Knowledge Networking

What is knowledge networking and why is it important?

Forms of Networking
Social networking
to make friends
Business networking
to sell things
Job networking
to get a job
Knowledge Networking
to build relationships in order to learn from each other & to get things done together

On Knowledge Knowledge is embodied in people gathered in communities and networks. The road to knowledge is via people, conversations, connections and relationships. Knowledge surfaces through dialog, all knowledge is socially mediated and access to knowledge is by connecting to people that know or know who to contact. Denham Grey

What is Knowledge Networking?
Its about building relationships with people who you can help and support
And in turn who can help and support you!

What is Knowledge Networking?
Knowledge Networking is
sharing with each other
learning from each other
working together more effectively
It is
reciprocal
about emotional support as well as practical
a form of two-way coaching
a means of ensuring both yourself and other people get the information they need
about connecting yourself and other people to new ideas!

The Purpose
Knowledge Networking is not an end in itself
You must remember the purpose
To help you & others get things done that are of value to the business
more efficiently, more effectively
To help you discover new opportunities that are of value to the business
and to act on them

Operational v. Strategic
Short term
creating practical/pragmatic relationships
effectiveness at what you and others are already doing
Long term
building strategic relationships/capability
discovering new business opportunities
doing new things in new more effective ways

Other Benefits
Learn what is going on around you
other people are your eyes and ears
Gain new perspectives
other people think differently to you
Your blinkers are removed … you get to see the ‘bleeding obvious’
other people see things that you don’t even when they are in your face!

Ethics
Some people have a problem with networking
they think it is unethical!
An implicit mutual contract
I’ll help you and you’ll help me
If contract broken - it is OK to walk away

Knowledge Sharing

Knowledge Sharing
We do not ‘share knowledge’ in the literal meaning of sharing
Not like sharing a cake
Synergistic 2 + 2 = 5
Its more about:
Personal Networking
Helping each other
Working together
Collaborating

Personal 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
Learning to be gained
Knowledge is perishable
Someone else will make our knowledge productive first

Personal Barriers to Sharing
An attitude that knowledge is power
Fear of job loss
Fear of embarrassment
Inertia
Lack of time
People don’t see the benefits
and much more ...

Is Sharing Natural?
Some say
sharing is human & comes naturally
Other say
knowledge is power and sharing is not natural

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

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 TRADE things
Two major barriers to sharing
lack of TIME!
lack of obvious benefit i.e. there is no trade

Trading 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 variety of reasons (often implicit):

The Desire to Learn
By sharing our knowledge with 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 can often learn more than we teach!
If we want to learn we should teach! Stephen Covey

The 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 & Time Time Availability Benefit high low high low no brainer Opportunity for learning/ relationship building explore/ escalate suggest an alternative

Summary
Knowledge networking is about learning from each other and working effectively together
Knowledge sharing is more about knowledge trading!
Learning is one of the the major benefits
FOCUS ON THE BUSINESS VALUE!

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Knowledge Networking

by David Gurteen on May 24, 2007

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Knowledge Networking — Presentation Transcript