S2 E15 In conversation with Sarah Clark: Overcoming being your worst enemy

In episode 15 of Season 2, Arthi has a lovely conversation with guest Sarah Clark where Sarah shares her own experience of being her own worst enemy when she took up a key leadership role as the Dean and Head of the University Library for La Salle University.

Sarah share a bit of her journey that brought her into the field of library science and building a career in this space, after realising that her initial foray into telecoms was not for her. She found her niche in connecting people with information and completed her Phd in Oaklahoma before grabbing the opportunity at La Salle University in Philadelphia.

Taking up the leadership role as Dean and university Librarian, she made every mistake that a newbie leader would and shares how she became her own worst enemy. By not knowing how to manage people effectively (delegating effectively, building trust and not micromanaging) while being in this particular leadership position, she started to alienate her colleagues. What unfolded was an intervention by her team and then a journey of personal development for Sarah that helped her feel and process her feelings, forgive herself, trust her leadership skills, and come together as a team to know what works best for the collective.

Some wise words from Sarah:

- "Leaders don’t need to be perfect to build a better world."

-"When you’re a leader, your intent is less important than your impact”

- “It is ok, and it is necessary to feel those feelings that you have about that situation at that time because if you don’t feel them, process them or shove them down in a box, they will just explode...”

Listen to the full episode to hear more and be inspired by my guest.

About Dr Sarah Clark:
Sarah is Dean & University Librarian at La Salle University, as well as the host of the Kind Leadership Challenge podcast. Sarah's PhD in higher ed Leadership, her experience coaching, consulting, and presenting to library leaders all over the world, and a career working in academic libraries from the front desk to the Dean’s office has taught her that leaders don't have to be perfect to build a better world. Sarah is on a mission to share a model of library leadership that strengthens staff wellness through growing humanely, managing effectively, and partnering collaboratively.

Connect with Sarah here:
Website
LinkedIn
Facebook

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Share too, your own insights from your journey based on themes from the episode - what has worked or hasn't for you. We can all learn from each other.

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Chapters

• 0:00 introduction
• 0:29 About the Inspire Your Life Podcast
• 1:08 About Sarah Clark
• 2:04 Welcome Sarah!
• 2:17 More about Sarah
• 3:58 Some of the leadership expectations Sarah was unprepared for
• 5:29 How Sarah ended up becoming her own worst enemy
• 7:13 The aftermath of receiving challenging feedback from colleagues
• 9:12 Sarah's first steps to help change the situation
• 13:00 Why is is important to focus on our personal growth?
• 15:43 Does Sarah have any regret around the leadership development journey?
• 18:55 Sarah's key advice on how to not become your own worst enemy
• 21:34 What's in store for Sarah for the rest of 2022 and beyond?
• 24:34 What inspires Sarah
• 26:40 Thank you Sarah!
• 26:57 Thank you listeners!