1/6 A common thing I hear in horror stories about managers in LIS: those higher in the reporting structure seeing competence as an insult. Specifically, seeing calls for due process as an attack and accusing ppl of being obstructive or emotional/petty. I attribute this to a
2/6 culture of “fake it till you make it” where LIS staff are often encouraged to wing infrastructure and hire people who are happy holding things together w/duct tape, chewing gum, and a paper clip. Then, when people begin to point out that there is no longer a need to do this/
3/6 collapse is eminent, these supervisors translate this as pessimism or disruption, don’t attempt to understand where others are coming from, demand that everyone share their contentment, then become demoralized and disengage from leading when others are unable to gloss over
4/6 problems. This is because those lower in the reporting structure directly deal with the consequences of legacy patch jobs that were never meant to be long-term solutions. Fingers get pointed when larger initiatives are desired, but unable to be supported due to crumbling
5/6 infrastructure (as “disruptive”staff pointed out from the beginning). Then, after new initiatives fail, everyone exists in a perpetual state of suspicion, blame, and personal slights. The most obvious causal factor I notice: management has outcome tunnel vision, those lower
6/6 in the reporting structure see the bowels of the ship (infrastructure). Management resents the lack of enthusiasm around desired outcomes and refuses/lacks the ability to mediate this conflict.
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1/6 Someone asked: A big thing I've observed is that managers in LIS are often promoted for being good at their job-specific duties (ex: cataloging), not for infrastructure / management skills (ex: building the cataloging workflow and supervising student workers). The way we make
2/6 decisions when we are solely responsible for them is very different from the way we make decisions when we are responsible for supervising/coordinating the work of others. Many managers don't learn this and define "supervising" as telling others what to do. They treat the
3/6 work of their direct report(s) as their own. So when a direct report tells them that a decision may not be the right one, instead of understanding it as "This isn't how I do my work," they hear "You don't know how to do your work." Supervising others is more like project
I learned early on to just leave a community (when possible) if I want peace because more than “not understanding,” others in the community engage in less overt forms of abuse themselves. I just recently had someone acknowledge that what happened to me was deeply messed up and,
while I don’t hold a grudge,
I side-eyed them because the behaviors they were now listing as messed up had always been there & played for laughs. The harm others faced was just derided (i.e. neglected, which is also abuse). My point is, if ongoing abuse has been happening, there
are structures that allow it. The community is dysfunctional. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in a “safe” group, heard some shit fly, looked around, and realized that no one even noticed / noticed and didn’t feel it was appropriate to check it. Then have ppl talkin
1/4 Sitting around wondering how much of this diverse congress is just an example of the Glass Cliff 2.0 concept — google.com/amp/s/www.vox.…
2/4 I often wonder how many PoC are brought in at peaks of stability vs. points where an org is trying to fight decline (pursuing shallow staffing changes in place of ethical practices). I wonder about this in LIS where funding has declined/become tied to capitalist value models
3/4 (ex: lower public funding & increasingly corporate, profit driven funding models in higher ed). There are lots of reasons PoC leave the field, but I also wonder how much is related to LIS’ (in)stability as a profession overall. How many PoC are being brought in to stabilize
1) Tip: whenever I come across a dialog that implicates my complicity in oppressive structures (colorism, for example), I don’t share my feelings. I stay quiet & listen to those who are impacted speak...permanently. Even when invited into the dialog, I simply cite what those...
2) who are impacted have said. There is no reason for my voice to enter the chat. If I am checked for unwittingly engaging in problematic behavior, I listen, clarify, ask what the preferred way to rectify the situation is, & resume listening. If asked to speak on the topic...
3) I acknowledge the dialog exists, that I’m aware of its leaders/participants, & redirect accordingly. What’s my point w/all of this? You aren’t listening to become a specialist, or even to offer help. You’re listening to learn where your lane is & how to stay in it.