gurteen knowledge 2007 knowledge sharing open university library seminar 9th may 2007 david gurteen...

Gurteen Knowledge 2007

Knowledge SharingKnowledge Sharing

Open University Library Seminar

9th May 2007

David GurteenGurteen Knowledge


Begin with the end in mindBegin with the end in mind

• Take a look at knowledge sharing• Introduce the concept of ‘knowledge trading’• Look at the importance of “trust”• Encourage you to think about why we share and how

we can improve our ‘sharing’• Introduce you to the Gurteen Knowledge Café• Run a Knowledge Café


SharingSharing

• We do not ‘share knowledge’ in the literal meaning of sharing

• Not like sharing a cake– Synergistic 2 + 2 = 5

• More about:– Personal Networking– Helping each other– Working together– Collaborating



• Sharing knowledge is not about giving people something, or getting something from them. That is only valid for information sharing.

• Sharing knowledge occurs when people are genuinely interested in helping one another develop new capacities for action; it is about creating learning processes.

Peter Senge


Personal Reasons for SharingPersonal Reasons for Sharing

• To help other people & to help ourselves• Other people

– To get things done– To build relationships so they in turn help us

• Ourselves– To get things done– Learning to be gained– Knowledge is perishable– Someone else will make our knowledge productive first


Barriers to Knowledge SharingBarriers to Knowledge Sharing

1. A silo mentality

2. Knowledge is power

3. Lack of knowledge sharing processes

4. No time allowed

5. No knowledge sharing by executives

6. Managers do not walk the talk

7. Poor IT systems

8. Lack of encouragement

9. Bureaucracy

10. Resistance to change by managersKarl-Eric Sveiby


Is Sharing Natural?Is Sharing Natural?

• Some say – sharing is human & comes

naturally

• Other say– knowledge is power and sharing

is not natural



Share your Knowledge

• credit to somebody else• passed over for promotion

• depression• alcoholism

• marital breakdown• destitution• die a bum

Is this really true?

Reasons for Sharing• ego

• money reward• guilt


Do we share?Do we share?

• We ALL help each other to a greater or lesser degree• Within our department• Within our project work• With friends and trusted colleagues• Within our network


Why do we share?Why do we share?

• We share because– it is in our interest– we have something to gain

• We do not give our knowledge away• We implicitly TRADE things

– tangible and intangible

• The major barriers to sharing– lack of TIME!– lack of obvious benefit i.e. there is no trade


Trading KnowledgeTrading Knowledge

• we need to do our job• we are afraid of the

consequences if we don’t• we like them• we want to look good• we want them to like us• we enjoy it • we are looking for promotion

• we are looking for a new job• we want them to be indebted

to us• we want to build a potentially

useful relationship• they pay us or give us some

other tangible reward

We help people when they approach us for a varietyof reasons - tangible & intangible (often implicit):


The Desire to LearnThe Desire to Learn

• By sharing our knowledgewith others we learn– we learn from them– we make our tacit knowledge

more explicit– our assumptions are revealed– we are forced to simplify things

• We learn when we teach!If we want to learn we

should teach!

Stephen Covey


The trick to sharing moreThe trick to sharing more

• If we approach someone– help make clear the benefits

• If we are being approached– look for the benefits

• Especially the learning benefits


Benefit & TimeBenefit & Time

TimeAvailability

Benefit

high

low

high low

no brainer

Opportunity for learning/relationship

building

explore/escalate

suggest an alternative


The Role of TrustThe Role of Trust• When trust is high - communication is:

– easy, instant, effective

• When trust is low:– like walking in a mine field– politicking, ass covering, tension

– communication is difficult• at times impossible

”Trust is the highest form of human motivation. It

is the life-blood of an organization.

When people have a high degree of trust in each

other - they work together extremely

effectively”

Stephen Covey”Trust is the

bandwidth of communication”

Karl Eric Sveiby


SummarySummary

• Knowledge Sharing is not the same as Information Sharing

• Knowledge Sharing is about ‘trading intangibles’!– we need to look for the benefits

• Learning is one of the the major benefits

• It is important to build and maintain trust


Business is a Conversation

Business is a conversationBusiness is a conversation

Business is a conversation because the defining work of business is

conversation - literally.

And 'knowledge workers' are simply those people whose job consists of having interesting conversations.

David WeinbergerThe Cluetrain Manifesto

• Conversation is central to all that we do

• Its our job!

Conversation is a meeting of mindsConversation is a meeting of minds

Conversation is a meeting of minds with different memories and habits.

When minds meet, they don't just exchange facts: they transform them,

reshape them, draw different implications from them, engage in

new trains of thought.

Conversation doesn't just reshuffle the cards: it creates new cards.

Theodore ZeldinConversation

• Theodore in an Oxford Historian

• Conversation is creative

KM is about understandingKM is about understanding

For all our knowledge, we have no idea what we're talking about.

We don't understand what's going on in our business, our market, and our world.

KM shouldn’t be about helping us to know more. It should be about helping us

to understand.

So, how do we understand things? It's through stories that we understand how

the world works.

David Weinberger, The Cluetrain Manifesto

• Its about understanding & sense making

• Through conversation & storytelling


Two forms of ConversationTwo forms of Conversation

“A mechanistic and unproductive exchange

between people seeking to defend their own views against

one another”

“A frank exchange of ideas or views on a specific issue in an

effort to attain mutual understanding”

Debateor

dialogue?


DialogueDialogue

• When we engage each other in dialogue– we enter into a conversation to learn from each other– rather than impose our views on the other.

The kind of conversation I’m interested in is one in which you start with a willingness

to emerge a slightly different person.

Theodore Zeldin, Historian


Principles of DialoguePrinciples of Dialogue

• Suspend assumptions, do not judge

• Observe & listen to one another – look for the meaning

• Welcome differences & explore them

• Allow taboo subjects to be raised safely

Dialogue is based on the work of the physicist

David Bohm


SummarySummary

• Business is a conversation

• Conversation is creative

• Understanding is more important than knowing more

• Dialogue is the key to quality conversations


The Gurteen Knowledge Café


What is a Knowledge Café?What is a Knowledge Café?

• A knowledge café is a means of bringing a group of people together to have an open, creative conversation on a topic of mutual interest to surface their collective knowledge, to share ideas and to gain a deeper understanding of the issues involved.


What are the objectivesWhat are the objectives of a Knowledge Caf of a Knowledge Caféé??

• To gain mutual understanding of a complex issue

• To gain a deeper understanding of other people’s perspectives

• To gain a deeper understanding of one’s own views

• To discover issues which need exploring


What resources are needed?What resources are needed?

• A group of people 20-30 people (or more!)

• A facilitator/speaker

• A room with tables & chairs - ideally round tables to seat about five people

• Time 60 – 90 minutes


What's the process?What's the process?

• Facilitator takes 10 minutes to introduce the Knowledge Café and the subject under discussion

• Purpose of the Knowledge Café is made clear

• Facilitator poses 1 or 2 key open ended questions

• Participants from into smaller groups of 5 or 6 to discuss the subject for say 30 minutes

• • The group re-assembles for an exchange of ideas as

a whole for another 30 minutes


What is the role of the facilitator?What is the role of the facilitator?

• Facilitator need not be an expert– Nor disciplined in facilitation– A good listener and chairperson skills

• Facilitator should not take a lead in the discussions

• Should wander around and listen into the groups

• Should listen for problems and remind people gently of the rules of ‘dialogue’


What’s the role of the individual?What’s the role of the individual?

• To see people with different views not as adversaries but as resources from which they can learn

• To enter into open conversation• To listen more than speak• To welcome differences• To withhold judgment• To avoid position taking• To avoid being too politically correct


How do the small groups work?How do the small groups work?

• Don’t appoint a leader, chairperson or note taker

• Anyone can make their own notes if they wish

• Everyone is equal

• Engage as little or as much as you wish


How does the whole group work?How does the whole group work?

• Objective is to hold a ‘group conversation’– Not reporting back to the facilitator!

• Facilitator plays a low key role – not the expert– helps facilitate the conversation


What are the outcomes?What are the outcomes?

• Normally nothing is recorded

• Real outcomes are what you take away in your head

• A deeper understanding of the issue discussed

• A deeper insight into other people’s perspectives

• A better appreciation of your own point of view

• Better position to make more informed decisions


Where can I learn more?Where can I learn more?

• My website contains a lot of material– www.gurteen.com

• The World Café– Book The World Café: Shaping our futures

through conversations that matter– Website : www.theworldcafe.com


Lets run a Knowledge CafeLets run a Knowledge Cafe


The Challenge of Knowledge SharingThe Challenge of Knowledge Sharing

What prevents us from sharing our knowledge more effectively?

How might we overcome these barriers?


Questions & DiscussionQuestions & Discussion


www.gurteen.com

David GurteenGurteen KnowledgeTel: +44 1252 812 878Email: [email protected]

gurteen knowledge 2007 knowledge sharing open university library seminar 9th may 2007 david gurteen...

Documents

trading knowledge

summary knowledge sharing

say knowledge

knowledge productive

tacit knowledge

knowledge workers

knowledge credit

gurteen knowledge caf