continued learning. Public libraries that serve these small agrarian populations over large
areas of land have unique advantages in serving the public. A mostly-flat organizational structure with
hierarchical elements, in short a functionally decentralized organization, creates a library capable of
ascertaining community needs, inspecting and discussing all available options and possibilities, and
moving quickly to a decision of implementation. For me, it has taken over 20 years of personal and
professional experience to realize I am not interested in advancing through the ranks. I am interested in
knowing that at the end of the day I and my team has made the world better for another person by our
actions and dealings.

1
Reading Buddies: Reading with Child’s Best Friend. Available from http://mindyebrunkhardt.weebly.com/reading-
buddies.html.
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References
Headwaters Economics. (2014). A profile of socioeconomic measures. Selected geographies: Haskell
County KS (p. 45). Haskell County, KS. Retrieved from
http://headwaterseconomics.org/wphw/wp-content/uploads/print-ready-measures-
pdfs/20081_Haskell-County_KS_Measures.pdf

Heyne, F. (2014). Sensitive Doer. iPersonic. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from
http://www.ipersonic.com/type/SD.html

iPersonic Review. (2014). TopTenREVIEWS. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://career-aptitude-test-
review.toptenreviews.com/ipersonic-review.html