Beyond Bilingual Meetings: Leadership Behaviours for Managers
Some federal employees have an easier time than others in exercising their right to work in the official language of their choice. Creating a work environment where employees feel comfortable using the language of their choice depends mainly on managers’ leadership.
This study by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages contains a Leadership Competencies Profile for Official Languages. The profile identifies behaviours that senior and middle managers in the federal public service must adopt to foster the creation of a workplace conducive to the use of both English and French.
The study shows that, to foster respect for official languages in their workplace, leaders need to:
- Demonstrate through their behaviour that they value bilingualism and the equal status of both official languages;
- Show respect for the preferred language of their employees and be sensitive in dealing with language-of-work issues;
- Maintain an environment of respect for both official languages;
- Develop a vision for official languages in the workplace and take measures to ensure that the vision is understood and respected;
- Be consistent in their commitment to official languages and show courage to ensure that employees’ language rights are respected;
- Make sure that employees have the required language skills, and provide training and learning retention opportunities;
- Hold bilingual meetings and encourage employees to use the official language of their choice;
- Ensure that training and work tools are provided in both official languages;
- Communicate with employees in both official languages and ensure that the preferred official language of each individual is respected.
The study is available on the Office of Commissioner of Official Languages’ Web site at www.officiallanguages.gc.ca.
To order a printed copy of the report or obtain a copy in an alternative format, please contact us.
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