Dr. Consuella Askew was appointed Vice President for University Libraries and University Librarian (VPUL/UL) at Rutgers University in 2022. While serving as the interim the previous year, she had already recognized a pressing need for organizational transformation. An accomplished administrator, librarian, and scholar, Dr. Askew has a distinguished career guiding libraries through transformational change. Now serving as VP of the Rutgers University system, which includes four campuses and 13 library facilities, Dr. Askew’s primary mission was to align practices, procedures, and policies across the system to ensure that it functioned as one cohesive library.
As the interim VPUL, Dr. Askew initiated a comprehensive listening tour, engaging personnel across departments to identify key organizational gaps and opportunities. She discovered critical issues concerning the flow of communications, organizational culture, and organizational clarity —factors that impacted the libraries’ approximately 200 staff members from operating effectively.
Three primary challenges emerged:
- Organizational Clarity – The library personnel were unclear about departmental functions, roles, and reporting structures due to past uncommunicated changes. The hiring process, role transitions, and structural adjustments were inconsistently conveyed.
- Communication Flow – The personnel expressed that communication from leadership was not as transparent or fulsome as it should be.
- Organizational Culture – Employees, particularly those in IT roles, felt underappreciated despite their credentials and level of expertise being equivalent to that of their faculty colleagues. Faculty members expressed concerns about the unvoiced hierarchy within their ranks.
Resource constraints were and remain an underlying challenge as diminishing faculty and staff levels due to budget cuts led to increased workloads with fewer personnel.
Recognizing the complexities of leading both systematic and systemic change in a vast academic library system, Dr. Askew sought external expertise to guide a structured and inclusive transformation. She engaged Dr. Nicole R. Robinson, founder and CEO of Cultural Connections by Design (CCBD), to co-lead the 4-month organizational change process using her 4P’s for Leading Change Framework to underpin this expansive change process.
This collaboration ensured that the restructuring efforts were deeply rooted in principles of transparency, shared governance, and the elevation of all voices within the university libraries system. The framework provided a structured roadmap for guiding cultural and operational change, ultimately fostering a more unified, efficient, and engaged institutional culture.
Strategy and Approach
Dr. Robinson provided a one-on-one brainstorming session with Dr. Askew, designed to gain an understanding of her vision for the outcome of the reorganization and to establish a strategic roadmap for achieving that outcome. During this session, we explored key priorities, clarified goals, and identified the most effective best practices to achieve successful process outcomes. By the end of the session, Dr. Askew had a clear, actionable plan outlining the next steps, setting a strong foundation for the initiative’s success.
The Workforce Planning Task Force initiative officially launched with a one-day kickoff event led by Dr. Nicole Robinson, who worked with a task force of 30 appointed participants, consisting of both faculty and staff. The event incorporated team-building exercises and leadership development activities to align participants with the organization’s vision for change.
The Workforce Planning Task Force members were then organized into six working groups, each focused on the following critical areas within the libraries:
- Reference and Instruction
- Subject Liaison
- Researcher Support Services
- Digital Strategies
- Conservation and Preservation
- Facilities, Shipping, and Receiving
Dr. Robinson’s 4P’s for Leading Change Framework served as a crucial guide for the restructuring efforts in the library system, ensuring that process to develop recommendations leading to a transformative structure was holistic and intentional. Dr. Askew and her team leveraged this framework to systematically address on six areas in the organization while fostering an inclusive and collaborative work style. Through the 4P’s for Leading Change Framework, the team was able to clearly define area objectives, needs, and structures. This approach enabled the seamless integration of staff expertise across departments, ensuring alignment with institutional values and a collective vision for the library system. Further, 4P’s for Leading Change helped create a shared vision that empowered all the library system personnel to actively participate in shaping the libraries’ future ensuring that organizational changes were both meaningful and sustainable.
By applying the 4P’s for Leading Change, the process prioritized:
- People – Centering the needs, experiences, and expertise of all employees, ensuring that individuals are valued and recognized.
- Place – Evaluating how the physical and organizational environment supports collaboration, efficiency, and inclusivity.
- Process – Establishing clear, transparent workflows to improve communication and decision-making.
- Power – Addressing structural barriers to equity and fostering shared governance across all levels of leadership.
As part of this initiative, ongoing communication and active stakeholder engagement were critical to sustaining momentum and ensuring alignment with institutional goals. Dr. Robinson facilitated several series of structured meetings, collaborative working group sessions, and regular group calls. Midway through their work, members of the Workforce Planning Task Force convened a workshop in which each of the six groups reported on their progress to their colleagues and benefited from collegial feedback and input. These interactions fostered a culture of transparency, accountability, and shared decision-making, occurring simultaneously across multiple levels of the organization, ensuring that every voice contributed to shaping the libraries’ future.
To further reinforce transparency and foster engagement, following the completion of its work and production of a report of recommendations for the structures of the six areas, the Task Force conducted a series of university-wide town hall sessions. During these sessions, stakeholders from across the library system were provided with a platform to voice their input and offer feedback on the restructuring plans. These sessions played a crucial role in maintaining open communication and ensuring alignment with institutional values. By creating an environment where all perspectives were acknowledged and considered, the change process became more collaborative, structured, and inclusive, ultimately strengthening the organizational culture and enhancing cohesion across the library system.
Implementation Process
The workgroup recommendations became foundational for identifying the new organizational structure by leadership. Actions taken by leadership include:
- Facilitated structured discussions with senior and middle management, known as the Change Coalition, to secure leadership buy-in for a new organizational structure.
- Developed an implementation roadmap, prioritizing the updating of outdated job descriptions to align with the new structure.
- Scheduled the finalization and rollout of the new structure.
- Endorsement of a workshop series to ensure alignment among unit heads, middle managers, and frontline personnel.
The transformation of the university libraries through the 4P’s for Leading Change Framework demonstrates the power of strategic, inclusive leadership. By prioritizing People, Place, Process, and Power, this initiative not only addressed longstanding challenges but also fostered a more transparent, engaged, and efficient organizational culture.
The collaboration between Dr. Askew, Dr. Robinson of Cultural Connections by Design, and the broader library personnel has laid the groundwork for sustainable change, ensuring that the library system continues to evolve and meet the needs of both staff and students. As implementation progresses, a commitment to shared governance, clear communication, and continuous learning will be key to maintaining momentum and achieving long-term success.
Reflections on the Partnership
In reflecting on her collaboration with Cultural Connections by Design, Dr. Askew emphasized the impact of the partnership, stating, “The process was not just about change; it was about ensuring our people understood why change was necessary and how they could contribute to it.”
As Dr. Robinson is a career educator, her expertise in the teaching and learning process played a crucial role in guiding the organizational change work, as her approach provided educational scaffolding, equipping participants with the knowledge and tools needed to navigate and implement the restructuring with confidence. Dr. Askew noted, “Dr. Robinson’s approach to educational scaffolding ensured that our team didn’t just follow a process but deeply understood the rationale behind every step of the transformation.”
Additionally, equity and inclusion were embedded throughout the entire restructuring process, ensuring that diverse perspectives were actively considered and valued. The intentional centering of inclusion and belonging in decision-making fostered meaningful faculty–staff collaboration and enhanced awareness of structural and communication gaps, ultimately leading to a more inclusive and representative organizational culture. This process helped build an inclusive culture where every participant and employee felt valued and heard. “It was powerful to witness staff and faculty engaging across departments in ways they never had before,” Dr. Askew remarked, emphasizing the newfound sense of unity and collaboration within the libraries.
Conclusion
This case study highlights the transformative power of the 4P’s for Leading Change Framework in fostering an inclusive, people-centered, and purpose-driven organization. Through its partnership with Cultural Connections by Design, the Rutgers University Library System successfully implemented a structured, equity-focused approach that prioritized People, Place, Process, and Power at every stage.
Building on this collaboration, the restructuring process not only embedded equity-centered principles and organizational culture change processes but also created a foundation for sustained engagement and strategic growth, setting the stage for a more cohesive and forward-thinking library system.