Engaging in Informal Leadership: Benefits, Challenges, and Strategies
Type
Presentation
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/ryc3-6a34
Session Description
Informal Leadership (IL) can be a "heavy lift," with varied challenges. Yet in certain organizations, IL may be the only way to gain specific skills, acquire necessary experience, and build crucial relationships. So how do you determine whether this (often undercompensated) labor is right for you? And if it is, how do you identify IL opportunities and develop strategies that can help prepare you for the challenge? In this interactive workshop, participants will learn from each other and discuss their experiences with, or nascent interest in, informal leadership. The presenters will provide definitions of IL, taken from the literature of various disciplines, and talk about how IL has affected, and driven, their respective career trajectories. They will also discuss the challenges of 'leading from amon' and 'leading from below,' and the importance of understanding organizational culture prior to taking on an IL role. During a knowledge-share exercise, individuals with varying levels of IL experience will work together in groups to develop questions and provide stories of successes and failures based on specific prompts related to IL opportunities, how to do IL, managing relationships, and difficult lessons learned. They will also work together to identify particular skills and strategies that are important to the success of IL, as well as ideas and strategies on how to avoid potential burnout. Finally, a larger discussion will tackle individual and organizational benefits, challenges, and where to find support. Participants will begin to develop their own proposals of how best to undertake or facilitate IL and how to inspire professional engagement in their own institutions and among their peers.
Type of Library
College Library
Engaging in Informal Leadership: Benefits, Challenges, and Strategies
Hogan 408
Informal Leadership (IL) can be a "heavy lift," with varied challenges. Yet in certain organizations, IL may be the only way to gain specific skills, acquire necessary experience, and build crucial relationships. So how do you determine whether this (often undercompensated) labor is right for you? And if it is, how do you identify IL opportunities and develop strategies that can help prepare you for the challenge? In this interactive workshop, participants will learn from each other and discuss their experiences with, or nascent interest in, informal leadership. The presenters will provide definitions of IL, taken from the literature of various disciplines, and talk about how IL has affected, and driven, their respective career trajectories. They will also discuss the challenges of 'leading from amon' and 'leading from below,' and the importance of understanding organizational culture prior to taking on an IL role. During a knowledge-share exercise, individuals with varying levels of IL experience will work together in groups to develop questions and provide stories of successes and failures based on specific prompts related to IL opportunities, how to do IL, managing relationships, and difficult lessons learned. They will also work together to identify particular skills and strategies that are important to the success of IL, as well as ideas and strategies on how to avoid potential burnout. Finally, a larger discussion will tackle individual and organizational benefits, challenges, and where to find support. Participants will begin to develop their own proposals of how best to undertake or facilitate IL and how to inspire professional engagement in their own institutions and among their peers.
Comments
https://doi.org/10.7275/ryc3-6a34