Navigating Disruptive Technological Innovation in African Libraries: The Adaptive Leadership Imperative

Abstract

The rapidly and constantly changing library and information landscape in the technology-driven era has necessitated libraries to reimagine the suitability of the leadership styles currently practiced by them. This paper offers a solution by proposing adaptive leadership in navigating disruptive technological innovation in African libraries. In achieving this purpose, typology design was adopted. This paper argues that the ever-changing world of libraries and information institutions is making them complex, requiring dynamic leadership practice designed around adaptability and flexibility to stimulate an innovative culture. Adaptive leadership will equip library leaders with the skills of anticipating the future, making data-driven decisions, and building teams that value collaboration and innovation by encouraging experimentation. Harnessing these skills will facilitate the effective deployment of disruptive innovation tools such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet-of-Things (IoT), robotics, blockchain, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) for library and information services. However, this can only be possible by combating problems like inadequate awareness of adaptive leadership among librarians, static library culture and inadequate technologies. This paper concludes that adaptive leadership practices hold the potential to achieve seamless integration of disruptive technological innovation in libraries. One of the recommendations of this paper is that library institutions, agencies and associations globally should train library leaders on adaptive leadership.