Grounded leadership for complex workplaces, career transitions, and purpose-driven professionals.
Grounded leadership for complex workplaces, career transitions, and purpose-driven professionals.
Leadership clarity, decision-making, boundaries, accountability, confidence, communication, and leading without losing yourself
For years, much of my professional work, writing, and reflection has been shaped by my experience in libraries, public service, technology leadership, and organizational operations. If you have spent time on Jaketha.com, you may notice older posts that speak directly to library leadership, public service, staff development, workplace culture, and operational challenges within library environments. …
I recently had the opportunity to present two sessions at the Louisiana Library Association (LLA) Conference—an experience that led to meaningful conversations with colleagues across the profession about leadership, collaboration, and workplace culture in libraries. My breakout session, “Breaking Down Silos: Leading with Collaboration,” explored how organizational silos can develop within institutions and how leadership …
Why Silos Still Exist in Libraries Most libraries value collaboration.Many still struggle to experience it. Silos aren’t always created by ego or resistance. More often, they form quietly—through overload, unclear authority, and past attempts that didn’t feel safe or productive. Common library silos tend to be: When collaboration becomes a slogan rather than a practice, …
Loss in the workplace does more than interrupt routines — it reveals culture. When a colleague passes, the absence is felt not only in workflow, but in shared history, unspoken moments, and the quiet realization that our professional spaces are made up of human lives, not just roles and responsibilities. In these moments, people look …
In any organization—public, private, or nonprofit—people are the heartbeat of daily operations. But even the most mission-driven teams can falter without clearly defined expectations for behavior, communication, and accountability. That’s where a Staff Code of Conduct becomes not just helpful, but essential. As part of my MBA program, I developed a comprehensive code of conduct …
In my last post, I explored how silos can weaken libraries by isolating departments and stifling innovation. Breaking down silos is an important step — but what happens next is equally critical. Too often, silos give way to something that looks like collaboration but is anything but: cliques. On the surface, cliques can seem harmless. …
Strong libraries depend on strong leadership. Directors and senior managers set the tone for how staff collaborate, how decisions are made, and how the library adapts to change. But what happens when leadership itself becomes the problem? While much has been written about silos and cliques in library organizations, the truth is that neither can …
Libraries exist to serve their communities, yet many struggle internally with challenges that keep them from reaching their full potential. One of the most common barriers is the presence of silos — when departments or individuals operate in isolation, focusing on their own priorities rather than shared organizational goals. While silos may provide a sense …