Colliding scopes: seeing academic library leadership through a lens of complexity

Academic libraries routinely negotiate layers of change as embedded organizations in higher education institutions. Facing competing demands with limited resources gave rise to the question: how do academic library deans effectively lead their organizations in times of change? A Delphi Method study was conducted to identify successful leadership actions of academic library deans. Two panels of experts from land grant universities where librarians have faculty status and participate in the tenure process were convened: one of library deans and the other of academic deans. The data generated was analyzed through three lenses: a discussion of context for the study; an exploration of organizational climates as suggested by differences between academic colleges and libraries; and an examination of successful leadership actions and decisions within a model of complexity leadership. The resultant meta-analysis of complexity leadership theory provides insights about organizations and human resource development needed for adaptation and survival in the context of ceaseless change.