Comments on: A Code of Conduct for Staff & Supervisors

By: Laura England-Biggs

Laura England-Biggs — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:06:05 +0000

Wow. Awesome. Just found the topic for our next staff meeting. We have wonderful giving people on staff who get sidetracked by things that don’t go as planned.

The biggest challenge will be taking the problem to the person/people involved and not dragging others into the discussion. If I’m honest, I have to admit that I’m guilty of the behavior from time to time. I’m working to change that – it’s a work in progress…

We have the potential to be great – with this kind of thinking, we can get there.

By: There is No Excuse for Bullies at Work (or Anywhere Else) | Librarian by Day

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:33:01 +0000

[...] think about how you treat others, and how others treat you. Take some time to read this great Code of Conduct for Staff & Supervisors, every library should have [...]

By: Lorraine

Lorraine — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:20:53 +0000

This is very inspiring to me, thank you Tasha for sharing and Michael for posting.

BUT – I have a troubling question (at least, it’s troubling me): how do you enforce such a code? If morale and inter-staff communication was so bad as to require this kind of step, you must have had staffers who were unable to follow the code, at least right away.

Did you write them up? Remind them unofficially? Did people report on each other?

Like I said, I love the idea – it’s just hard for me to imagine implementing it with negative-attitude staff…

By: Library Hat

Library Hat — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:25:01 +0000

[...] Michael Stephens at Tame the Web has posted a inspiring code of conduct which belongs to the Menasha Public library staff. There are two agreements, one for staff and one for supervisors. The agreement is so simple and commonsensical. After all, one of the items in the agreement includes “Everyone will say good morning, please, and thank you to everyone with good will, no matter what their relative position.” Someone may wonder what kind of code this is if it states such an obvious thing. However, kindness and respect begin with small steps and those small steps can have a big impact on the morale of a library staff. [...]

By: Ana

Ana — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:33:47 +0000

Thanks for sharing this amazing code of conduct. I hope more people can follow it, and understand the importance of keeping all staff at all levels informed, give them the opportunity to contribute ideas, and be confident to communicate.

By: Bohyun

Bohyun — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:46:21 +0000

Thanks for sharing this code of conduct. It seems so amazingly simple and commonsensical. But I am sure putting the code out there for all staff including supervisors and adhering to it would make all the difference!

I hope more libraries adopt this kind of code of conduct. Courtesy, kindness, and generosity tend to be reciprocated. They are not only ideal virtues but also have tangible benefits such as boosting performance and productivity. There is a good reason for management to establish and promote them.

By: Maura

Maura — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:43:15 +0000

Thank you for sharing this. I think this speaks volumes of the administration caring about the health and culture of their organization.

I especially like this line, “The library as a whole is my priority” as this is the way our customers see the library. Patrons don’t see the different departments or service desks like we understand them.

By: Lee

Lee — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:07:17 +0000

Wow. Simply wow.

We wonder where all the civility has gone. It’s there. But it’s a very special mirror.

We can only see ourselves when we reflect it.

By: Tasha

Tasha — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:03:14 +0000

Thanks Michael S. for featuring this! Thanks Michael G. for the compliment! And thanks to Sylvie for reading it just the way it was meant.

By: sylvie

sylvie — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:29:08 +0000

I am especially impressed with “Communication will be my number one goal, so that everyone on staff understands who makes decisions, how decisions are made and what decisions they can make.” because it both speaks volumes about caring about human being interactions AND about efficiency and leadership. Well said.

By: Michael Golrick

Michael Golrick — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:19:09 +0000

Organizational culture is so important! And as your report from Tasha (who is great, by the way), it is interesting to see it so formally presented.

I have noted that there was a song which changed my life as a high school senior. It was from Carole King’s Tapestry album. The song was “Beautiful.”

‘You’ve got to get up every morning with a smile on your face…”

It is a good mantra.