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Workforce Wonk

By Alyah Khan

Blog archive

Managers: Put down the BlackBerry and engage your employees

When leaders are trying to develop a more collaborative culture at a federal agency, technology plays an important role. But it’s not just technology that fosters openness and transparency. It’s also the development of personal relationships, according to Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry.

Berry, speaking at a Knowledge Management Conference on May 2, told the managers in the room that organizational success depends on “engaging your people.”

He explained that if agency managers are looking at their smart phones in the elevator and in line at the cafeteria instead of talking with employees, they are sending a clear message about their priorities.

Instead, managers must create an environment that encourages employees to speak up and be heard. Otherwise, managers and supervisors will be left high and dry in times of need. If you, “wait until you're amidst the crisis, no one is going to come to your aid if you’ve been the one in the BlackBerry,” Berry said.

Do you think federal managers spend too much time staring at their smart phones and not enough time engaging employees? How can managers reach out to their employees and develop a more open culture?

Posted by Alyah Khan on May 03, 2011 at 2:07 PM


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Reader comments

Mon, May 9, 2011

Leaders, managers or whatever you call them, will never have openness with employees, if employees do not have trust or faith in the people that are doing the managing. Blackberry won't matter. Faith, trust, and belief are what support openness. My "manager" is a total liar; he throws his employee under the bus all the time. We as a team has to listen to him lie about things we know are lies and he doesn't have a blackberry. A blackberry would only make matters worse. The biggest problem is that we, as employees can’t rate our managers.

Wed, May 4, 2011 Douglas Fort Stewart

It would also help if Senior Managers would put their samrt phones down as well.

Wed, May 4, 2011 DC Fed Washington

All well and good to say don't be addicted to your blackberry..... until you ignore it and it's an agency official needing/wanting a response NOW. You were purportedly issued your blackberry because it serves a vital agency or public interest to have you available at a moment's notice. If you're not that important, maybe you should re-evaluate the criteria that led to assigning you a blackberry in the first place. In my agency component we had 39 blackberry's assigned in 2005, in 2011 the agency component has increased staff by less than 10%. The number of persons with blackberries are 702. That's nearly 2000 percent more devices for a mission that has changed very little in 6 years. We don't all need them. If you want to decrease the distracted behaviour, start by decreasing the number of issued blackberries to essential needs only.

Wed, May 4, 2011 Tony

Effective management of people must be hands on. If you don't know your people's strengths and weaknesses you won't get their best work. Technology and the associated social media are tools. If we allow ourselves to put the cart before the horse, so that the tools take over then we are doing a disservice to our people and our job. Simple rules: 1) In a meeting give that meeting 100% of your attention. 1a. If the meeting was badly done critique it after the meeting. with specifics. Don't critique during the meeting by not paying attention. 2) Set limits on using technology. 3) Be careful where and how you 'multitask.' Remember earning respect requires respect. One key to earning respect is to give people our full attention by setting the crackberry down when we talk to people.

Wed, May 4, 2011

It is not just a curse of managers. I've been in several "working groups" with people who start looking at their electronic toys when colleagues are directly addressing them. Why anyone thinks this is not rude is beyond me.

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