A Conversation with Incoming ALA President, Maureen Sullivan

"I'd really like to talk to you about your LLAMA experience, and some of the things you did with the association," I said at the beginning of our phone conversation. "That was a long time ago," she laughed. "I may to have to look at my old notes." [Maureen Sullivan] first became interested in LLAMA when she was working at University of Maryland Libraries, as the Assistant Personnel Librarian. A colleague was active in the then Personnel Administration Section of the association. Maureen simply attended committee meetings and found one that interested her. "Just volunteer to help," Maureen advised people who want to get on committees. Maureen would later chair the section and then became the president of LLAMA in 1989. Maureen cited "an effective board" that she got to work with as a major positive during her LLAMA presidency. She noted that it was a wonderful organization to network and form relationships with colleagues of different types of libraries. Since her time, she has noticed that people involved with LLAMA see the organization as a whole, rather than the separate sections or divisions. She was also pleased to see that more people who are not in management positions getting involved in LLAMA. We want more leaders "at the point of opportunity of need". Maureen explained that "because of the complexity of work and continuous changes, it calls for much more exercise of initiative and creativity". Leaders in an organization should not be just those in management positions. We want "leadership by opportunity taken, as well as leadership of position you hold". "How do you see the new generation of leaders? What kind of qualities should they possess?" I inquired. "Emotional intelligence," Maureen answered quickly. "The ability to be aware of your own emotions, and of others' emotions is key to managing one's self and others." For example, "someone with a high emotional intelligence can deal with conflict and disagreement effectively, while recognizing their value. We want deep learning". But how do we develop a high emotional intelligence? "Leadership development must begin early. At the MLIS level," Maureen replied. "The best way is to go through and identify your strengths, and then further develop them."