Managing for Knowledge: HRs Strategic Role

The interest in developing Storytelling as a Knowledge Management tool stemmed from a partnership arrangement initiated three years ago by Dave Snowden of IBM’s Institute of Knowledge Management. The partnership was perceived as being a mutual learning opportunity in which IBM could learn about the management of ecosystems from English Nature (something that is perceived as providing important insights for managing a ‘knowledge ecology’ within an organisation) and English Nature could learn about the principles of Knowledge Management, communities of practice and how to use the Storytelling tools being developed within IBM.

The use of Storytelling as a Knowledge Management tool is being championed by Ron Donaldson, the acting Information Services manager. He has carried out a number of Storytelling projects. These fall into two main areas.

Lessons-Learnt Reviews

Two key lessons-learnt projects have been completed using IBM’s Storytelling techniques. One is of an office relocation project within Head Office and the other is of a Public Inquiry which English Nature were involved in.

One of the main lessons learnt from the office relocation storytelling project was that despite the fact that a lot of effort had gone into planning the physical office layout changes and the logistics of the office move, the human factor had not been given sufficient attention, i.e. how staff felt about the office move and their work environment subsequent to the move. The ‘campfire tale’ after the office-move review revealed that staff felt that their personal needs had been ignored as a result of the office reorganisation because they had not all been co-located with existing work colleagues in the new office layout. In addition some staff were no longer co-located with the filing cabinets (which they require regular access to) and the support staff with whom they have regular contact. This compounded the feeling of communities being broken up.

The Public Inquiry storytelling project revealed some important insights into how the project team, set up to represent English Nature, had been formed (i.e. the team selection process), how the team organised themselves for the task they had to do and also how they identified the knowledge gaps within the team and how they then filled those gaps. It also drew out valuable insights into the sensitive issues faced by the team and how the team resolved these.

The material gathered from this particular Storytelling project includes many previously unrecorded tips and techniques which have provided fruitful learning material that could be used as a resource on the organisations’ media and public enquiry training courses.

Identifying Communities Of Practice

This Storytelling project surfaced both formal and informal communities in place within the organisation. It has also provided some useful insights into the implications and opportunities for the organisation’s overall knowledge base from different community structures.

One of the informal communities identified during the project was the Staff Canteen Community within Headquarters. This central restaurant area is where much of the day-to-day business is conducted. At coffee breaks many of the conversations are knowledge-building exchanges rather than discussions about what people watched on the television the previous evening. These discussions often develop into impromptu project meetings.

However, the physical space where this informal community meets is constantly under threat as the organisation grows in size. As the organisation expands there is pressure to convert restaurant space into office space, as was the case during the most recent office re-organisation.

In addition to this informal community a number of formal learning communities grouped around particular areas of specialist scientific knowledge were identified. The way in which three of these communities of practice are structured and managed was found to be of particular interest.

The Woodlands Community

The Woodlands Community is led by a recognised woodlands expert. Within this community the knowledge flow tends to be uni-directional, i.e. knowledge flows from the community leader to specialists in the local teams. The knowledge flow/exchanges between specialists within local teams was found to be minimal.

From an organisational perspective one of the advantages of this community structure is that it is easy to identify a woodland’s expert who is able to speak knowledgeably and with authority on behalf of English Nature to external bodies. However, one of the downsides of this community structure is that local woodland experts (like shoots around a mature tree) can live in the shadow of the community leader. This has implications for the organisation’s overall knowledge succession planning, as well as individuals’ career development.

The Botanical Community

The Botanical Community is facilitated (as opposed to led) by a community leader with a general science background, rather than someone who is a recognised specialist in botany. In this community the knowledge flow was found to be more multidirectional, between the community leader and community members. In addition there was found to be more interaction and knowledge exchanges between community members. This is something that is actively encouraged by the community leader.

Although the way in which this particular community is structured and managed enables local conservation officers to enhance their personal knowledge, it generates a problem for the organisation as a whole in that it is more difficult quickly to identify a subject expert to represent the organisation to external bodies when needed.

The Freshwater Community

The leader of the Freshwater Community is different in that this was an external appointment. The knowledge flow within this community group is again more multi-directional, with knowledge flowing both ways between the community leader and experts within the local teams.

Appointing someone from outside the organisation into this role has had some unanticipated benefits. In particular it has opened up a new knowledge source through the previous contacts that the community leader already had with external organisations. This surfaces the importance of recognising already mature relationships during recruitment.

As the acting Information Services manager pointed out it is difficult to make an overall judgement as to which of these community structures is more effective from an overall knowledge management perspective. Each structure has advantages and disadvantages for the organisation as a whole, and for individuals.

The organisation needs to have experts who can be readily identified to speak knowledgeably on different aspects of conservation to external bodies in order to maintain its reputation and authority. The way in which the Woodlands Community and the Freshwater Community groups are structured makes this easier from an organisational perspective. However, the way in which the Botanical Community group is managed has the potential for a number of subject experts to be developed in parallel and perhaps a greater than average level of common knowledge.

Through this particular Storytelling project the organisation now has practical examples of the outcomes of different leadership approaches that could be used as learning materials in both internal and external leadership development programmes.

Organisational Learning From The Storytelling Projects

The Storytelling project that led to the discovery of how different communities of practice are structured and managed has surfaced some important questions for the organisation, these include:

Broader Learning From The English Nature Case Study

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