“Your Job Is to Advocate for Us.” Well…

If you’ve spent any time in library leadership, you’ve probably encountered a situation like this:

One of the people you supervise – let’s say it’s a librarian named Gary – wants a library policy to change. But the policy – let’s say it’s paid leave for part-time employees – is a campus policy over which the library has no control. So a conversation like this ensues:

Gary: “It’s deeply unfair that everyone gets paid time off on federal holidays except part-time employees. We’d work if we could, but we’re not allowed to, so we’re forced to just take what amounts to a pay cut.”

You: “I see where you’re coming from on this. The thing is, what we’re talking about isn’t a library policy; it’s a university policy, and the library has to abide by it.”

Gary: “You could use your influence with the administration to get it changed.”

You: “I do have some influence, but probably not as much as you think. I could try to get this policy changed, of course, but I’m not sure it would be a wise use of what influence I do have.”

Gary: “Come on, man! Your job is to advocate for us!”

Does Gary have a point? Sort of.

On the one hand, yes: advocating for the interests of library employees really is part of the library leader’s job. No leader should be afraid of doing that.

On the other hand, advocating for the interests of library employees is only part of the library leader’s job, and doing so in a non-strategic or indiscriminate way can create conflict with other, equally important parts of the leaders job, such as: 

• Advocating for the needs of patrons (which are not always fully in harmony with the desires of staff)
• Furthering the institution’s overall mission (which sometimes requires library staff to do things that they’d prefer not to do, or to set different priorities from what they’d prefer)
• Managing the library’s political capital (which requires being judicious and strategic in deciding which proposals to escalate to campus administration)

As a leader, you never want to have to tell your people that you’re not going to advocate for them. But sometimes what they want isn’t what would be best for other constituencies to whom you also have an obligation as a leader – or even for them. In some cases, the best way to defend your people’s real interests in the long run is to decline to advocate for what they’re asking for in the moment. 

So how should you respond when confronted with the “Your job is to advocate for us!” message? Obviously, it depends on the circumstance. Sometimes you’ll agree entirely and you’ll embark on making an advocacy plan. But other times you’ll be unconvinced, or you’ll feel the need to do more due diligence before making a decision. In such situations, possible responses might include: 

• “I have many different responsibilities. Advocating for what you want is an important one, but not the only one. I can see how this would benefit you, but it looks to me like it could undermine patron service – and serving patrons is also my job.”
• “The thing you want me to advocate for is not something that everyone in the library wants. Maybe we should have a broader organizational conversation about this.”
• “Every time I ask the administration to change a policy or give us something else we want, I expend a little bit (and sometimes a lot) of political capital. Insisting on a discussion of what you’re asking for would probably undermine my ability to get a discussion about other important things the library needs. Where do you think this particular issue should fall on the list of library priorities?”

Takeaways and Action Items

• As a library leader, you have multiple responsibilities, and sometimes they can be in tension with each other. What principles will you apply in deciding which ones take precedence?
• Sometimes, effectively defending the needs of your people means declining to advocate for something they want.
• Meet with your leadership team and consider scenarios like the ones discussed above, including any that have taken place in your library. How have you handled them? Is everyone on your team on the same page?