Let’s start with the
definition for Knowledge. Very difficult indeed to define, there are numerous conceptual
ideas, I suppose it all boils down to the context in which the word is used.
For now, the definition of knowledge in this blog states: "Knowledge is an
action, or a potential of an action, that creates or has the potential to
create, value based on data or previous knowledge, and/or information." [1] “Curation”
in this context is based on the concept of curation of implicit -, tacit -, and
explicit knowledge, it is not Data- or Information Management. The focus will
be on the People side of knowledge and the curation thereof.
Machines can also have knowledge
but lacks the ability to communicate on a human level in such a way as humans
do, there is no emotional intelligence (Actual feeling: happy, pain, sad etc.),
it can maybe mimic some emotions on different levels but do not actually have feeling.
An extract from a previous blog depicts typical knowledge management challenges faced in Organizations.
How many times have you heard these words?
·
Does it make sense?
·
Please give me more context on the topic before we
continue with the meeting?
·
Who can I speak to about this issue?
·
I found some documentation but is looks outdated.
Where is the latest version?
·
Oh, that is what you mean! I thought we are discussing
something else.
·
I have no idea where to find the information you want.
Maybe John will know?
·
Speak to Mary? But she left 2 years ago…
·
Do we have the skills available in the organisation to
do the project?
·
I cannot remember what the action should be from the
last meeting. What has changed?
·
Why are we re-inventing the wheel?
·
Do we have a high-level diagram showing what
technology we are using and how it interacts with each other? Will Business
understand it?
According to the blog from
APQC,
workers spend 8.2 hours per week facing KM challenges. If you look at a 40-hour
work week, 20% time is spent in a week trying to make sense of information
or gaining-, creating- or destroying knowledge. Sounds familiar?
This brings us to the use case
for a “Knowledge Curator”. Every Organization should have Knowledge Curators. This
person will need to be able to operate in a “Business” and/or “Technical”
domain using specific soft skills to curate the organizational knowledge. EQ
and communication skills are vital for this task. Most importantly, this person
needs to be trusted in the organization, able to get on the same cognitive
level as the person(s) talking to and will need to be able to have content
management skills to capture the tacit knowledge in such a way it will make sense
for the organization. This person will need to be able to be a Boundary Spanner
to gain insights into other domains in the organization.
And yes, also apply governance
principles for the content created.
In summary, I think it is vital to add the role of a Knowledge Curator in your Knowledge Management strategy. If you are a Knowledge Curator and want to share your experiences, please send me an email.
[1] Meir Russ, Robert Fineman,
Riccardo Paterni, Jeannette K. Jones: Conceptual Theory “What Do You
Know?". p. 8, 2010