bout de papier, Vol. 17, No. 1 (2000) — Spring 2000 // Printemps 2000, p. 15
• Y the Future (WFF), I had little idea of the intellectual journey that I would take in producing my report (most easily accessed on the DFAIT intranet). The process, which lasted almost a year, allowed me to talk with colleagues in the Department in Ottawa and at posts, with our families as well as people in business, academia, media and culture, and with those concerned with change in other ministries in other countries. Distilling all that I heard and read was probably one of the toughest things I have done. It also made me question some of our fundamental assumptions about the way we manage.
The report I produced was a very personal one, and this created another challenge: how could I, as a member of the Departmental Executive, take an independent view of the institution? All I can say is that I tried, and that I had the Deputies’ encouragement to do so.
So what is there in the report that makes it worth reading? It is not a management document. It is not the record of a consensus inside or outside DFAIT with which everyone will agree. It is an attempt to stir reflection and to stimulate all of us to take charge of our collective future before the future takes charge of us.
What I Heard as I was Collecting Ideas
The world is changing so rapidly that all institutions are under the gun. Information technology, in the hands of individuals as well as organisations, business and finance, is reshaping the role of governments, media, banks, retailers and every organisation that earns its keep as an intermediary, DFAIT is a classic example of such an institution.
Our reason for being is to provide Canadians with representation in the world and to translate global realities for Canadians. Doing this in such a way as to add value that others cannot add is our central challenge, and one that will have an impact on our recruitment, our training, the way we organise ourselves, the way we deploy ourselves around the world, and the way we relate both to our clients and amongst ourselves.
The second challenge is to ensure that the way we manage ourselves is the best for the pool of talented people we recruit and hope will spend their careers often, their lives) with us. The relationship between workers and institutions is changing very rapidly, as people with valued skills become more mobile, less prepared to work in hierarchical structures, more insistent on treating information as a common good rather than something that can be compartmentalised and parcelled out according to some notion of a need to know. We have to address shaping a work environment that is in harmony with this culture. We also have to redefine what constitutes our system of rewards in an environment where the personal costs associated with international life are increasingly telling.
What the Report Proposes:
There is no way that a paper can capture everything a complex institution needs to do to meet the kinds of epochal changes that will continue to shape our work environment. The WFF report is an attempt at a start. It challenges others to come into the discourse, propose and champion change, and build a vision that will allow DFAIT to survive as a vital contributor into the new century.
Proposal for Change (shorthand edition):
• Organise our people in a way that motivates by values, and encourages judgement, responsibility and initiative;
• Unleash information, and empower people to manage it;
• Deploy our resources in a way that fits the wired universe and addresses Canada’s core interests rather than old patterns of power;
• Create one FS stream;
• Create a management career that encourages lifetime learning, specialization and advancement in finance, human resources, property management, information technology and management as well as consular services;
• Structure a satisfying career for our headquarters experts in policy and regulatory affairs;
• Manage our international staff (those engaged outside Canada) in a strategic manner, as an integral and valued part of our institution;
• Build a new approach to our families that makes them partners in the management of the Foreign Service.
If you are interested in any of these proposals, whether for or against, please contribute your thoughts to the WFF Web site. DAIT personnel can access the report from the departmental intranet. I look forward to round tables (both physical and virtual) to discuss our future later this spring, and invite everyone who has the interest to join in.
View the original scanned pages →
Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 17, No. 1 (2000) — Spring 2000 // Printemps 2000, p. 15. Read the rest of this issue →
