You can’t control sharing, here’s why…
Key is to respect naturally occurring artefacts and to separate the creation and capture of knowledge from its analysis and distribution
NOTES
We know that groups of people share their questions, tips, exceptions, experiences, heuristics, updates, news.
Most of the time this is done in small groups that have a shared identity and purpose, similar level of understanding, a history with each other…basically they feel comfortable with each other.
In addition is even though they talk about work, they may also talk about their personal lives (sharing experiences)…so there is an element of social connection…doing this makes them feel good…there’s no lack of passion or motivation to want to do this…this is embedded KM.
The other part is that the creation and dissemination within the group has to be easy and convenient. A lot of the time it’s a notebook, the smokers corner or email, etc…Unless they feel this method needs to be revamped using online tools, or that they think people outside of their team could find this stuff useful; forcing them with the mind set that you are progressing their methods in new advanced ways ain’t gonna work. Instead you need to address their pain points, and if using a notebook in a cafe is not a communication pain point then so be it.
Sometimes formalising something can backfire; from your intentions to give them their own space and at the same time amplify their sharings to the organisation at large, you then may get no sharing at all…well, I’m sure the group will keep on sharing, just not where you propose they do it, and who can see it.
We need to be mindful of the dynamics and settings of the context of each group.
To recap, why may an open online space be rejected:
- If it’s forced upon them…now that’s a classic
- Confidence…open to too many people brings with it issues of hesitation, shyness, safety, trust
- Comfort…they may be happy with the dynamics of their little group…it’s more than just the sharing, it’s the rewarding time they have, it’s the people and the group spirit they feel, it’s the ambience of the place they had their sessions (growing this takes time, and when you get beyond a tipping point of numbers you will never get the “comfy” dynamics)
- Level of understanding…technical and in-group jargon, and group norms are not transferred and respected by new people
- Level of content maturity…lots of questions about already covered ground and new types of topics, may be frustrating and dilute the original groups shared identity
- Too formal…the shared purpose has shifted and now is feels laborious
- The new creation method eg online tools are not as easy or convenient as email or our notepad in the top drawer
Basically it’s just not what it used to be; I liked the feeling I got ie. I was more engaged before the changes happened. Before I wanted to do it, now I don’t…it feels like more a job now.
