Setting up communities of practice

If you choose to study the human body, you soon discover many things that amaze you, for example, how the skeleton holds the form and protects the vital organs from harm. Without it you would immediately fall into a heap of skin and tissue . Also, there are the circulation and nervous systems, which act as our life support providing trillions of receptors and pathways in our body, thereby providing the information and fuel we need to survive.

Like the human body, business has its own structure, which gives it a specific shape, look and identity. As in the human body, the formal reporting structure of a business is supplemented by a circulation system, which helps a business self-organize and adapt. If the circulation system works well, a business will respond in an agile and healthy way. If the circulation system fails, the business will struggle to adapt to its own unique environment.

Seeing a business as a living system helps managers and decision- makers better to understand how to build different and innovative relationships to business. It also gives the option that knowledge can stimulate a healthy circulation and flow, rather than trying always to resort to control and command. As in the case of the human skeleton, the business structure of top-down control is only one of the systems we have at our disposal.

Strangely, however, if you try to control the circulation of wisdom in your business you will fail. People are too complex and smart for that leadership style to work. As most of us clearly understand, much of what happens in businesses occurs informally and out of sight, in private conversation, in tearooms and on e-mail, well away from the eyes of senior management. The more you wish to control or manage knowledge, the less chance you have to put real innovation and change to work. Knowledge has a life force of its own. It is a constant evolution and flow and we have to tap the informal network as much as possible.

The good news is that there are many business case studies where organizations have explored and implemented approaches to help knit and blend formal knowledge sharing with the power of informal processes such as the grapevine , chatting and spontaneous exchange.

One approach is ˜communities of practice . Other labels for this method include cross-functional teams , cross-boundary groups, communities of experience and, finally, interest or discussion groups. Of course, the label or term does not really matter. What is more important is that what is generated frees up the level of know-how and stimulates cross-fertilization of ideas. Then, in time, the business benefits either directly or indirectly.

The popularity of setting up communities of practice is also being backed up by solid evidence. Harkins, Carter and Timmins, who edited a study of best practice knowledge management, found that building communities was a major driver in the success of knowledge creation strategies with best practice businesses. Other success factors included having a sharper business focus, exhibiting a total commitment at all levels of the organization and having adequate rewards and incentives.

Some examples of communities of practice include:

• The Department of Defense in New South Wales established a network of seventy-five training liaison officers in the 1980s in order better to share resources and ideas on learning and development.

• Xerox technicians meet informally at the end of each day to share stories of what is happening in the field.

• The New South Wales Health Department established learning pathways across regions to explore high-priority health issues among professionals.

• A pharmaceutical business established study groups to explore solutions to a number of pressing issues including customer data management and knowledge management. The groups were cross-functional and included senior, middle and junior staff.

• Shell has funded well over 150 communities of practice. One example is where instrumentation engineers network with each other to solve technical problems across the world.

• Ernst and Young has over twenty-two global networks supporting the development of their organizational archive of knowledge.

• The Australian Human Resources Institute has established and supported special interest groups for its members on specialist subject areas for well over a decade .

Finally, it is worth noting what a vibrant and successful community of practice needs to be a worthwhile contributor to the business. To be successful a healthy community of practice will most likely have:

• a common sense of purpose, within the broad expectations of a business

• a desire to share knowledge and self-manage itself

• a high level of trust and loyalty

• a common digital technology system which enables easy communication and connection

• a highly respected and visible leadership which retracts from dominating proceedings

• adequate budgets and administrative support

• positive mentoring, coaching and peer support

• a chance for deeper and more confidential advice outside the pry of the public scrutiny

• passion and commitment, with good facilitation

• realistic expectations about its purpose

• if the time comes for closing up or disbanding , a view that this is seen as acceptable.