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available to support others because I know first-hand how debilitating a lack of confidence can be.


I was pleased to see this on the agenda for the conference, however I am not sure if I can conclude whether this is a result of leaders being better educated in this area. I do think the pandemic has exposed gaps. The question remains around whether you must be a manager in order to be thought of as a leader. We need to move away from this because it can stifle creativity across the board and can result in managers without confi- dence in their leadership skills.


How does confidence relate to leadership? JP – I believe that low self-confidence can be held against someone, to tell them they are unsuitable for/incapable of something. This becomes a cycle, which can reinforce negative beliefs and thus halt career progression. Until fairly recently within my career, I had been actively discouraged from seeking progression, and certainly from any development into management roles. Management and leadership were always displayed to me as intrinsically linked. Last year, I completed the NHS Mary Seacole Leadership Programme, an opportunity I would previously not have had, which helped me to reframe


June 2023


this viewpoint.


I feel it is important not to let one person’s view of what a leader looks like, shape your view of yourself. Which is something I did for far too long.


Are these issues any different in the library and information profession than in others? JP – Within the profession, I feel that we “gatekeep” – actively preventing others from developing because they do not meet some preconceived idea of what a leader looks like. I once mentored someone who was subsequently advised not to pursue fellowship because they hadn’t made “that much” of a contribution to the profes- sion. We should not be stopping people before they even get started. I have also witnessed the phenomenon of the “culture of the individual,” where one person’s development, interests and needs are put above those of the rest of the team and that of the service, to its detriment. This is not leadership. And nor is it sustainable. Equally, within my sector of healthcare, we have a skills gap, particularly around proficiency in evidence searching, and this is something I feel should be addressed as a priority – too often we are recruiting into senior positions people who do not hold these skills, a lot of the time through no fault of their own, and this can impact on their confidence in and their ability to


do the role we need them to do.


How did you find the confidence to tackle a lack of confidence? JP – Since the pandemic, I have discov- ered about myself that I am capable of more than I was once led to believe. I can clearly remember a moment around May 2020, starting a secondment position for NHS England, feeling overwhelmed and exhausted and then, a sharp moment of clarity – for the first time, there was no one there to tell me I couldn’t do it. I am also extremely lucky to have a support network. Not least is the support of someone I call a mentor and a friend, someone who listened to me over a cup of coffee blurt out some deeply held negative beliefs about myself and who continues to support and guide me and help me challenge myself. This person states that their role in my development is entirely incidental. I disagree.


Has covid and hybrid working in- creased problems of personal and professional confidence? JP – For me, I have learned that I cannot spend all day, every day, working from home, as it proves a challenge to my mental wellbeing. I miss the interaction of face-to-face, in-person meetings, although I understand these are not always feasible or practical. One advantage of hybrid


INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 25


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