LAPL wanted to strengthen and widen its leadership pipeline by improving staff opportunities to gain leadership skills and management tools, thus allowing them to be successful in changing environments and roles. In listening to staff, we knew we needed something that was sustainable, inclusive of every aspect and every level of our organization, and open to all employees. A clear definition of what leadership looked like at LAPL was essential, as were opportunities to exercise leadership regularly in our current roles.

We developed a set of organization-wide leadership values, with strategies to incorporate them into our daily work. Employees at all levels were trained to serve as peer facilitators to engage staff in leadership activities and discussions. A Take the Lead newsletter and recognition toolkit spotlight staff modeling our values. Conducting Fireside Chats with executives increased internal transparency on decision-making. Robust data collection is performed to measure progress and ensure effectiveness.

When the library closed its 73 locations because of COVID-19, Take the Lead’s leadership values encouraged staff at all levels to demonstrate a readiness to meet and exceed expectations. They felt empowered to experiment with new service models, which began to appear the day after we closed. One year after launching the program, 84% of staff agreed that we had a shared definition of leadership and 62% expressed positive sentiments about their leadership and self-leading practices during the pandemic.