Interacting with Senior Management (article)

I found Cindy Sullivan's article, "Interacting with Senior Management," very interesting.  In it, Sullivan discussed how and why she developed "a series of workshops that would focus on interacting with the senior management in an organization" (2011, para. 3).

Some of the things I found most interesting were her reasons for focusing on interacting with senior management.  For example, she believed that "it was necessary [for the library] to be perceived as a partner in order to contribute to the strategic direction of the organization and demonstrate the leadership qualities that are valued by management" (Sullivan, 2011, para. 4).  Furthermore, she felt "it was extremely important for library managers to be perceived as being on the same plane as their senior team in terms of management techniques, thought leadership, and implementing the overall organization's strategic plan" (Sullivan, 2011, para. 5).

The techniques Sullivan espoused in her workshops are all about face time and "[providing] regular, personal interactions with the members of the senior team" (2011, para. 8).  Such interactions are essential to "1. demonstrate business acumen; 2. exhibit expert knowledge; and 3. build a relationship" (Sullivan, 2011, para. 8).

Elsewhere in the article, she gave examples of how other SLA members were "providing library services to [the executive] segment of their client base" (Sullivan, 2011, para. 8).  The one I found most interesting was a public library that provided "proactive research and reference services to prominent individual in different types of organizations and fields (e.g., lawyers, medical professionals and business professionals)" (Sullivan, 2011, table 1).

Sullivan's basic premise, that it is more important than ever to make sure that the powers that be in an organization understand the value they receive from an in-house library, is nothing new.  It is, in fact, an idea that has been beaten into my brain in my 2+ semesters of library school.  However, rather than simply state that fact and move on, Sullivan took the initiative to create a way to help her fellow librarians show their value to senior management.  For that, I applaud her.  I also applaud the unnamed public library she mentioned that adapted an approach that feels very "corporate library" and applied it to its public setting.


Sullivan, C. (2011, September). Interacting with senior management. Information Outlook, 15(6). Retrieved from http://www.sla.org/io/2011/09/1050.cfm