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Communities of Practice

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Things to Consider...• Start with something light. Immediately jump to something common:

•How many people have perfectly functioning collaborative groups? How many people manage their own relational load (e.g., e-mails, meetings, etc.) perfectly?

•Get credibility with examples and statistics – always be focused on what they care about and be able to defend numbers!!!

•Make slides content rich, navigable but not too busy. Want leave behind slides to circulate without you there.

•Definitely transition speakers into and out of each topic area.

•Try to manage energy by re-enrolling people throughout.

Move on (Don’t get too wed to slides)

Make Big Points

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Practice!!!!(Out Loud, With Each Other)

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Changes/Questions (8:00). . . Nothing. Great class/favorite class/already do great stuff (14). More time for participation/discussion and breakouts (4). Focus on reading takeaways (1). Would like to spend more time in class and talking with you (4). Lighting (keep on) (2) seating/room 110 stinks (2). Sometimes rushed (2). Explain network diagrams (2). Even more application to our immediate jobs (2). More fun group activities (like the b-storming) (1). Fewer slides (sometimes when I look up you are on next slide) (1). Links to supplemental readings (1). Donuts better on Monday (1) and OJ with them (1). Get to know classmates more (1). Students to present full class (1).

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Going Well (8:00) . . .• Real life examples, your stories, practical applications (19).

• Listen to and act on feedback (4); open, honest, participative environment of class (6).

• Donuts (5).

• Videos (both fun and bringing execs in) (16).

• Like content in presentations and way you manage class (21).

• Pace, humor, motivational, energizing and funny (19).

• Group breakouts (5).

• Interesting reading (5) manageable workload (6) and precise, well defined learning points/takeaways (14).

• Appreciate the slides and copying (8).Professor is brave, witty, charming and good looking….

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Changes/Questions (11:00). . . Nothing. Great class/favorite class/”You Rock” (16). More time for participation/discussion/questions (3). Focus on reading takeaways (1). More about your work experiences (5). Start on time (1). More time and guidelines for presentations (1). Hear about jobs other than consulting (2). Career discussion and move this up in the class (1). Stop changing seating (1). Room layout (1).

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Going Well (11:00) . . .• Real life examples, your stories, current applications (17).

• Being cool/positive atmosphere/energetic/class flow and pace (19).

• Making copies of slides (8) and video clips (10).

• Interactive group discussions, pace and movement of class (10).

• Humor (7).

• Cookies (6).

• Videos (both fun and bringing execs in) (16).

• Making fun of Bateman (4).

• Positive e-mails (3).

• Speaking experience (2).

Professor is brave, witty, charming and good looking….

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Knowledge Management Course

•Team Learning and Dialogue

•Team Learning and Reflection

•Transactive Memory

•Communities of Practice & World Bank

•Customer Communities

•Assessing and Supporting Critical Informal Networks

•Personal Networks

•Organizational Memory and BP

•Enabling Technologies and Roles

•Competing in a Knowledge Based Economy.

•Knowledge Creation (IDEO & B-storm)

•Knowledge Strategy (Accenture & McKinsey)

•Learning Tactics Inventory

•Learning Style

•Emotional Intelligence

Strategy

Organizational Level

Work Team Communities & Networks

Individual Level

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Communities of Practice:What are they?How did they help the World Bank?(1)History and Strategic Shift(2) Why CoPs Were Important(3) What World Bank Did and Did Not

Do Well in Supporting CoPs

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Communities of Practice

Source: Etienne Wenger

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Example: Communities at the World Bank

Multinational lending institution owned by 180 member countries

Focused on poverty eradication Transformed from pure lender to

"knowledge bank" on economic development issues

Bank President led knowledge initiative Grassroots level identified need Currently supports over 120 "thematic

groups" that focus on topics such as land reform, slum control, secondary education, among others

Coordinated by central knowledge management team and “sector boards” that provide support to the different communities

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Key World Bank Initiatives(Recognizing Critical Role of CoPs)

Knowledge Fairs in the Atrium (Lesley Schneier). Idea has been extended in many organizations.

Key World Bank Initiatives. Building Communities of Practice. Developing an on-line knowledge-base. Establishing help desks and advisory services. Building a directory of expertise. Making key statistics and transaction/engagement info available Collaborative spaces for both external and internal dialogue

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Sharing Knowledge with ClientsTool for Knowledge-Sharing: “B-SPAN”Tool for Knowledge-Sharing: “B-SPAN”

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World Bank Advisory Services

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But forming these communities is difficult for them. It is more than a technology and a good idea to share and collaborate. It takes passion (Roberto) and a focus on healthy relationships and groups of people committed to each other…

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Communities of Practice•Identification and Benefits•Participation, Relationships & Events•Support (Roles and Technology)

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Identify Community Benefits As If You Had To Get Support For the Community.

Who Would Sponsor This?

Increases Job Satisfaction Improves Reputation or

Identity Increases Sense of Belonging Increases Skills and Know

How Improves Time Savings

Individual Benefits What does participating in the community do for individuals?

Increases Trust Improves Knowledge Sharing Improves Problem Solving Increases Community

Legitimacy Increases Consensus and

Judgment

Community Benefits How does collective participation

benefit others?

Increases Operational Efficiency Improves Employee Turnover Increases Customer Sat Improves Speed to Market Increases New Biz Development Increases Product Innovation Increased Sales Improved Cost Control

Organizational Benefits How does participating in a community increase organizational efficiency, better

serve customers and partners, and provide insights for the future of the firm?

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Communities of Practice•Identification and Benefits•Participation, Relationships & Events•Support (Roles and Technology)

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Communities have varying numbers of members and

levels of participationNumber of Members From our research, we’ve seen that

successful communities have somewhere between 30 and 150 members. Communities with less than 30 members sometimes have difficulty getting off the ground and tend to remain as team or working group. Likewise, communities with more than 150 members tend to become too big to maintain close personal ties or common connections.

Levels of Participation Membership in a community often falls into

different levels of participation. Just as in our own commitment to other groups and responsibilities, we usually do not have the same levels of time or commitment dedicated to each. The same is true for communities. Some members may be peripheral and participate infrequently, while others may be part of the core or active groups. As you begin to support your community, recognize that all three levels are important.

Core

Active

Peripheral

25-60%

15-25%

5-15%

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Who Would Be In The Community You Identified? How Would You Find Them?

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Community members share knowledge by engaging in certain events and methods of communication

Events & Communication

• Face-to-face meetings

• Conferences/events

• Phone or video conferences

• Email lists/List servs

• Online discussions

• Bulletin boards

• Newsletters

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Effective Communities Share Values and Often Have Rich Histories and Galvanizing Events…

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What Activities Would You Engage In To Start The Community? What Would You

Do On An Ongoing Basis?

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Communities of Practice•Identification and Benefits•Participation, Relationships & Events•Support (Roles and Technology)

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You can provide five types of support to make communities more effective

Some organizations support communities with community websites or software

Communities that were supported roles, were more successful than those who let community leadership just happen

In some communities, a percentage of an associate’s time was directly allocated for participation and involvement in the community

Some communities are provided with outright funding (annual budgets, blanket support or activity-based resources) for roles, events, or technology

Some organizations chose to recognize and broadcast achievements of the whole community, while others singled out key players for their accomplishments

ToolsSupport RolesTimeFundingRecognition

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FOUR TYPES OF COMMUNITY ROLESKnowledge Domain or Practice Roles

There are three roles that are central to a community of practice’s knowledge domain: Subject Matter Expert, Core Team, and Member. Each of these roles are played by individuals who embody deep knowledge of their practice or domain and are central to the community’s core competence and expertise. All of these roles are generally voluntary and not deliberately staffed.

• Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are those individuals who have spent years honing their craft and practice and are regarded as practice leaders.

• Core Team Members usually emerge from SMEs. As they become empowered to improve or change the organization in some fashion they begin to meet as peers seeking unity, mutual understanding and common context. While Core Team members can be considered and grouped with Leadership-type roles, they are first associated with “the practice” before engaging themselves as leaders.

• Community Members who share many of the same passions for the practice or domain as SMEs or the Core Team gradually begin to “join the ranks” as their work requires them to become involved in the community’s expertise.

Leadership Roles

The two leadership roles—Leaders and Sponsors—are often considered the most important roles in a community’s recognition, support and legitimization by an organization. In communities that are created, Leadership roles must be carefully staffed and resourced with the right candidate.

• Leaders are the most respected members of the community. They are extremely passionate and motivated to lead the charge by seeking out senior-level sponsorship, securing resources or budgets, and networking with internal and external stakeholders.

• Sponsors (who are generally not part of the community) are senior managers who recognize the strategic importance of the community’s practice. They are important in helping secure needed resources as well as nurturing and protecting the community and insuring its exposure in the organization.

Knowledge Intermediary Roles

The next two community roles reflect the Knowledge Intermediary roles that many KM leaders are aggressively marketing and supporting as they deploy KM programs.

• Facilitators and Content Coordinators are often two important but overlooked roles that are needed by communities of practice. Facilitators and Content Coordinators play all three Knowledge Intermediary roles: Knowledge Steward, Knowledge Broker, and Knowledge Researcher. (For more information on “Knowledge Roles,” see the IKM research report: “Intermediaries: Knowledge Roles for Connected Organizations, June 2000.”)

• While Facilitators primarily broker, network and connect community members who need to share or have tacit knowledge, Content Coordinators are the ultimate sources of explicit knowledge who search, retrieve, transfer and respond to direct requests for the community’s knowledge and content.

• More importantly, as organizations seek to create online or virtual communities, both roles are essential to maintaining the health of the community and connecting members with members, content and knowledge. These roles must be staffed with qualified candidates who are experienced with the art of facilitation and content management.

Community Support Roles

The final three roles serve as the support function for communities, either through personally supporting community members or by supporting the community by helping administer its events and technology.

• Mentors are community members who take a personal stake in helping new members navigate the community, its norms and policies. This role is almost always voluntary.

• Admin/Events Coordinators are typically staff who are hired to coordinate and plan online or face-to-face community events or activities.

• As the organization supports a community with in-house technology, an Intranet site or purchased community software, Technologists are often employed to help members navigate the community’s virtual domain, repository and technology.

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A number of different technologies can be applied to enable communities to create, share and use knowledge online

Asynchronous Dialogue

Synchronous Dialogue

ExpertiseLocation

Virtual Conferencing

Collaborative Workspace and

Tools

Community Enabling Technologies

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What Technology Could You Use To Help Support the Community? What

Roles Would Be Necessary?

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Learning from Customer CommunitiesPresentation Details

• Each group will have 12 minutes to cover their community.• At least four people to present with a smooth transition.• Your job is to tell us how the organization supports and benefits from

customer communities. Content to Cover.

• What the community is (e.g., who is in it, why, what benefits do the members get from the community).

• How the community is supported from a technical and organizational perspective (show us the site and some screen shots).

• How the organization benefits from the community. What additional benefits could they derive from the community?

• Suggestions for the organization?Logistics.

• E-mail the slides to me no later than 5PM the night before the presentation.• Put a paper copy of the presentation in my box at that time!

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12 Minutes (Not 10)

Customer Community Assignments (but come back to me if you want to do a different one):

Team 1: Sony PlayStation or X-Box.Team 2: Cisco’s Networking Professionals (http://forum.cisco.com/eforum).Team 3: AARP (http://www.aarp.org/community) OR some music-oriented group.Team 4: World Bank (http://www.worldbank.org/ks/k-practice.html)Team 5: A sporting related community (e.g., Cabellas).