Coaching Improves Knowledge Management Programs
By Carole Nicolaides
Posted Monday, August 23, 2004
Knowledge Management (KM) is the latest buzzword in the executive world. It attracts attention across industries and studies, managerial fields and technical and social lines just to name few. The most exciting aspect is that it can also be implemented and used – with full benefits - from a variety of countries.
So what is all this excitement? Is it really a new management discipline? Is this a new intelligence process that promises to solve your problems and improve your bottom line business results?
Since humanity and civilization existed, some kind of KM initiatives have been used for the purpose of learning from one another, sharing the best practices and making sure that people have access to the information they need to complete their job. Only in the past ten years have we really developed a name and a field for this practice. Since that time, Knowledge Management started to evolve and get the attention of several disciplines and prominent Knowledge Management champions.
Because of the needs of today’s Information Era, KM did not only attract people from the organizational studies but also technically minded people. Some promised to alleviate employees from information overload. Some people offered to make sure that companies could capture intellectual capital in technical databases or other artificial intelligence systems. This does not constitute KM.
Proper KM can improve many areas. Results can be seen in better knowledge sharing, the capturing of intellectual capital, improved decision making processes, improved customer expectations and increased profits. In this fast paced environment that is exactly what we need, something to help us in dealing with the information overload.
Knowledge Management promises to become the greatest strategic competitive advantage of the decade. The key is to link your KM strategy to your corporate culture and make it an integral part of your long-term plan. That is the ultimate promise, however in reality there is another truth.
Many Enterprise Resource Planning Systems including Knowledge Management Systems sometimes fail to deliver the value expected from their sponsors. They either do not move beyond the identification of opportunities into actual implementation or the new systems are poorly implemented to begin with. In many cases, implementations are not successful because more attention is focused on the process and technology components with very little attention given to the most important component -- people.
A Knowledge Management Program can be very difficult to implement because many knowledge workers are resistant to the concept of sharing ideas and expertise. Others simply cannot commit to the program because of time constraints or demands of multiple projects. However, to implement a Knowledge program, people need to work together and start sharing knowledge among each other.
How can IT and business managers encourage the sharing of knowledge? Is it enough to offer incentives and training on change management? Does management need to learn and implement a new leadership approach?
There are some prerequisites to developing a successful KM initiative. You cannot separate technology and people. Gone are the times when people did not need technological tools. Technology does offer great advantages, especially in the area of KM. Employees from several countries can exchange information. Due to the flexibility of Intranets and the Internet, a lot of work can be accomplished virtually… all due to technology.
Yet people are still the same as they were thousands of years ago. We still learn at the same speed we used to learn thousands of years ago. It still takes years to master a foreign language even with all the wonderful training programs that are available.
Another important observation is that people still have feelings. A lot of knowledge exchange and sharing is based on some fundamental emotions such as like, trust and value. The lack of consideration for people and feelings is why so many knowledge management programs are not received well. With so much information pertaining to working relationships and teamwork, how is it that these programs still fail?
The truth is that all departments do not talk or work well with each other. Often the commitment and sustained sponsorship is not present at all levels of the organization. Integration and lack of commitment are two major blocks that can hinder your success.
Integration of All Departments With the Help of A Coach
Coaching in the Knowledge Based Organization uses the synergy of all intellectual capital and enables a capacity for learning and turning potential into achievement. Coaching becomes the main delivery method and a way of conducting business by shifting the landscape of the organizational environment. Rather than people receiving direction from others, they commit to doings what they passionately care about.
A Knowledge Management Coach can help organizations to implement KM programs by becoming the missing link of the organization; one that will connect all departments and acknowledge that each one of the employees is unique and brings forth special talents. A KM Coach, working with your organization, can provide ways to help prepare people for this new initiative. Once employees understand KM programs are designed for them, they amazingly find ways of connecting with each other and exchanging valuable ideas. That’s when innovation and creativity take flight.
The challenge is to evoke to a knowledge enabling organization where sharing knowledge is more important than focusing on building databases that replicate knowledge.
Regardless of the company’s size, every mind counts. Begin to find ways to educate employees, coach them on the job, and show them new ways of learning and interacting with each other.
When you assign coaches to your teams, people will more likely focus on the tasks and goals that are truly important for the organization as a whole.
Your Organization Can Benefit Greatly From Coaching Practices
Coaching results in improved employee selection and retention. It can be used throughout the entire organization. A manager can coach his engineer; an engineer can coach his suppliers and so on. Coaching also enhances communication across all levels of your business. Above all, coaching fosters entrepreneurial thinking and complements all training methods to improve business objectives.
Coaching emphasizes that each one of us is important and unique. Organizations using coaching practices communicate that people are valued and needed. Consequently, employees feel esteemed and trusted and this strengthens the bond and loyalty that people have with the organization.
Coaching fosters innovation and initiative. Through coaching, employees learn to take the initiative to raise their own level of performance independently. When employees are coached and encouraged to use new approaches, business-changing projects are accelerated. Ultimately coaching increases business value. Employees learn to focus on projects that really matter and avoid time wasters and unnecessary frustration due to personnel conflicts.
Coaches identify hidden behavioral and organizational patterns that prevent collaborative relationships. They facilitate problem solving, and offer a fresh perspective on the issues that inhibit collaboration and innovation. A coach depersonalizes problems and focuses on facts. Your teams become more effective and learn from each other… all these are the prerequisites for a successful KM program.
Coaching vs. Training
Training is the process whereby a trainer delivers a prescribed curriculum or body of information with specific expertise to an interested group. It is often conducted for the purpose of preparing employees for a particular role or to educate them in a new field. Unfortunately, training does not take into consideration the uniqueness of people’s existing skills, motivation or commitment. There is no time for that.
Coaching vs. Other Process Improvement Programs
Coaching complements and enhances other process improvement programs. Other
programs typically focus on tools, techniques and work processes, but rarely on
interpersonal factors. To the contrary, coaching actually puts people into the process
improvement equation.
It is a challenge to set up and lead a Knowledge Management Program that integrates and leverages all your learning and best sharing practices. However, KM is the best way if you really want to achieve sustained results. By integrating coaching and organizational learning with your daily activities, time and resources are better and more wisely allocated.
Training (and other types of programs) are still valuable methods for organizational development. However, for the immediate needs of the high tech organizations - especially the ones that go through major programs such as KM - tangible results will come more quickly from daily ongoing interactions facilitated by a coach.
About the Author
Carole Nicolaides is President of Knowledge Innovation Group who offers customized business and personal coaching-consulting services in the areas of Knowledge Management, Leadership Development and Organizational Learning. Subscribe to Carole's FREE EZine at newsletter@kminnovation.com or visit her at (http://www.kminnovation.com) to book your FREE coaching session.
