Managing Archives in a Time of Change Michael J. Kurtz, Assistant Archivist for Records Services National Archives and Records Administration Joint Conference of NAGRARA, CoSA and SAA August 5, 2006

Management: Organize, plan, budget, staff Leadership: Vision, goals, communication Skills: Education, training, practice, motivation Roles, Responsibilities, Skills Leadership in Management August 2006

Organizational Culture “A complex of typical behaviors or standardized social characteristics peculiar to a specific group, occupation, or profession, sex, age, or grade.” Webster’s: “A complex of typical behaviors or standardized social characteristics peculiar to a specific group, occupation, or profession, sex, age, or grade.” Webster’s Webster’s: “How we do things here.” Leadership style and organizational culture: In sync? August 2006

Systems Change factors Workplace revolution Web of relationship Leader/manager: in the middle Internal/external relationships Paradigm Managing Organizational Complexity August 2006

1.Peter Drucker: Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices, New York: Harper and Row. 2.Henry Mintzberg: The Nature of Managerial Work, New York: Harper and Row, Brief Bibliography Brief Bibliography SAA Archives Seminar Classic Texts 1.G. Edward Evans, et al., Management Basics for Information Professionals, New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc., Michael J. Kurtz, Managing Archival and Manuscript Repositories, Chicago: SAA, Literacy/Archival Management Texts 1. Harvard Business Review on Management, New York: Harper and Row, Harvard Business Review on Effective Communications, Cambridge: Harvard Business Review Paperback, Business Review Paperback, Harvard Business Review on Human Relations, New York: Harper and Press, Helpful Compilations 1.Daniel Goleman, “Leadership that Gets Results,” in Harvard Business Review, vol. 78, No. 2 [March-April 2000] Gary L. Neilson, et al., “The Passive-Aggressive Organization,” in Harvard Business Review, October 2005, Read Ahead

Inconclusive Gary L. Neilson et al., “The Passive-Aggressive Organization,” in Harvard Business Review, October 2005, p. 85. Seven Major Organizational Types Flexible enough to adapt quickly to external market shifts, yet steadfastly focused on and aligned behind a coherent business strategy. Inconsistently prepared for change, but can turn on a dime when necessary, without losing sight of the big picture. Often driven by a small, involved senior team, it succeeds through superior execution and the efficiency of its operating model. RESILIENT JUST-IN-TIME MILITARY PRECISION Congenial and seemingly conflict- free, this organization builds consensus easily but struggles to implement agreed-upon plans. PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE Too large and complex to be effectively controlled by a small team, it has yet to "democratize" decision-making authority. OUTGROWN Multiple layers of management create "analysis paralysis" in a frequently bureaucratic and highly political environment. OVERMANAGED Contains scores of smart, motivated and talented people who rarely pull in the same direction at the same time. FITS-AND-STARTS HEALTHY ORGANIZATIONS UNHEALTHY ORGANIZATIONS