02/26/2018

How a Leadership Search Can Hone Your Mission

This search can help organizations analyze the traits a leader should have

Any association that’s thinking about what leadership means for its organization should take a look at what the American Library Association is doing right now.

This may not seem like obvious advice, since what’s happening at ALA is relatively contentious. The association is searching for a new executive director, and its leadership has found itself in the midst of a debate over what qualifications the successful applicant for the position should have. Next month members will vote on a resolution stating that the executive director must possess an ALA-certified master’s degree or similar credential. The resolution was the result of member-led petition in response to an ALA Council decision last year to make such credentials preferred rather than required.

Such a seemingly minor shift has had a broad impact in terms of how many ALA members perceive their perception and its leadership—a boilerplate post on the matter by ALA president James Neal generated dozens of comments in response. “The Executive Director needs to be an exemplary association executive, which is its own profession with its own practices, competencies, and capabilities,” one person argued. “To allow the possibility of hiring a non-MLS executive director is tantamount to dismissing the value of the MLS degree,” argued another. “It would most certainly put the credibility of the association into question.”

Please select this link to read the complete article from Associations Now.