Rethinking leadership roles for the academic library : the attitudes of library staff towards a leadership-driven academic information service enterprise

Abstract

Present day business enterprises engage all staff members in leadership roles so as to ensure the sustainability of such an enterprise. A leadership driven enterprise focuses on both the operational leadership structures, which address urgent leadership roles, and other leadership structures which are essential for the sustainability of the enterprise. In the past, some leadership roles were often neglected since the focus fell mostly on the performance of urgent leadership roles pertaining to operational output. This article reports on the results of an investigation into the attitude of staff towards a shared leadership model in terms of its value to the academic information service enterprise, the satisfaction gained by staff performing voluntary leadership roles that do not form part of their job description and the value experienced by these staff members.