leadership action steps for implementing km
Effective leaders guide schools to use explicit and tacit knowledge gained from above in order to guide actions and inform decisions.
ACTION STEPS
A. Start with a Strategy
Once your organization has taken the necessary steps to explore the explicit and tacit knowledge available, it is important to identify ways you can use this information to create new knowledge that will transform and innovate your organization. Before determining the knowledge management strategy that your organization will follow, senior level management must realize they will need to make a commitment throughout the duration and continuation of any knowledge management project and senior level management must use a “team” centered approach that encompasses the whole organization. Once you have committed to the process of knowledge management, it is suggested that you follow John Kotter’s eight-stage process and get a group together that will have enough influence within your organization to lead the change process. This group should be representative of the groups within your organization and of key stakeholders and it is highly suggested that the first step this group takes is to engage in scenario planning.
Scenario planning is an organizational development tool that requires staff and stakeholders to identify and ask questions in regards to what the future of the organization may look like in 5, 10, or even 20 years and give frank answers in regard to opportunities and threats. As Sallis and Jones (2002) stated:
Scenarios are not predictions. Instead, they are visions of the directions that the future might take. There is no need to choose between scenarios. An
organization may want to change or modify its policies to deal with more than one possible future. (p. 67).
Successful scenario planning efforts usually involve a professional facilitator, take account of changes in the external environment, are neither too long nor complex, and usually number at least two and no more than four future scenarios for the organization. “The best outcome of scenario planning is a concise and visionary document that condenses the wide range of views that have been sought. The document dramatically illustrates the alternatives the organization has to face and respond to” (Sallis and Jones, 2002, p. 67).
Once a scenario planning document is drafted, it is possible for the organization to see its potential future and challenges and to engage in a strategic framework using knowledge management. The explicit and tacit knowledge of an organization comes into play here as the knowledge management team must identify a strategy they will pursue to improve the productivity of the organization. Developing a strategy for knowledge management is not a one-sized fits all approach and will differ between organizations depending on your future scenarios and needs as an organization. However, any successful knowledge management strategy the team identifies must start with a vision and action plan that is communicated throughout the organization and must tap into the organization’s purpose in order to increase productivity. In addition, it is highly recommended that your organization identify someone as the Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) and use a middle-up-down structure of communication.
B. Identify a Leader - KM Officer or "CKO" (Chief Knowledge Officer)
The role of the CKO will be to “champion the knowledge-management programme” (Sallis and Jones, 2002, p. 41). The CKO will be responsible to encourage ideas and projects while also bringing together all strands of the organization towards the success of the knowledge management project. CKO’s should be viewed as “change” agents and work closely with the leaders your organization views in the role of “middle manager.” Middle managers will be in the position that intersects both the vertical and horizontal flow of information within your organization and will often intercede between the top and bottom members of the organization as well as between internal and external forces. Middle managers and CKO’s should work to build trust and encourage creativity for knowledge management projects and to build a knowledge management culture. By creating a Chief Knowledge Officer and by encouraging middle management, we are able to create what Sallis and Jones refer to as a middle-up-down approach that empowers all members of our organization towards knowledge management.
C. Organizational Infrastructure – Technology as Enabler
Once a vision and strategy for knowledge management are in place, leadership must work to empower broad-based action. This includes removing barriers to knowledge management and creating the systems that will link people within your organization and tap into their emotional intelligence to ensure learning and a commitment to the purpose of your initiative. As Sallis and Jones (2002) state (p. 96): “The employer has the responsibility to create the conditions in which learning communities can flourish. They need to create the teams, put in the staff development and ensure that their staff have the training to make the most of the opportunities.” In today’s high-tech world, technology offers leadership the enabling ability to connect employees to share ideas so that we can all learn from each other. In addition, technology provides us the opportunity to communicate our vision and quickly measure its successes and short-comings. In Applying Corporate Knowledge Management Practices in Higher Education (2002), Kidwell, Vander Linde, and Johnson offer the idea of the “corporate portal” as a means to connect people within an organization to the wide explicit and tacit knowledge base of the organization. The corporate portal of any organization can also include intranet capabilities so that online chat rooms and discussion pages can be created to share and express ideas and update the corporation on the progress of its own programs and initiatives. It is also important for any knowledge management initiative to identify the target audience of their product. In education, the target audience is students. In business sales, the target audience is the consumer. Technology should be used in such a way that the organization can learn about and from the target audience in order to better serve the target audience. Electronic polls, databases for storing explicit knowledge, wiki pages to share tacit knowledge and experiences, and consumer input blogs are just a few ways technology can allow the organization to learn about its target audience. As with knowledge management, there is no one-sized fits all model to technology engagement for an organization. It is important for each leader and organization to work to overcome the barriers to knowledge management that may exist. It is also important to use technology as an enabling and connecting tool that lets staff share and discuss tacit knowledge in a public way for your organization’s benefit. Finally, it is also important to use technology to ensure that learning and growth occur for your organization and staff members. Management must also be aware though that an over-reliance on technology is a main contributor to knowledge management failures. Technology is a supporting and enabling tool; it is not the solution for knowledge management practices.
The links below may be viewed as resources when considering how technology and an organization’s infrastructure can be changed to support knowledge management:
http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/News/News-Analysis/Choosing-the-right-KM-tools-87246.aspx
http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/Editorial/Features/Collaborate-innovate-adapt!--Collaboration-taps-into-social-networks-to-aid-productivity-85789.aspx
http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/Editorial/Features/Three-rules-to-build-your-digital-experience-strategy-84539.aspx
D. Select a Pilot Project – High Impact, Low Risk and Develop an Action Plan for the Pilot Project
Any commitment to knowledge management will not last long if employees do not see the benefits to their efforts. It is important for the knowledge management team to generate short-term wins for their strategy and this is done by starting with a pilot project. The pilot project should focus on an aspect of your organization that explicit and tacit knowledge have identified as in need of improvement and should also focus on something that immediate and visible improvements are able to be generated. Pilot projects should be high impact with low risk and should work towards something that encompasses the organization’s mission. In a presentation at the Forum for the Future of Higher Education’s 2005 Aspen Symposium, author John Seely Brown presented several knowledge management initiatives that began as pilot projects that transformed into world renowned academic programs.
John Seely Brown’s (2006) paper New Learning Environments for the 21st Century shares several of these initiatives and the reasons for their implementation. One example comes from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where physics students were accustomed to a grueling lecture based class known as Electricity and Magnetism (E & M). Explicit data from this class revealed high drop-out rates and tacit knowledge expressed a high amount of dissatisfaction among students. Professor John Blecher then set out on a pilot project borrowed from another university known as the TEAL project (Technology Enabled Active Learning). The purpose of this project was to build a new classroom and change the focus of the E & M class to an activity-based learning workshop where lecturing does not occur. The TEAL project was piloted in E & M for one year and then revised and rebooted to include a new set of practices. The TEAL project became such a success that it turned from a pilot project into a studio-based learning approach that encompasses all freshman physics classes at MIT.
As is the case with most knowledge management principles, there is not a single one-sized fits all approach to choosing a pilot project. Rather, knowledge management champions must choose a project that explicit and tacit knowledge from within the organization identify as something that must change or be innovated. In addition, leadership must be aware of why many knowledge management programs fail. Because of this, pilot projects should not be viewed as a quick fix. The pilot project should always be viewed as the first step of a sustained process that will require constant assessment and revision.
E. Assess and Reflect
The end goal for any knowledge management initiative should be to use the explicit and tacit knowledge base of the organization to create new knowledge that leads to better performance for the organization. Once pilot projects prove successful, it is important to spread the gained knowledge to the entire organization in order to transform practice. A key element though to knowledge management is the idea that knowledge management is an ongoing practice that continually needs assessed and revised. As we learned from the example of the TEAL project at MIT, constant revision and renewal is necessary to build new and innovative knowledge. At MIT, the TEAL project started as a pilot with the E & M course then underwent further revision before transforming freshmen physics at MIT. The same must be said for any knowledge management initiative at any organization. To roll out a knowledge management initiative and expect it to fix our problems and change culture without constant assessment and revision will lead to widespread distrust and a lack of organizational movement. Knowledge management must be viewed as a cyclical process in order to survive and we must be able to assess the programs and initiatives that our knowledge management team undertakes in order to know their impact.
The article in the link below provides an example of a Swedish power company that uses knowledge management principles to encourage employees to take risks. The company (Vattenfall) openly encourages risk taking as part of their knowledge management culture; however, management also realizes the need to constantly assess and reflect on their employees risks in relation to Vattenfall’s mission. In this article, Vattenfall’s assessment measurement tool is SAS Enterprise GRC Solution which provides the company with the quantitative feedback it needs to measure the risks its employees take and to provide employees with risk overview. Vattenfall’s story is important for knowledge management leaders everyone for a few reasons. First, it recognizes the need to constantly assess what we do and use the assessment results to guide practice. Second, it highlights the importance of developing or finding assessment tools that are specific to your knowledge management program. After all, the program that Vattenfall uses may not be successful for measuring the same goals in another setting. Finally, we must have a commitment to constantly look at ourselves and determine what we can do better as leaders and as an organization.
http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/Editorial/Features/KM-for-the-future-strategic-outlook-smooth-launch-86785.aspx
ACTION STEPS
A. Start with a Strategy
Once your organization has taken the necessary steps to explore the explicit and tacit knowledge available, it is important to identify ways you can use this information to create new knowledge that will transform and innovate your organization. Before determining the knowledge management strategy that your organization will follow, senior level management must realize they will need to make a commitment throughout the duration and continuation of any knowledge management project and senior level management must use a “team” centered approach that encompasses the whole organization. Once you have committed to the process of knowledge management, it is suggested that you follow John Kotter’s eight-stage process and get a group together that will have enough influence within your organization to lead the change process. This group should be representative of the groups within your organization and of key stakeholders and it is highly suggested that the first step this group takes is to engage in scenario planning.
Scenario planning is an organizational development tool that requires staff and stakeholders to identify and ask questions in regards to what the future of the organization may look like in 5, 10, or even 20 years and give frank answers in regard to opportunities and threats. As Sallis and Jones (2002) stated:
Scenarios are not predictions. Instead, they are visions of the directions that the future might take. There is no need to choose between scenarios. An
organization may want to change or modify its policies to deal with more than one possible future. (p. 67).
Successful scenario planning efforts usually involve a professional facilitator, take account of changes in the external environment, are neither too long nor complex, and usually number at least two and no more than four future scenarios for the organization. “The best outcome of scenario planning is a concise and visionary document that condenses the wide range of views that have been sought. The document dramatically illustrates the alternatives the organization has to face and respond to” (Sallis and Jones, 2002, p. 67).
Once a scenario planning document is drafted, it is possible for the organization to see its potential future and challenges and to engage in a strategic framework using knowledge management. The explicit and tacit knowledge of an organization comes into play here as the knowledge management team must identify a strategy they will pursue to improve the productivity of the organization. Developing a strategy for knowledge management is not a one-sized fits all approach and will differ between organizations depending on your future scenarios and needs as an organization. However, any successful knowledge management strategy the team identifies must start with a vision and action plan that is communicated throughout the organization and must tap into the organization’s purpose in order to increase productivity. In addition, it is highly recommended that your organization identify someone as the Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) and use a middle-up-down structure of communication.
B. Identify a Leader - KM Officer or "CKO" (Chief Knowledge Officer)
The role of the CKO will be to “champion the knowledge-management programme” (Sallis and Jones, 2002, p. 41). The CKO will be responsible to encourage ideas and projects while also bringing together all strands of the organization towards the success of the knowledge management project. CKO’s should be viewed as “change” agents and work closely with the leaders your organization views in the role of “middle manager.” Middle managers will be in the position that intersects both the vertical and horizontal flow of information within your organization and will often intercede between the top and bottom members of the organization as well as between internal and external forces. Middle managers and CKO’s should work to build trust and encourage creativity for knowledge management projects and to build a knowledge management culture. By creating a Chief Knowledge Officer and by encouraging middle management, we are able to create what Sallis and Jones refer to as a middle-up-down approach that empowers all members of our organization towards knowledge management.
C. Organizational Infrastructure – Technology as Enabler
Once a vision and strategy for knowledge management are in place, leadership must work to empower broad-based action. This includes removing barriers to knowledge management and creating the systems that will link people within your organization and tap into their emotional intelligence to ensure learning and a commitment to the purpose of your initiative. As Sallis and Jones (2002) state (p. 96): “The employer has the responsibility to create the conditions in which learning communities can flourish. They need to create the teams, put in the staff development and ensure that their staff have the training to make the most of the opportunities.” In today’s high-tech world, technology offers leadership the enabling ability to connect employees to share ideas so that we can all learn from each other. In addition, technology provides us the opportunity to communicate our vision and quickly measure its successes and short-comings. In Applying Corporate Knowledge Management Practices in Higher Education (2002), Kidwell, Vander Linde, and Johnson offer the idea of the “corporate portal” as a means to connect people within an organization to the wide explicit and tacit knowledge base of the organization. The corporate portal of any organization can also include intranet capabilities so that online chat rooms and discussion pages can be created to share and express ideas and update the corporation on the progress of its own programs and initiatives. It is also important for any knowledge management initiative to identify the target audience of their product. In education, the target audience is students. In business sales, the target audience is the consumer. Technology should be used in such a way that the organization can learn about and from the target audience in order to better serve the target audience. Electronic polls, databases for storing explicit knowledge, wiki pages to share tacit knowledge and experiences, and consumer input blogs are just a few ways technology can allow the organization to learn about its target audience. As with knowledge management, there is no one-sized fits all model to technology engagement for an organization. It is important for each leader and organization to work to overcome the barriers to knowledge management that may exist. It is also important to use technology as an enabling and connecting tool that lets staff share and discuss tacit knowledge in a public way for your organization’s benefit. Finally, it is also important to use technology to ensure that learning and growth occur for your organization and staff members. Management must also be aware though that an over-reliance on technology is a main contributor to knowledge management failures. Technology is a supporting and enabling tool; it is not the solution for knowledge management practices.
The links below may be viewed as resources when considering how technology and an organization’s infrastructure can be changed to support knowledge management:
http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/News/News-Analysis/Choosing-the-right-KM-tools-87246.aspx
http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/Editorial/Features/Collaborate-innovate-adapt!--Collaboration-taps-into-social-networks-to-aid-productivity-85789.aspx
http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/Editorial/Features/Three-rules-to-build-your-digital-experience-strategy-84539.aspx
D. Select a Pilot Project – High Impact, Low Risk and Develop an Action Plan for the Pilot Project
Any commitment to knowledge management will not last long if employees do not see the benefits to their efforts. It is important for the knowledge management team to generate short-term wins for their strategy and this is done by starting with a pilot project. The pilot project should focus on an aspect of your organization that explicit and tacit knowledge have identified as in need of improvement and should also focus on something that immediate and visible improvements are able to be generated. Pilot projects should be high impact with low risk and should work towards something that encompasses the organization’s mission. In a presentation at the Forum for the Future of Higher Education’s 2005 Aspen Symposium, author John Seely Brown presented several knowledge management initiatives that began as pilot projects that transformed into world renowned academic programs.
John Seely Brown’s (2006) paper New Learning Environments for the 21st Century shares several of these initiatives and the reasons for their implementation. One example comes from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where physics students were accustomed to a grueling lecture based class known as Electricity and Magnetism (E & M). Explicit data from this class revealed high drop-out rates and tacit knowledge expressed a high amount of dissatisfaction among students. Professor John Blecher then set out on a pilot project borrowed from another university known as the TEAL project (Technology Enabled Active Learning). The purpose of this project was to build a new classroom and change the focus of the E & M class to an activity-based learning workshop where lecturing does not occur. The TEAL project was piloted in E & M for one year and then revised and rebooted to include a new set of practices. The TEAL project became such a success that it turned from a pilot project into a studio-based learning approach that encompasses all freshman physics classes at MIT.
As is the case with most knowledge management principles, there is not a single one-sized fits all approach to choosing a pilot project. Rather, knowledge management champions must choose a project that explicit and tacit knowledge from within the organization identify as something that must change or be innovated. In addition, leadership must be aware of why many knowledge management programs fail. Because of this, pilot projects should not be viewed as a quick fix. The pilot project should always be viewed as the first step of a sustained process that will require constant assessment and revision.
E. Assess and Reflect
The end goal for any knowledge management initiative should be to use the explicit and tacit knowledge base of the organization to create new knowledge that leads to better performance for the organization. Once pilot projects prove successful, it is important to spread the gained knowledge to the entire organization in order to transform practice. A key element though to knowledge management is the idea that knowledge management is an ongoing practice that continually needs assessed and revised. As we learned from the example of the TEAL project at MIT, constant revision and renewal is necessary to build new and innovative knowledge. At MIT, the TEAL project started as a pilot with the E & M course then underwent further revision before transforming freshmen physics at MIT. The same must be said for any knowledge management initiative at any organization. To roll out a knowledge management initiative and expect it to fix our problems and change culture without constant assessment and revision will lead to widespread distrust and a lack of organizational movement. Knowledge management must be viewed as a cyclical process in order to survive and we must be able to assess the programs and initiatives that our knowledge management team undertakes in order to know their impact.
The article in the link below provides an example of a Swedish power company that uses knowledge management principles to encourage employees to take risks. The company (Vattenfall) openly encourages risk taking as part of their knowledge management culture; however, management also realizes the need to constantly assess and reflect on their employees risks in relation to Vattenfall’s mission. In this article, Vattenfall’s assessment measurement tool is SAS Enterprise GRC Solution which provides the company with the quantitative feedback it needs to measure the risks its employees take and to provide employees with risk overview. Vattenfall’s story is important for knowledge management leaders everyone for a few reasons. First, it recognizes the need to constantly assess what we do and use the assessment results to guide practice. Second, it highlights the importance of developing or finding assessment tools that are specific to your knowledge management program. After all, the program that Vattenfall uses may not be successful for measuring the same goals in another setting. Finally, we must have a commitment to constantly look at ourselves and determine what we can do better as leaders and as an organization.
http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/Editorial/Features/KM-for-the-future-strategic-outlook-smooth-launch-86785.aspx