Case Study: Influencing Knowledge Creation And Sharing - The Critical Role Of Managers

Case Study: Influencing Knowledge Creation And Sharing – The Critical Role Of Managers

The role of line managers has changed significantly in recent years, as have the skills needed to perform effectively in a line management role. In the past, much of a line manager’s authority came from his/her own knowledge base. Indeed in many organisations individuals were promoted on their ability to do their current job, rather than following an assessment of their ability to perform in a managerial role. It is not surprising then that there are many square pegs in round holes in leadership positions, particularly in scientific, technology and creative-based organisations. Organisations that now fall into the category of knowledge businesses.

Having worked with managers in knowledge-based organisations I am aware of how quickly their knowledge can become outof-date, particularly when they are no longer doing hands-on work. One of the big issues, and indeed risks, for leaders in knowledge businesses is that they may not have in-depth knowledge about the work carried out by their function/area. As time elapses managers become more and more dependent upon their team to provide in-depth up-to-date knowledge to input into the management decision-making process. This shift can leave some managers feeling vulnerable, because of the dependency on their teams for certain types of knowledge. What is needed often is a different kind of leadership approach.

So if in knowledge businesses managers are no longer the ‘knowledge experts’, what should their role be? What type of leadership is required? Where should they focus their energy?

Jela Webb, formally Senior Manager Knowledge Management and Development, the New Learning Organisation, the centralised learning and development department within a major financial services company, and now the Director of Azione, a knowledge management consultancy, shared some thoughts with me about how she used to structure and manage her team to ensure maximum impact from a knowledge perspective.

First, she ensured that the team was structured appropriately in order to provide an efficient service to the business, as well as to maximise the resources within the team, from a knowledge management perspective. The team was structured into three areas: a team of information and knowledge professionals, a team of excellence and an R&D team.

The R&D team supported the relationship managers who worked closely with the business units to identify their learning and development requirements, which they then took forward into a development solution. The solution may have been a short instructor-led course, a workbook, or e-learning product, or a combination – an ‘integrated learning solution’. Each relationship manager had responsibility for a specific business area, e.g. retail banking, corporate banking, insurance, etc.

The team of excellence were just that. They had detailed knowledge of tools and techniques to help develop the right learning and development solution for the business, such as Balanced Scorecard, Business Process Re-engineering, intranet design, as well as being fully cognisant of the best way in which to use technologies to maximise the learning experience.

The R&D team had a remit of maintaining an external focus, gathering information about HR best practice in other organisations, as well as keeping up-to-date with what the gurus were saying about HR and the changing workplace. The team were encouraged to develop relationships with other organisations, even if these were competitors, as a way of enhancing their knowledge base. Interestingly, good relationships with competitor organisations evolved. In the true spirit of knowledge sharing individuals were happy to discuss relevant issues while being mindful of the need not to breach confidentiality, or disclose price-sensitive information.

Members of the team of excellence and the R&D team also worked on project teams developing new learning solutions for the businesses. In this way the project teams benefited directly from their specialist knowledge and expertise. What Webb insisted on though was that people from the team of excellence and the R&D team did not get assigned overall Project

Management responsibility. She felt that this would not be effective use of their expertise. She also felt that this would draw these experts into areas that would take them away from the task of knowledgebuilding and utilisation. However, she had to fight hard to maintain this position with her business colleagues.

Despite having an HR background, Webb found herself managing teams where she didn’t have the detailed knowledge of all of the work carried out in her area. This meant that she had to adopt a different leadership style, one that was more facilitative, with an emphasis on coaching and mentoring. She commented how managers need to learn not to be afraid to admit when they do not know something and to trust the judgment of individuals within the team. This helps individuals to build self-confidence, as well as develop their skills through acting in an advisory capacity to their own line manager. Webb found that her team felt valued and respected for their opinions.

Another area that Webb focused on to facilitate knowledgebuilding and sharing within her area was communication. Many of Webb’s team worked flexible hours, herself included. Some also worked from home for part of the week. Given people’s different working patterns she felt it important that the whole team got together for a team meeting once a week. The team meetings were used as a time for individuals to update others on where they were at on their respective projects. This was important. Even though several members of the team might be working on the same business project they could each be working on a separate part of the overall project. The team meetings were also used as an opportunity for skills development. The more junior members of the team, for example, were able to use the team meetings to develop their presentation skills. Team meetings were also used as an opportunity for team members to talk about some of the problems that they had encountered over the week and how they had resolved these.

The team also held regular lunch-and-learn sessions. A variety of topics were covered at these sessions, not all of which were directly related to the team’s work. There was a multiple objective then of broadening, as well as deepening, people’s knowledge base. Business colleagues were sometimes invited along to the lunch-and-learn sessions, not as speakers, but as listeners and observers, so that they could develop their knowledge base too.

This case study illustrates that the line manager role is critical in organisations trying to build a knowledge-centric culture. They can provide a good role model from a knowledge management perspective, as well as establishing boundaries and targets for their team for knowledge management activities.