The Benefits and Drawbacks of Moving into Management at Mid-career

Abstract

For some of us, climbing the career ladder feels like a natural progression, something we are supposed to do. We find ourselves consciously or unconsciously working to position ourselves for the next leadership opportunity or job without necessarily realizing what the next role entails. Moving up the ladder often involves choices that do not get a lot of explicit attention and for which there are few opportunities to discuss, and a lack of clear models or step-by-step paths. What does it mean to formally lead in a library, and how does this vary by library type and size? What do you give up and what do you gain? What are the benefits and what are the drawbacks? This chapter will offer responses to these questions by reflecting on the authors’ experiences moving up the career ladder within academic libraries, taking on new positions, and eventually moving to much larger libraries in new leadership roles. We will discuss our choices and their impacts on us as individuals, as well as our organizations. We will reflect on our specific experiences, while acknowledging what makes these distinct and/or privileged. Our goals in this chapter are to highlight a potential path for early career librarians who have ambitions for leadership later in their career, while also surfacing issues to consider when deciding if and how to move into leadership roles.