Published in ASTD "OD/Leadership Network News," December 2005

The recent spate of hurricanes that ravaged the Gulf Coast and Florida put a glaring focus on the importance of knowledge management. The ability to capture accurate information, transfer it to the right people at the right time, and use the knowledge appropriately can save lives and dollars. In the corporate world, knowledge management could be a remedy for redundant efforts, lost information, and high employee frustration levels-all of which cost time and money.

Unfortunately, the reality for today's organizations strapped in learning-to-do-more-with-less mode is that true knowledge management may never happen. It just may not be realistic.

A more likely scenario points to a strategy of knowledge sharing-breaking knowledge into specific, focused "chunks" for targeted internal audiences. With tighter parameters than knowledge management, knowledge sharing is an achievable corporate goal that can have tremendous bottom line impact when it's set in an atmosphere that promotes respect and cross functional thinking and is accompanied by an infrastructure that facilitates access, distribution and/or interaction.

Categorizing Necessary Information

Inherently, knowledge sharing is people based.  Every employee can be both a knowledge provider and a knowledge consumer. In a large organization, harnessing the knowledge gained by one person and getting it to another who can benefit is an incredibly daunting proposition. How do you "chunk" it and store it?  A structure for classifying knowledge is needed. 

Those working within the learning function of an organization may be well positioned to play a role in the categorizing/prioritizing process.  Elliott Massie's suggestions for breaking down knowledge may be helpful to instructional designers, developers, and others charged with packaging intelligence. Imagine three different knowledge buckets, the first holding seminal information-that which is so crucial the employee needs to know it "by heart."  Massie refers to this as "memorization" knowledge.  The second bucket holds the knowledge we want employees to know at a familiar level, but not necessarily a memory level.  (Perhaps the learner would know an overarching concept, but not the step-by-step process behind it.)  The third bucket might then hold what Massie calls "referenced learning," whereby the learner would simply need to know the process to follow for accessing information and understand the tools of reference (i.e. Google, or a corporate intranet).  As companies proactively prioritize and categorize knowledge into one of the buckets, employees would know better how to spend their learning energy.  When done well, the information can be mined so the right people get the right information when they need it; this represents one way learning functions can help channel the knowledge sharing effort. 

In a global organization, a system for managing knowledge can't exist without a strong technology base.  Technology must be part of the total knowledge sharing solution and needs to function not just as a sorting and storing tool, but as an enabler for communicating.  With 24/7 access, a company's e-mail/intranet/Internet infrastructure coupled with its proprietary database software can and should be used for knowledge creation and to share ideas, experiences, and problems.  With corporate-wide standard desktops now more the norm than the exception, technological barriers that used to hinder data and document sharing are no longer a problem and sophisticated workflow tools continue to aid information filtering and sharing processes.  That said, the heart of any knowledge sharing effort still boils down to people.  Without the people-side working, technology falls flat.

Knowledge Sharing vs Knowledge Hoarding

The real secret behind effective knowledge sharing lies in a corporate culture that enables and rewards efficient and effective exchange of key information.  The power of information correlates to the depth and reach of the social and physical networks that channel it.  Within any organization social networks can be great sources of insight as to how others have dealt with like problems.  Chat line structures in the web environment point to the growth of these important connections.  The web itself, though unfiltered and massive, can be tamed and encouraged as a connector.  And connections should be encouraged; risk-free sharing of opinions and best thinking should become a core value. Unfortunately, too many companies seem to foster an environment of fear, internal competition, minimal cooperation-even out-and-out information hoarding.

A key way to change a culture is through the behavior of leadership, but getting knowledge sharing on the leadership radar can sometimes be a challenge. It is necessary to demonstrate and communicate the value for everybody in terms of company and industry success. Even then, it can be a struggle to break through and make leaders understand. 

Culture starts at the top. Part of being a good leader is to practice and exemplify the behaviors you want to see in your employees.  There must be a connect from the CEO level on down. 

Steelcase president Jim Hackett champions knowledge sharing in the 14,000-employee furniture manufacturing company he has led for over a decade.  Monthly, he supports and demonstrates belief in this core value by teaching his own critical thinking model to those in leadership positions throughout the organization.  In the very first stage of his model, Hackett promotes knowledge sharing by advocating the solicitation of cross-functional thinking as part of one's due diligence.  At the planning and implementation stage of the model, he builds knowledge sharing into the "corporate way" by setting forth an expectation of cross-functional participation.  His stance:  a cross functional, holistic approach-on most any relevant issue or concern-helps ensure there's no resistance, all views get heard, and stumbling blocks are identified and eliminated before a project or process moves into planning and implementation stages-saving time and money.  It isn't rocket science; it's a cultural thought process he is pushing through the organization, reinforcing a culture of dignity and respect.  To exclude functional areas from decision-making or hoard information is to disrespect the culture promoted through Hackett's model and shared through his teaching sessions. 

Building a Knowledge Sharing Environment

The work environment can go far in establishing the human behaviors that fit the knowledge sharing goals of an organization. Extensive Steelcase research has focused on how people work and share information in order to provide the environment and tools that best support productivity. The old days of employees shuttered in offices with a secretary on guard to keep others at bay are long gone. When the workplace is engineered to feel safe and friendly-supporting and encouraging interaction and collaboration-inspiration goes far.  With talk rooms and work villages as well as tools for sharing and recording ideas, employees' free thinking, creativity, and risk taking are enhanced.

Steelcase University's Learning Center exemplifies a community-based plan specifically designed to welcome and support innovative thinking and problem solving, cross-functional teams, inter-organizational projects, and corporate learning.  It provides workspace flexibility, easily adapting to people's changing needs, whether for individual privacy, group work, or collaborative learning. The 63,000-square-foot center promotes knowledge sharing through a variety of carefully engineered "information zones."  It makes knowledge work visible by encouraging information persistence with whiteboards and tack boards throughout the space. And it adapts to change with flexible furnishings that permit spontaneous rearrangement and an infrastructure designed to accommodate emerging technologies. Companies from all over the world visit the site regularly to better understand how environment can nurture the individual, cultivate interaction, and propagate knowledge, playing a key role in knowledge sharing.

Knowledge sharing is a worthwhile and achievable goal for any progressive organization.  With supportive technologies, a proactive plan for breaking down and organizing information, as well as physical and socio-cultural environments that support sharing, an organization can go far in shaping knowledge sharing behaviors that will continually enhance individual-and ultimately corporate-performance.

George A. Wolfe, Ph.D.
VP, Global Learning & Development
Steelcase University
Steelcase Inc.