WANTED: CEO to Start at the Onset of a Pandemic

Imagine accepting the job offer to be library CEO and within weeks all library branches are forced to close because of a global pandemic. Join the presenters as they share their experiences of starting leadership roles with new organizations amidst COVID-19. They will reflect on their leadership approaches during times of disruption and uncertainty and how they helped their library staff embrace the “new possible” rather than the “new normal”.

Learning outcomes:
1)  Participants will gain an understanding of how times of disruption provide windows of opportunity to pursue significant change and innovation. The pandemic will be contextualized as part of a history of disruptions that have caused transformations for public libraries.
2)  Participants will learn how to manage uncertainty by creating agile teams.
3)  Participants will learn how the presenters dealt with the challenges of leading an organization during a pandemic with evolving stages of “the status quo”. This will include topics like:

1. Virtual team building with staff and key stakeholders


2. Soliciting staff buy-in for new initiatives and piloting


3. Ensuring effective communication


4. Service model adaptations


5. Inspiring staff towards a vision for the “new possible”