“MBWA” is an acronym for “management by walking around.
Every good supervisor and manager in the prison environment must have a “hands on” approach and be actively involved with the day-to-day operations and activities. Managing from behind a desk, regardless of the administrators rank, is unacceptable and leads to a variety of facility problems.
I’ve worked in prisons where the bosses were seldom visible to the staff and inmates and I’ve worked in prisons where they were frequently accessible and available. It doesn’t take long for staff to know whether or not their bosses really care about them and the inmates charged to their care.
The staff respects the administrator who spends time each day interacting with them, listening to their concerns, grievances, and soliciting their input on operational issues. This type of administrator is aware of what’s going on inside the prison due to firsthand observations and the input received from staff.
One who remains distant and depends on written reports and briefings from junior supervisors often times never really knows things are going wrong and are surprised when the unimaginable happens.
Good administrators know their prison has a “feeling” or a “tone” to it and, by spending time walking around, they know when it doesn’t feel right. It can be called a “gut feeling” or a sixth sense, but they know by spending time on the inside if all is well or something is amiss.
Another benefit of “MBWA” is the inmates have access to the administration as well. Not everything a convict says is true, but sometimes there’s an element of truth to what they say and it can often be of great benefit to prison administrators.
A good administrator communicates to both staff and inmates and makes professional assessments based on their years of experience. Prisons where the administration is visible and accessible generally have less occurrences of staff misconduct. These administrators ensure problems are addressed in their infancy, not after an escape, serious assault, or other incident.
