As I read through the tremendous amount of academic research that has been done on knowledge management and leadership over the past 30 years, it seems to me that the newer models of leadership in business that encourage leaders to be transparent and supportive of their subordinates are well suited to the leadership behaviors that businesses need to leverage their knowledge as an asset. Knowledge leadership behaviors such as role modeling and creating a culture of openness, trust, and strong learning, development, and communication are key elements that lead to successful knowledge management. Cultural elements that have encouraged resistance to knowledge sharing, such as being afraid of losing your job if someone else knows what's in your head, or not wanting to look foolish in front of peers or managers, seem, in theory, to be a thing of the past. But, reality paints a very different picture.
Knowledge management, as a strategic practice, is still relatively new, especially in smaller companies. Sure, it would be great if everyone dumped their brains into a central database at the end of each day as they walked out of the door (or signed off from Zoom), and if that database could answer complex questions like "Which ESG metrics would be the most impactful to include in the raw materials that we sell to Keith at AAA Client"? But the likelihood of that magically happening, in a way that is cost-effective and reduces, rather than increases, workload is slim to none. No matter what (academically-defined) leadership model is being practiced at the company, knowledge sharing is not a top priority for most of its employees.
But it really needs to be. Research has shown time and time again that good knowledge sharing, knowledge storage, and knowledge re-use practices have a real, financial, positive impact on a company, even the smallest ones. If an employee can get key information within a few minutes from a comprehensive knowledgebase, even if populating that database takes a few minutes out of everyone's day, each and every day, then the return outweighs the investment. It seems from my reading that knowledge leadership practices are the most important place to start.
References:
Holsapple, C., & Jones, K. (2005). Exploring secondary activities of the knowledge chain. Knowledge and Process Management, 12(1), 3-31.
Lakshman, C., & Rai, S. (2019). The influence of leadership on learning and innovation: Evidence from India. Asian Business & Management, 1-32.
Lee, H., & Choi, B. (2003). Knowledge Management Enablers, Processes, and Organizational Performance: An Integrative View and Empirical Examination. Journal of Management Information Systems, 20(1).
Wong, K. Y., & Aspinwall, E. (2004). Characterizing knowledge management in the small business environment. Journal of Knowledge management, 8(3), 44-61.
Knowledge management, as a strategic practice, is still relatively new, especially in smaller companies. Sure, it would be great if everyone dumped their brains into a central database at the end of each day as they walked out of the door (or signed off from Zoom), and if that database could answer complex questions like "Which ESG metrics would be the most impactful to include in the raw materials that we sell to Keith at AAA Client"? But the likelihood of that magically happening, in a way that is cost-effective and reduces, rather than increases, workload is slim to none. No matter what (academically-defined) leadership model is being practiced at the company, knowledge sharing is not a top priority for most of its employees.
But it really needs to be. Research has shown time and time again that good knowledge sharing, knowledge storage, and knowledge re-use practices have a real, financial, positive impact on a company, even the smallest ones. If an employee can get key information within a few minutes from a comprehensive knowledgebase, even if populating that database takes a few minutes out of everyone's day, each and every day, then the return outweighs the investment. It seems from my reading that knowledge leadership practices are the most important place to start.
References:
Holsapple, C., & Jones, K. (2005). Exploring secondary activities of the knowledge chain. Knowledge and Process Management, 12(1), 3-31.
Lakshman, C., & Rai, S. (2019). The influence of leadership on learning and innovation: Evidence from India. Asian Business & Management, 1-32.
Lee, H., & Choi, B. (2003). Knowledge Management Enablers, Processes, and Organizational Performance: An Integrative View and Empirical Examination. Journal of Management Information Systems, 20(1).
Wong, K. Y., & Aspinwall, E. (2004). Characterizing knowledge management in the small business environment. Journal of Knowledge management, 8(3), 44-61.