In a healthy organization, a new leader acknowledges the past, then focuses on building the future. Criticism may surface during a transition, but it should fade as trust and direction take root.

What does it really take to move forward in academic librarianship? To find out, a recent study of 200 academic library professionals (link) explored the barriers and supports librarians encounter on their career journeys. The findings were clear: many librarians feel stuck. Promotion and tenure criteria are often unclear, tenure itself is out of reach for most, and workplace cultures sometimes undervalue critical contributions like service, mentoring, and DEI work.

The one thing I ever agreed with a former manager on was this: when a new administration arrives, its first move is often to criticize the old one. In higher education, this dynamic plays out regularly. A new president, provost, or dean steps in and quickly distances themselves from their predecessor’s vision. Sometimes it’s framed as “We’re moving in a new direction.” Other times, it’s sharper—“We’re fixing what they broke.”

Receiving a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) can feel like the floor has been pulled out from under you. For many employees, it’s a moment filled with anxiety, self-doubt, and fear about the future. In a truly supportive workplace, a PIP should function as a roadmap—a structured opportunity to get back on track, clarify expectations, and strengthen professional growth. At its best, it’s a signal that the organization values you enough to invest in your improvement.

Libraries are more than repositories of information—they are communities where people learn, grow, and find belonging. For student workers, interns, and even new staff members, the first days in a library role can shape their confidence and engagement for years to come. At Inclusive Knowledge Solutions, we believe that fostering strong, supportive relationships through mentorship, buddy systems, and sponsorship transforms onboarding into something deeper: a foundation for growth, belonging, and equity.

Roy Wagner (Invention of Culture) once warned:

In academic libraries—where change is constant, resources can be tight, and collaboration is essential—it’s easy to default to problem-solving through a deficit lens. What’s not working? What’s broken? What’s falling behind?

Sasha Costanza-Chock once warned:

Academic libraries are often framed as neutral spaces—repositories of knowledge, service points for students, and support systems for faculty. But beneath this surface lies an often-overlooked force: emotional culture. How people feel at work—what emotions are expressed, encouraged, or suppressed—has a profound effect on performance, retention, collaboration, and institutional trust.

In today’s academic library landscape, many of us spend just as much time pinging, emailing, Slacking, and Zooming as we do curating collections, teaching research skills, or building partnerships with faculty. Yet so often, our messages are misunderstood—or worse, ignored. You might send a clear, concise message about a collaboration or event and receive silence. Or perhaps a carefully worded update yields only a single emoji response.

After nearly three decades in academic libraries—starting in 1997 and graduating from my MLIS program in Wisconsin 20 years ago—I find myself reflecting more and more on what it means to be successful. Not in the abstract sense, but in the personal, lived-in, late-career, what-was-it-all-for kind of way.

"We're like a family here." It's one of the most common phrases you'll hear in corporate culture, often uttered by well-meaning managers and featured prominently on company websites. While the sentiment behind this language is generally understood—leaders want to convey warmth, support, and unity—it's time to retire this metaphor once and for all. Your workplace isn't a family, and pretending it is creates more problems than it solves.

In a moment that quickly went viral, professional tennis player Amanda Anisimova stood at the mic after a crushing loss, fought back tears, and thanked the crowd with unflinching honesty. For many, it was a moving act of vulnerability. For Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, it was something else: a rare, generous act of courage after a devastating failure.

When you're down two colleagues, buried in reference requests, and still expected to run instruction sessions, social media, and assessment reports, it’s natural to ask: How can I keep doing all this?

We've all seen it happen: the manager who consistently misses targets gets promoted to director. The executive who oversaw a major project failure becomes a vice president. The leader who struggled with team management suddenly finds themselves running an entire division. Welcome to the phenomenon of "failing up"—where mediocre or poor performance seemingly gets rewarded with greater responsibility and higher positions.

The job search process can be nerve-wracking enough without employers making it worse through poor communication practices. Unfortunately, many organizations leave candidates hanging in limbo, creating unnecessary stress and anxiety while potentially damaging their own reputation and ability to attract top talent. When employers fail to communicate effectively during the hiring process, it often signals deeper organizational issues that candidates should take seriously.

Middle managers occupy one of the most challenging positions in organizational hierarchies—serving as the critical bridge between senior leadership and frontline staff while often feeling they cannot satisfy either group. Success requires embracing the role as a strategic conduit, not a people pleaser.

In academic libraries, lean staffing has long been portrayed as efficient, necessary, and even virtuous—something to endure quietly, even as we're taught to continue advocating for more support, more staffing, and more recognition. But what if this austerity model is quietly eroding the very foundation of our impact? What if the cost of lean staffing isn't just current stress—but future lost sales?