A Shared Leadership Approach to Change Management in Systems Projects

In 2012 the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) Library embarked on a feasibility project as part of an identified systems roadmap to evaluate both traditional library systems and the new library services platforms coming onto the market. The outcome was a strategic decision to move towards library services platforms and keep a watching brief as these developed further over the next 12-18 months. In 2013 a second project in the roadmap focussed our attention on the evaluation and implementation of a library resource discovery layer. The subsequent Stage Three project (library services platform evaluation and implementation) is currently underway. These projects have provided opportunities to consider approaches that would build capacity and develop staff in parallel with core project tasks. A key consideration was ensuring staff capability to deal with systems complexity and technological change. Taking a devolved or shared leadership approach established and promoted a culture of team learning, sharing, collaboration and contribution, and encouraged staff to take responsibility for their own learning, reflective thinking and knowledge building. The evolution and formalisation of this shared leadership approach has strategically positioned USC Library to better manage change during the projects identified in the systems roadmap, and has resulted in quality decision-making and project outcomes. This paper outlines the approach taken to change management leadership, the processes used to establish and maintain the cooperative learning culture in support of systems projects, and the challenges dealt with along the way. It also provides a summary of lessons learned for its further evolution