Knowledge Sharing Culture...

Matt Moore has come up with an excellent list of key challenges that one may encounter while trying to create a knowledge sharing culture. He adds that “these are not mutually exclusive but are often related to each other”.

- Time: Focus on achieving short-term objectives rather than longer term goals around upskilling/learning.

- Space: People in different cities/countries/time zones.

- Compensation: Focused on individual performance.

- Technology: Lack of tools/infrastructure for collaboration.

- Silo Structures: Organisational groups that do not communicate/collaborate.

- Lack of Trust: Other internal groups/individuals perceived as untrustworthy or competitive

- Power: Particular information or skills perceived as a personal differentiator. Sharing dilutes this power.

- Lack of Availability/Awareness: People are not aware that particular knowledge that is useful to them exists elsewhere in the organisation.

- Pride: "Not invented here" syndrome.

He also points out some of the important factors that impact the knowledge sharing culture in the positive sense.

- Focus on specific areas of collaboration & improvement with identified groups rather than generalised "sharing".

- Demonstrate the individual & collective value of these sharing efforts.

- Publicly reward examples of sharing (rewards not necessarily financial).

- Ritualising the sharing of experience/lessons/knowledge in dedicated sessions.

- Role-models. Senior people have to share their experience.

Meanwhile, here’s a related post that I’d put together quite a while ago. One of the additional points being internal competition, which is a shade worse than natural silos.