Remarks for Wayne G. Wouters for Collaborative Culture Camp
October 15, 2010
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Thank you Daniel for that introduction and for hosting this event. Thank you for inviting me, I’m happy to be here today.
This event is encouraging and impressive – it’s a tangible, grassroots example of collaboration and innovation in and of itself.
I’m impressed with what you have done here today! I understand that this self organized event has been arranged without fees and is enabled by collaborative technology.
This is a wonderful accomplishment and I hope it will serve as a model for the public service.
I hope you and others take my attendance here as a further signal of my commitment to fostering collaboration and innovation in the workplace.
The public service is stronger because of its networks, its inclination to consult, reach out and seek advice.
This event today is an excellent example of something that happens every day, public servants taking initiative; collaborating and connecting with colleagues.
To ensure that we continue to offer Canadians excellent service we must make silos, as an organizational structure, a thing of the past.
Many of you here are self selected advocates for more effective approaches to our work as public servants.
We are all influenced by the challenging times we’re living in. The public service, as with all other large organizations around the world, operates in a constant state of flux.
The world is exponentially more complex, connected and integrated than it was when I began my career.
We are not alone. Governments all over the world are struggling with the same issues, and they are trying to meet these challenges while simultaneously trying to find their way back to fiscal balance.
Despite the changing goalposts, we’ve demonstrated that when we have to, we’re very good at collaborating across organizational lines to deliver exceptional results, often under very challenging circumstances.
The Economic Action Plan, the G8/G20, humanitarian relief in Haiti, the Olympics and Paralympics, H1N1 – look what we can do when pressed. We’ve witnessed it, so we know it is possible, at all levels.
As Canadians, and public servants, we should be proud – and these are just a few examples of what we can do.
Citizens’ demands for better, faster and higher quality services continue to increase.
To be successful in this environment, we need innovation and increased collaboration.
I spoke to the ADM Forum yesterday and conveyed very similar messages to them.
One of our biggest challenges, as you in particular will appreciate, is that the tools and operating environments we work with have not kept pace with technological advancements.
This is why I am so pleased with the creativity and ingenuity that has gone into this event, and so encouraged by the success of the Veterans Affairs “Canada Remembers” Facebook campaign, the NRCan wiki and GCPEDIA.
I speak often about the transformation that needs to take place in the public service and the transition we need to make from being risk averse to risk aware.
Just think about the absolutely amazing events that have transpired in Chilé in the past 48 hours. Think of the remarkable rescue of the 33 miners.
The rescue operation was an incredible example of informed risk taking, innovation, collaboration and cross jurisdictional cooperation.
More than an extraordinary engineering feat, the rescue effort, as well as the media coverage, was truly international.
As the Prime Minister said in his statement on Wednesday:
“Canadians can be proud that Canadian companies participated in the rescue efforts by drilling two backup rescue shafts as well as providing airlift, drilling expertise, generators, temporary housing modules and initial on-site satellite communications.”
Imagine if we adopted his approach and culture in the public service – consider what more we could do.
As head of the public service, I can encourage and initiate change, but cannot do it all on my own.
I’m here today to nudge you to find answers. There is no easy button. There never is when it comes to individual behaviours and organizational culture.
We all have roles to play.
I’m engaging your Deputies and have called on them (in the 2010-11 public service renewal action plan) to tell me what they’ve done to build strong employee and managers’ networks, develop collaborative work environments, and experiment with web 2.0 technology.
All Deputies are accountable and their stories will form a core component of my next annual report.
Some of you may know that I have a GCPEDIA page, that I tweet fairly regularly and I have a webpage – Clerk.gc.ca.
I tweet in support of public servants and the great work that you do. I am always looking for different examples of how we serve the public.
I have heard that some think my “tweets” are not that exciting…….but hey……..it’s free publicity!!!!
One of my goals in embracing the world of web 2.0, was to demonstrate that there’s no need to fear new ways of working.
Guess what? Since embarking on this path I’ve noticed, that the sky has not fallen. In fact, it looks a bit wider and more open!
These are modest efforts – but we have to start somewhere.
Change takes time, effort and commitment, and the need for change never actually ends. Renewal, even if called something else, needs to be ongoing.
Constantly thinking of new and better ways to work needs to be our new modus operandi. It needs to be embedded in our DNA.
A great, illustrative example that I’d like to mention briefly is the social networking component adopted as part of the G8 and G20 summits.
As a result of collaborative efforts between Open Text, the Canadian digital media network, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, summit participants were provided with a secure, social networking platform for the first time ever!
Senior diplomats and other officials representing G20 countries used the social networking platform to collaborate in the months prior to the events.
By the time the summit got under way, issues and perspectives had been shared over a secure network leading to more fruitful discussions.
This virtual and secure working environment, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, made the summits more relevant to a broader global audience, and showcased Canada as a digital leader.
I’d like to end my more formal remarks by acknowledging that most of you are out in front of your line managers in terms of collaboration. I also know it is challenging to keep it up.
But I encourage you to keep breaking down barriers, while finding newer and better ways to work together.
Your collective efforts and those of all public servants are key to our continued progress. I thank you for this.
Change is slow, and we’re still far from the tipping point. But by taking what you learn here today and spreading it throughout your organizations and networks – you can make a difference!
Thank you again, and keep up the good work!