Management by walking around emphasizes the importance of interpersonal contact, open appreciation, and recognition. It is one of the most important ways to build civility and performance in the workplace.

1. The views expressed in this presentation are the views of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian
Development Bank, or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included
in this presentation and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this presentation do not imply any
view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.
Managing by Walking Around
Olivier Serrat
2013

2. The Technology of the Obvious
At Hewlett-Packard, where the approach was practiced from 1973,
executives were encouraged to know their people, understand their
work, and make themselves more visible and accessible.
Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard's business philosophy, centered on respect
for people and acknowledgment of their built-in desire to do a good job,
had by then evolved into informal, decentralized management and
relaxed, collegial communication styles.
If you wait for people to come to you, you'll only get small problems. You
must go and find them. The big problems are where people don't realize
they have one in the first place.—Albert Einstein

3. Staying in Touch with Your Team
Management by walking around is a leadership technique that has stood
the test of time and can be used by any manager. It is the opposite of
drive-by management.
The basic principle is that command-and-control is ineffective in modern
organizations. Nothing is more instructive than seeing what actually
transpires in the real world and learning from that.
Managing by walking around cannot be a charade. It requires personal
involvement, good listening skills, and the recognition that most people in
an organization want to contribute to its success.
A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world.—John le Carré

4. Staying in Touch with Your Team
It is staff, not managers, who create an organization's products and deliver its
services; appreciation of that can only come from knowing what happens on the
ground.
Except in virtual organizations, face-to-face interaction remains a sure way to
receive and give feedback wherever managers see staff regularly.
The human touch still works best: people live to be part of something, and being
in contact opens up more lines of informal communication and produces
stronger team dynamics and performance.
You can pretend to care, but you can't pretend to be there.—Tom Peters

5. Why Stay in Touch with a Team?
• Builds trust and relationships.
• Motivates staff by suggesting that
management takes an active interest in
people.
• Encourages staff to achieve individual and
collective goals.
• Strengthens ability to drive cultural change
for higher organizational performance.
• Refreshes organizational values.
• Makes work less formal.
• Creates a healthy organization.
Managing by walking
around does not just cut
through vertical lines of
communication: it also …

6. Walking About in 14 Steps
Wander about as
often as you can, but
recurrently and
preferably daily.
Relax as you make
your rounds.
Share and invite good
news.
Talk about family,
hobbies, vacations,
and sports.
Watch and listen
without judgment.
Invite ideas and
opinions to improve
operations, products,
services, etc.
Be responsive to
problems and
concerns.
Look out for staff
doing something
right, and give them
public recognition.
Project the image of
a coach and mentor,
not that an inspector.
Give people on-the-
spot help.
Use the opportunity
to transmit the
organization's values.
Swap value and
legacy stories.
Share your dreams. Have fun.

7. Further Reading
• ADB. 2008. Managing Knowledge Workers. Manila.
www.adb.org/publications/managing-knowledge-workers
• ——. 2009. Working in Teams. Manila.
www.adb.org/publications/working-teams
• ——. 2009. Managing by Walking Around. Manila.
www.adb.org/publications/managing-walking-around
• ——. 2009. Leading in the Workplace. Manila.
www.adb.org/publications/leading-workplace

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