My favorite movie is Field of Dreams, in which Ray Kinsella/Kevin Kostner builds a baseball field that enables his vision to become reality. The baseball field provides the infrastructure to set the scene for the players to come out of the cornfield to make the game. Shoeless Joe Jackson/Ray Liotta said “If you build it, he will come.” And when Ray built it, he and others did come.
That’s what good management does; it enables, creates, and maintains infrastructure and environment. It’s the playing field where good customer service can happen. Infrastructure is everything from facilities to personnel to technology and other tools. In libraries and library service agencies (like ours), the people who provide the services are our most valuable asset.
Working for the military, I learned that there are 2 critical tasks in management – take care of your people and make the boss look good. Get those 2 things down, and your career is secure. Screw it up and look for another job. It’s really a pretty basic concept. Take care of the people and make their environment one in which they can take care of the business. Take care of the boss, and the boss’ll take care of you – and everybody’s got a boss, whether it’s the CEO or the taxpayers.
Take a look at a business (whether a library or a coffeeshop) where you get good service. I’m pretty sure the employees are happy and fulfilled. Their surroundings are clean and up to date, their tools work, expectations are clear, and they have a good sense of team spirit. That’s what the good manager does – makes sure all those environmental and human factors are in place.