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This paper discusses the complex nature of transformational change required to achieve a learning culture. Peer mentoring will be discussed as an example of a learning process that is in harmony with the values-based transformational leadership and change process, the professional values of librarianship, and the democratic nature of a learning culture.
There is a call for transformational change in higher education and in academic libraries to effectively meet the opportunities and challenges posed by the environment: competition, fiscal constraint, greater accountability to the public, user expectations, demographic change in student populations, recruitment and retention of talented employees, and rapid change primarily driven by technology.1 Authors of library and non-library literature assert that organizations must move toward more fluid organizational designs, distributed or shared leadership, and self-managing teams to effectively meet these challenges.2 A common theme is the necessity for organizations to adopt a learning culture in which learning is continuous in order to meet the challenges of this fluid and rapidly changing environment.3
Transformational change, transformational leadership, and learning cultures or learning organizations have all become popularized and somewhat Utopian in their claims that these practices can address challenges and cure all of what ails an organization. When something is popularized like this, the lack of definitional and prescriptive precision that occurs makes adoption of these practices in real and practical terms extremely challenging. There is no magic bullet that will address pressing organizational issues. Deep and lasting change is very time consuming and complex, requiring intention, congruency, and interrelatedness across departmental boundaries and employee groups. Vision, mission, values, structure, processes, attitudes, behavior, underlying assumptions, and rewards must be congruent and consistent with the intended change. In short, the "devil is in the detail."
This paper will look at the complex and rather elusive nature of transformational change and the values-based transformational leadership required in order to develop a learning culture. Peer mentoring in an academic library setting will be discussed as an example of a learning process that is in congruence with values-based transformational leadership. This paper will add to the academic library literature on mentoring through its examination of the process, using a values-based lens-the critical role values play in the transformational leadership and change process in relation to the...