FOI Philippines' Team Guide

I wrote this team guide for my office staff back in September 24, 2018, out of frustration when what I thought I had taught by example didn't exactly trickle down to team members. Since writing it, I've had less to deal with, and that makes me happy. I'd like to believe these learnings and teachings are what makes our team one of the best work horses of our department. 

I'd like to share it with you now because it just might work for your team too. My FOI Team is small (we're less than 30 as of the moment). I think the principles shared here work best for small teams (anywhere between 3 to 50) in a government setting.

FOI-PMO Team Guide (24 Sept 2018)

1. Our mission and shared goal is to operationalize FOI throughout government. All our efforts should be consistent and lead to the attainment of 100% compliance to the program.

2. To accomplish #1, our team must be agile, nimble, and able to adapt or respond quickly to the unpredictable political landscape. 

3. To achieve #2, our office structure must strive to be flat. A flat structure encourages people to work together and allows for overlap in effort, which often empowers co-workers to do what needs to be done.

4. Salary grades (SG) mean just that—a person’s salary. In this office, it doesn’t bestow rank. Whether SG 11 or SG 23, there should be no hierarchy. We are all co-workers in FOI advocacy.

5. Given our small team, there is no need for deputies or assistant division chiefs. There is only the division chief. He or she is directly responsible for his co-workers in the division.

6. There should be no walls or barriers between divisions. I cannot stress it enough that here in FOI, divisions are not independent kingdoms. Divisions may have their principal assignments, but there is no exclusivity of work. In fact, divisions are encouraged to help each other and share their strengths. Always complement or supplement each other. Remember, we are stronger as one family. 

7. Division chiefs are the ates and the kuyas of the office. They bring with them years of experience working in government, and are a rich source of knowledge and wisdom. That said, division chiefs should exercise empathy, and mentor their co-workers. Motivate, empower and inspire them. 

8. Co-workers should respect division chiefs. They are the ates and kuyas of the office. They bring with them years of experience working in government, and are a rich source of knowledge and wisdom. Learn from them. 

9. There is no place for hypocrisy in the office. Co-workers should walk their talk. For example, when we preach transparency, we should be transparent ourselves. 

10. In case of doubt, remember the words of James Madison, “A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or tragedy, or both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance. And a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” Let his words be our guide.

AKRA

Kris Ablan's 13 Tips for Managing in Government

Well, hello there, blogworld! Long time no see! It's nice to visit this blog after a while. Anyway, I've been a manager in the public sector for more than 10 years now, and I've learned a thing or two (or thirteen) on how to lead a team. Sharing it with you guys!

1. The Buddy-Buddy System

I advocate the buddy-buddy system at the office. This means a task or assignment cannot be owned by just one person. There has to be another person (a buddy) who shadows the focal and knows everything about the task. This way, when the focal is absent (on leave or on assignment), the buddy can take over. The task is not held hostage, and the task can be completed. 

2. Learn an admin skill. Do admin work. 

Apart from their primary tasks, let your employees learn an administrative skill and do administrative work. Not all organizations need policy, legal, monitoring, comms, etc. staff, but they always need admin work. Whether it’s HR related, finance, procurement, or secretariat duties, let them do it. Exposure to admin tasks widens their skillset, allows them to appreciate their work, and makes them more valuable and employable. 

At the FOI office, our policy/legal guys do bids-and-awards-committee (BAC) work; our compliance staff is the secretariat of the personnel selection board (PSB) and adjudication committee; and our IT/comms people do records management and business continuity planning. After their stint in FOI, their admin skills will be their ticket to advance in their careers. 

3. All of your co-workers are your office’s ambassador. Make sure they know what’s happening. 

Everyone at your office is an ambassador of your office when they are out. They are the face, the focal, and the point-of-contact, who will leave an impression of your office to others. So you have to make sure that everyone knows whats happening in the office, and will be able to inform strangers or acquaintances about what all of you do. No exemptions—from most senior rank down to entry-level staff, dapat may alam. 

This applies most especially to small offices with 30 staff or less. Don’t compartmentalize or pigeonhole your staff! Dapat alam ng capacity building kung ano ginagawa ng policy, at alam ng monitoring ano ginagawa ng strategic partnerships. 

This is good for your staff, and it’ll be good for the office. 

4. Be results oriented. Not time bound. 

Unless you run a restaurant, a security agency, or any business that largely depends on physical presence, focus on your employees' output. Focus on being results oriented.

I've heard of managers who counted the lates--down to the minutes of time-in and time-out, of their legal staff, as if their work solely depended on being physically in the office for eight hours. For positions concerning legal, policy, creatives, communications, or other similar work, don't bind them to a strict 8 to 5 schedule, especially when they even have to stay behind after office hours. Score them based on the outputs they produce. Are they able to draft that memo, that policy paper, that legal opinion? Give premium to results. 

To impose the same assessment criteria for all employees is unfair, and will result to counter-productivity.

5. Work life balance. Plan personal leaves.

Life is short. And a huge chunk of our life is taken by work. So every chance society gives us a break, you take it. (In government, it’s 15 days a year) I told my co-workers to maximize their annual vacation leaves. Get some rest or enjoy the outdoors. Go on vacation or visit family. It doesn’t matter, just use your VL. 

My only requirement is that you plan ahead. Inform me in advance, and make sure that when you’re away, the work is not held up—that is, there is a colleague who will take over. That’s all there is to it. 

6. Respect the private/personal life of your staff.

People are social beings. It’s in our nature. And it’s actually nice for managers to become friends with staff because it strengthens the bond of the team. But know your boundaries. Be conscious of your actions and know when to respect the private or personal life of your staff.

7. Limit the number of meetings.

I hate unnecessary meetings. I once worked at a place where we had meetings more than once a week. They were a complete waste of time because our projects and tasks did not move as fast to justify weekly reporting. We’d give the same update meeting after meeting, it was useless. Time spent listening to another division’s report (which I already heard of from the previous week) could’ve been used to work on my actual task. I hated it. 

My strategy is to meet with everyone on a quarterly basis. Set the tone and direction of the office for the next three months. Make time for an open forum so that co-workers can clarify or ask questions. Then meet the deputy heads (or division chiefs) once a month for updates. Schedule smaller group meetings only when necessary. 

Remember, time is precious in the public service. Time spent in a meeting could be used more productively at the work station or out on the field. 

8. Avoid paralysis by analysis. Experiment, implement, learn, adjust, then repeat. 

I subscribe to the quote attributed to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He said,

“The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold persistent experimentation. 

It is common sense to take a method and try it; if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”

We practice this in the office. While it’s nice to plan, if that’s all that you do, nothing will happen. You have to implement. It’s okay to commit mistakes. Don’t be afraid to fail. That’s all part of the learning and improvement process. Pag nagkamali, identify what it was and correct it. Ganun lang. 

I also subscribe to the Japanese work ethic of Kaizen or continuous incremental improvement. The principles of Kaizen are: 1. There is always room for improvement. 2. Everyone’s opinion is valued and considered. This way, workers are confident offering suggestions, and there is quality team work. 

9. Don’t bring staff to events or activities where they are not needed. 

In other words, pag hindi mo kelangan ng alalay, wag ka magdala. As I already mentioned, time is precious in the public service. Time spent by your staff accompanying you to an event he/she has no contribution to, could be be used more productively at the office.

10. Put premium in trust

I believe in and have experienced the speed of trust. I learned this from Stephen Covey, and it’s 100% true. When there is trust and confidence between co-workers, tasks are done faster, sometimes even better. When there is trust, there is no need to constantly check or micro manage each other; there are no layers of approval; and paperwork is lessened.

From a personal point of view, I worry less and am able to do other important tasks. From an employee’s point of view, he or she enjoys a level of freedom, and gets to use creativity—as long as the job gets done. 

When working with a new hire, you have to assume there is trust between each other. And in the course of the work relationship, you have to strengthen that trust—that is, make sure you have each other’s back. 

When trust is broken, you’ll observe that work slows down, and co-workers become suspicious of each other. So try to address it immediately, patch things up, and rebuild. Otherwise, if mistrust persists, the relationships and the work are both doomed. 

11. The IPCR is your OKR

I support John Doerr’s advocacy of having Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) in his book Measure What Matters (2018). I think it’s good to have direction in the work that you do, and you’re not going around in circles, or worse, running in place. If you’re the leader or manager, try to set an Objective for your team. What is it that you’re trying to do? Then identify the team’s key results—how will you reach your objective. Once that is set, then you meet with your staff individually and set their respective OKRs. Annual OKRs is good, but semestral would be better. 

In government, OKRs are called Individual Performance Commitment and Review (IPCR) and Division Performance Contract and Review (DPCR)—I know, OKRs sound better. But they perform the same function of setting objectives and identifying key results. 

It takes time to develop and finalize OKRs, but I believe it’s worth it. 

12. Talk to your staff and always do expectations setting.

Don’t limit your interaction with staff to meetings, team buildings, and IPCR settings. Adopt the mindset of continuous performance management (CPM). 

Regularly talk to your staff. Ask them how they are doing with their work—and mean it when you ask. They will know if you’re just paying lip service. Give them feedback, set expectations, and do it vice versa. Listen to what they have to say. Lastly, don’t forget to give credit when it is due. Recognize and give expressions of appreciation for good work.  

13. Conduct Debriefing after activity. 

Every activity is a learning opportunity. And a good way to ensure learning is to hold a quick sharing and debriefing immediately after an activity, so that insights and observations are shared while they are still fresh in the memory.

Hope you learned a thing or two from me! Do you have your own management principles you follow? Share it and comment down below. Thank you and God bless!