Connecting managers’ voices across the country

Mark Butler, Chair, NMC Governing Council

Ten years ago the National Managers’ Community (NMC) saw its beginnings as a grassroots organization and managers began connecting to one another across the country. With the launch of this new newsletter – aptly named The Voice – managers now have an opportunity to connect to one another in new ways using current technology.

What was a grassroots organization is now an active national community of managers supported by volunteer councils, dedicated coordinators in each region including the NCR, and connected through a secretariat in Ottawa. With a Deputy Minister as Champion, the NMC is a community that brings the collective voice of managers to the national level and ensures it is heard.

In the spring of 2007 the NMC began using e-polling to take the pulse of the community at its annual National Forum. The results of those polls formed the basis for the 2007 Fall Tours. The 2007 Fall Tours were a joint endeavour by the Public Service Commission (PSC), the Canada Public Service Agency (CPSA) and with support from the NMC and the Federal Councils. The Central Agencies provided timely and valuable information to managers about staffing and the new Public Service Modernization Act.

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A conversation on Performance Management

François Guimont, NMC Champion

I have been looking forward to this launch and it is a pleasure to be writing my first article in The Voice.

Its theme is a subject high on the list of issues of concern you expressed. I wish to share with you some candid thoughts and experiences on this very important topic as I did at the NCR Community event entitled Managing Difficult Performance Issues – Playing the Hand you are Dealt on March 5, 2009.

When I worked as a manager at Indian Affairs in Yellowknife, I had a small team. What I remember the most is the proximity of the team and how very important it was to care about people and respond to their needs. Appreciate these moments because this can be a most interesting time in a manager’s career. Because of your proximity to the team, at the end of the day, you know that what you have done on this day is tangible and measurable.

In those early days, I also had to deal with performance issues and the lesson I learned is that you need to deal with unsatisfactory performance early on.

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