Coaching in the Library: A Management Strategy for Achieving Excellence

Citation

Young, N.Z. (2002), "Coaching in the Library: A Management Strategy for Achieving Excellence", The Bottom Line, Vol. 15 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/bl.2002.17015dae.003

Coaching in the Library: A Management Strategy for Achieving Excellence

Coaching in the Library: A Management Strategy for Achieving Excellence

Metz, R.F.American Library AssociationChicago2001

Keywords: Personnel management, Coaching

If you're looking to improve the atmosphere of your workplace, especially if you feel current management styles tend toward the critical, this may be the book for you. This is one in a long series of personnel management techniques proposed for libraries over the years. We have used different methods of empowering employees, influencing employee behavior, and meshing different personalities into a smoothly running operation. This latest addition to the literature recommends a purposeful and skillful effort by one individual to help another achieve specific performance goals. Effective coaching, according to the author, is contributive, as opposed, to being critical.

The author, who has over 30 years' practical experience in coaching, presents the information in this book in a straightforward and logical fashion. The first chapter gives a very detailed description of the coaching process and defines the terms and techniques that are needed to understand the recommendations presented in the remainder of the book. It can be an overwhelming amount of information, but persistence and attention pay off, and the rest of the book is easily understood.

The author organizes each chapter in five sections. These are a prelude that sets the scene for the chapter, followed by what, why and how sections and finally a section that applies one or more of the coaching concepts described in the chapter. Following the overview of coaching in the first chapter, there is a chapter illustrating basic coaching behaviors. Chapters describing and illustrating coaching for individuals, teams, leaders and managers follow. The final chapter focuses on coaching and organizational effectiveness. Each of these chapters, in the application portion, provides a walkthrough of a particular coaching process. While the chapters are similar in layout, each provides information specific to the type of group or individual being coached.

This book is a very effective handbook on the coaching process. It provides a blueprint to follow in implementing the process. For the library that is willing to invest the time and effort necessary to get the whole organization working of one accord to improve employee performance and keep lines of dialogue open, this book is an excellent resource.

Nancy Z. YoungDirector, Stonington Free Library, Stonington, CT, USA