To Build Social Networks, Hire Social Networkers

Alyssa herself may be away, but that's no reason that her ongoing quasi-obsession with new OPM Director John Berry has to go with her!

As fate would have it, I was fortunate enough to hear Director Berry speak to an intimate group this past Friday at the National Academy of Public Administration (a.k.a., my employer) at an event convened by government IT legend Alan Balutis. (Here's a blurry iPhone picture of them together!) Like Alyssa, I found that Berry's unique mix of expertise and enthusiasm around people issues (he hates the term "human capital," and now I kind of do, too) makes for a really encouraging and energizing encounter.

I've put some general observations below the fold, but one thing Berry said was particularly interesting to me: He announced that, as part of recruiting efforts specifically as well as public engagement efforts more broadly, he would be assembling a group of 20-somethings who would be tasked with engaging young people in the missions of government and, ultimately, with attracting them into the federal workforce. Obviously a lot of this game is won at the paying-off-some-of-your-student-loans level, but a non-trivial part of it really is just about getting the message out.

Berry's focus on a squad of 20-somethings reminded me of someone I once met in federal government. She was in her mid-20's, had just graduated with an Ivy League MBA, and was recruited by the FBI right out of school as a GS-14. (Talk about public-private pay parity!) But the rub was, despite her relative inexperience in FBI's mission, she was incredibly effective because she knew how to connect and share information with other people across FBI who were in this same program. Her skills had little to do with law enforcement, and everything to do with collaborating and connecting.

The moral of this story, I think, is that increasingly, "collaboration" -- defined roughly as "the ability to build and lead purposeful social networks that act as agile problem-solving communities" -- is going to be a critical skillset in the federal workforce. So-called "digital natives," who grew up using these skills as a matter of daily life on sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter (and more recently GovLoop!). What's truly noteworthy is that our new OPM Director -- who is by his own admission not a Tech Guy -- recognizes the importance of this skillset and is leading by example.