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Knowledge is Power: Just Don't Hurt Yourself |
| Written by Eric Giles, on March 24, 2008 |
 I have spent the last decade of my life in a variety of professional environments: from retail to academic to small business to nonprofit to the field of visual arts . There has been one consistent challenge despite the different settings, the need to manage an ever increasing influx of information and knowledge. Perhaps the place we experience this phenomenon most readily is with our daily email Inbox. There are now more “how-to” books and articles to help us all improve our daily practices- inspire better, tell stories better, manage better, balance our lives better. The connected world we live in has opened the spigot on knowledge, and we are all in danger of having the bathtub overflow. We no longer have the ability to read all the email, ingest all of the new books, or peruse every article. What we want as organizations is a bath full of warm water- relevant information and tools, employees with the right type of knowledge to do their jobs effectively. To accomplish that, we need to be selective about the knowledge we intake.
In “Managing Knowledge Means Managing Oneself” Peter Drucker reinterates that knowledge management is an act of management. Being able to manage knowledge means understanding your role
in managing how you act, react, plan, execute, and perform as an individual and as an organization. We all put forth tremendous efforts for our organizations, try and follow good practices, achieve some great successes, and as a result the nonprofit community is developing a growing reputation as effective partners. As we move forward as a community, however, we need to always maintain and improve our effectiveness with our organizational processes, we need to make sure that we use knowledge for a purpose, not just so it is used.
We should remember that the true meaning of knowledge management is really managing in an era of increased knowledge access. When we talk about managing knowledge we must first address the issue of management and then the issue of knowledge. To be an effective organization your staff must be working on what they are best at. The most effectively run nonprofits, with paid staff or volunteers, are those that leverage their workers talents and abilities the best.
How can this be accomplished? There are five simple things you can do:
1. Know your staff - This may seem simplistic, but very few of us actually take time to get to know each other. By having conversations with your fellow employees you will not only build a more cohesive team, but you’ll get a better understanding of their interests and strengths.
2. Know the roles- It’s funny, we all have job descriptions, but how many of us are working outside of their boundaries- or within that perennial gray area of “other duties as assigned.” An effective organization and manager is one that works with staff to make sure they are working on projects and in areas where they can make the greatest contributions. Then if necessary adjust their job description and title to match.
3. Valuing begets value- Treat your staff as valued colleagues, not expendable components. If your staff is happy and feels that their opinions matter, they are more likely to be happy, passionate advocates for the organization, and willing to share their ideas. Who knows what gem of an idea is currently stuck in the mind of your employees?
4. Challenges build capacity- People thrive in an environment where they feel challenged in new and interesting ways. When you challenge someone, they learn, and learning builds experiential capacity. Imagine how much more flexible your organization can be with intellectually engaged employees!
5. Watch your technology- Technology should be used as a tool, and not as an end in and of itself. Make sure that your staff is adequately trained to use the most vital software and hardware effectively. But do not take on more technology than you have the capacity or knowledge to maintain.
Effective organizations are able to manage knowledge effectively. One aspect of this is sharing experiences with others – things that have worked and things that have not. I encourage you to leave a comment below on your successes and failures with managing knowledge.
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