Building a community of leaders using Communities of Practice (CoP) - a tool of the Learning Organization - Knowledge

1. Building a community of leaders using Communities of Practice (CoP)- a tool of the Learning Organization- Knowledge Management through relationships 2/14/2004

2. Community of Practice (CoP) Communities of Practice are informal groups formed around a common issue, problem, skill, or resource.

3. Types of communities • Helping community - forum to help each other solve work problems • Best practice community - develop and share best practices • Knowledge community - organize and manage a body of knowledge • Innovation community - cross organizational collaboration for creative ideas

4. Communities of Practice (CoP) • Self-organizing relationships • operate informally with management support • self-select their involvement and invite others • set own agenda focusing on company issues • establish own leadership structure • Knowledge & relationships are inseparable • technology alone is not sufficient • incentives to share are not sufficient • directives to share are not sufficient

5. Snapshot Comparison Who belongs Purpose Cohesiveness Duration Formal Hierarchical To deliver a Organizational Until next organization reporting product or goals reorganization service Project Management To accomplish Project goals Until pro ject is Team assigned a specific task complete Community Voluntary, Build & Passion, As long as of Practice invited or self - exchange identity, interest remains selected knowledge commitment Informal Friends and Collect & pass Mutual needs, As long as network acquaintances on information friends hip reason to connect exists In perspective with other organizational groupings.

6. Benefits from CoP • Tear down silos by focusing on commonality • boundary permeability (people & ideas) • Increases organizational learning through establishment of employee relationships • solving problems without redundancy • tap into employee tacit knowledge • makes knowledge sharing natural, not forced • Provide a mechanism for employees • to enable their ideas for innovation and change • to “make a difference” (employee satisfaction)

7. Business Purposes • Forum to share knowledge for solving work related problems • Best practice and knowledge sharing • Establish a repository of knowledge not otherwise captured by technology • Establish a foundation for learning • Adaptive learning – responding to business challenges • Generative learning – being innovative

8. Success stories • Shell E&P realizes annual benefits of $200+ million through its CoP knowledge sharing • American Management Systems (AMS) estimates that their communities save the company between $2-5 million per year and increase revenue by over $13 million • An international company formed communities to supplement their management development program

9. More success stories • Nynex cut service set-up time by 80% through the increased communication that communities bring • Andersen Consulting Education division • over half of eligible employees participating • sample groups: motivation, culture and learning, demographics, virtual classroom, Web technology, problem-based learning

10. Value measurement • Ties to the learning & capability component of the balanced scorecard • current activity builds future value • value appears in the work of teams and business units, not in the communities themselves • discontinue a group when value generation ceases (death is natural as interests change) • Measure by anecdotal evidence (stories) • how ideas are being used • changes resulting from community input

11. Support structure needed • Explicit management support • provide legitimacy for Communities of Practice • commit to concept & provide small operating budget • remove barriers as needed • encourage collaboration • reward participation • provide support resources, if requested • Directory of Communities knowledge base • build awareness & facilitate use

12. Support structure needed • Community Facilitator (knowledge manager) • assistance in community formation • identify initial group membership & help organize • define initial community boundaries & expected benefits • community promotion and champion • establishment of community space on Intranet • assist community to get established • organize initial meetings (agenda & location) • identify and resolve community problems • required communication to remove barriers

13. Community governance • Community charter (rules and guidelines) • community’s mission & goals • can change over time • voluntary participation (can phase in & out) • limit involvement to 1 to 2 hours per week max. in all CoPs • virtual lurking is encouraged • community boundaries (area of focus) • 8 to 15 ideal group size • ability to subdivide or merge if desired • self-organizing group culture • degree of formality determined by the community • procedural rules jointly agreed upon

14. Community governance • Community “mayor” or team leader • keep things on track & serve as group contact • initial mayor appointed for 3 month termor rotated for learning opportunities • Community history documented on Intranet • document group activities & presentations • discussion forum between group meetings • Start small & leverage success • individual actions to implement themselves • expand to larger initiatives with more people

15. Sustaining interest • Recognition of accomplishments & benefits • measure and communicate • employee recognition (leading to satisfaction) • Annual Showcase & Innovation Fair • awareness & diffusion of ideas • recruit additional employees into interest groups • broaden the base of topics covered

16. Possible communities • sales (virtual meetings?) • e-business • accounting issues • workflow processes • diversity (racial, gender, age, mental models) • retirement • community building • technology utilization • PC tech support • business strategy • marketing strategy • data mining & analysis • core competencies Based on needs determination

17. “Leaders are those people who ‘walk ahead,’ people who are genuinely committed to deep change in themselves and in their organizations. They lead through developing new skills, capabilities, and understandings. And they come from many places within an organization.” Senge (1996, p. 45) CoP to provide a structure for emergent leaders

18. Communities of Practice (CoP)- a tool of the Learning Organization- Knowledge Management through relationships Information cannot be assumed to circulate freely just because technology to support circulation is available. Too often information is treated as a commodity to be hoarded and exchanged. A mechanism is needed, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking and acting. It is this free flow of information that makes knowledge creation possible.