Partly out of a sense of drama and partly to make a point I sometimes find myself being dismissive of “collaboration” and “sharing knowledge”. This is why. First, social learning is first and foremost about – well – learning. Learning as a social enterprise. Say, write, or even think a word that you assume makes …
Yet again I have a client – of 5 years – who has made the technology a centre-piece of their strategy. I cry. It’s a technology that I suggested and helped to create. But I seem powerless to convince them that the proportion of resources they are investing in technology as opposed to building the …
A good social learning team
NOTICE: There is an updated version of all these FAQs on our new website: See new FAQs Do we need to change our organizational culture first? Organizational culture can work against communities of practice, if it is individualistic, competitive, and focused on the short term. Changing organizational culture is very difficult. Change initiatives to address …
NOTICE: There is an updated version of all these FAQs on our new website: See new FAQs If knowledge is power, why would anyone want to share it? Knowledge is indeed a source of power; but hoarding knowledge is not necessarily the best way to benefit from its power, especially in the context of communities …
NOTICE: There is an updated version of all these FAQs on our new website: See new FAQs What about power? Wouldn’t communities become a threat to the organizational hierarchy? Existing across an organization’s formal structures, communities of practice rarely derive much power directly from positions in formal hierarchies. But communities do not usually seek positional …
NOTICE: There is an updated version of all these FAQs on our new website: See new FAQs What about tasks and expectations for communities of practice? Communities of practice that have high expectations about what they can achieve tend to be energized. And yet misplaced tasks and expectations can also make the community feel like …
NOTICE: There is an updated version of all these FAQs on our new website: See new FAQs Should organizations institutionalize communities of practice? Because of this tension between vertical and horizontal processes, integrating communities of practice in an organization is an exercise in paradox. Organizations tend to pay attention to structures or issues by institutionalizing …
NOTICE: There is an updated version of all these FAQs on our new website: See new FAQs Should participation be voluntary or compulsory? In general, it is much better to let participation be voluntary. This way, communities of practice live on because they create value for members, not because of an edict or a box …
NOTICE: There is an updated version of all these FAQs on our new website: See new FAQs Why should practitioners be involved in developing strategic capabilities? Traditionally, knowledge has been viewed as something that experts hand down to practitioners. But organizations in all sectors are discovering that something unique happens when practitioners become direct learning …
