Page 120 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

strategic leadership in a Virtual world � 99

the argument, trying to make the case, trying to convince people . . .
to envision a new way. That you do through speeches and articles.”
He received a standing ovation after his presentation at the Federal
Managers Association Convention, but he knows that moving for-
ward won’t be easy. A recent report, “Out of Sight, but Not Out of
Touch: Federal Executives’ Assessment of Agency Telework Policy”
showed strong support for telework in the federal government and
the belief that employees can be just as productive when teleworking,
with benefits like employee satisfaction and continuity of operations.
The largest barrier to telework, by a large margin, for those who don’t
telework was their manager’s lack of support for it. So Berry has a lot
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of proselytizing to do, even within his own leadership corps.
Third, OPM has or is in the process of developing the policy infra-
structure and support systems—such as training—necessary to under-
gird a successful telework initiative. Check out the Web site www.
telework.gov/ to find out just about everything a federal employee,
manager, or coordinator needs to make the decision to go mobile. Pol-
icies and procedures, tools and resources, reports and studies can all
be found there. Training opportunities, telework practices, frequently
asked questions (FAQs), telework centers, and contacts to talk to are
all easily accessible. You can even find the Telework Talk Blog there,
where federal employees at all levels can talk about their telework
experiences, potential barriers, ideas, telework challenges, and other
topics. Leadership training, one of the most powerful ways to change
a culture—especially when the top reason change is inhibited is man-
agement resistance—is also underway. “We are working on a training
regimen and curriculum for new managers,” Berry told us, “that will
be including these notions and concepts. How you drill this through
an organization of that size? I’m keenly aware that if it is only me say-
ing this, it is not going to go very far, quite frankly.”
Fourth, Berry is trying things. Steve Lamont, the president of Wifi.
com, told us that an important way to build trust when moving to
a mobile workforce is by using pilot tests. “Pilots are a way to fail
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forward, because you fail quickly and learn lessons from it, [which]
helps you improve it. The best programs are the ones that, through