2012 Best Practices for Government Libraries

Leaders as Brand
49
BEST PRACTICES 2012
By Jeffrey Lofton, Program Specialist, Office of the Deputy Associate Librarian for Library
Services, Operations, Library of Congress
It has been said of many a workforce navigating organizational dynamics that range from
modest change to fundamental upheaval that when people leave, they’re not really
leaving an institution; no, people tend to leave people. That has certainly held true in my
experience.
We all know individuals of like temperament who work in the same organization: some
content and thriving, some unhappy and stuck. What accounts for the difference?
Sometimes it’s as simple as the people who lead their groups. Leaders . . . true leaders .
. . are a critical component of the success of any collection of people of whatever size
united if only in name for a single purpose. That’s why so much has been written about
leadership styles, leadership imperatives, and leadership outcomes. I recently had the
pleasure of leading a workshop during the 2012 Federal Law Librarians’ Conference on
leadership profiles and what I view as the elements of what the military likes to refer to as
“command presence.” I won’t address that here; instead, I would like to share my
thoughts on leaders as brand.
If, in fact, people don’t leave organizations, but leave people, it is worth taking a few
minutes to think about even a few of the characteristics of effective leadership. When
they work together in harmony; when the whole is greater than the sum of the parts—one
can be said to have a personal brand.
There was a time when personal brand was viewed as the amalgam and outcome of all
those external, acquired affectations (if you will) that made a person instantly
recognizable . . . a signature broach, an authoritative swagger, stinging irony. But that’s
decidedly old school thinking these days. Leaders as brand have found ways to become
inspiring, indelible parts of an organization that transcends appearance, body language,
and even attitude. Today’s organizational leaders are more typically thought leaders.
Their personal brands are built on the true currency of any successful organization: ideas.
I like to say: “If you want to be a thought leader, the first thing you have to have is a
thought.” What do I mean by that? Well, simply put, thought leaders stand for
something. They have a point of view that doesn’t change with the political winds. They
passionately believe in something and without proselytizing, they inspire others around
them with the strength of their beliefs and convictions. They think and act as thought
leaders, not thought repeaters. I don’t mean to suggest that an organization can function
with a collection of leaders who behave at cross purposes, expressing their passionately
held, fiercely independent ideas to the detriment of the greater good. No. But it is the
case that healthy organizations foster thought leadership as a foundational element of
long-term growth and innovation.
And that brings us to another fact of leadership life: there are no leaders without
followers. Leadership begets followship. If leaders look over their shoulders and no one’s
following except a few beleaguered souls who do so out of fear or uncertainty, something
is amiss. Leadership is not about a title or a place on the organizational totem pole. It is
about belief, commitment, aspect, and centered self-assurance. All great leaders share