Deb Wallace, Ph.D.

SLA 2005 Annual Conference – Toronto

Leadership and Management Division

June 8, 2005

Communities of Practice: Catalysts for Change

…A problem of design

Context: What are the environmental factors

that influence the situation? The background.

Content: What’s the meat at the heart of the

discussion? The scope of information.

Form: What shape with the resolution

take? The solution package.

…The world we live in

Influencing factors (givens):

Client demands:

Opportunities:

No. 1 – It’s all about change

To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.

Winston Churchill

To change and to change for the better are two different things.

German Proverb

…No. 2. – It’s all about capabilities

A collection of cross-functional elements (skills, attributes, knowledge, systems, structures) that come together to create the potential for effective action.

The link between strategy and performance.

StrategyStrategy

PerformancePerformance

CapabilitiesCapabilities

Learning

Collaborating

Communities of Practice

Generative

Capabilities

Tools and Approaches

Teams

e-learning

Key premise

“The only sustainable advantage a firm has comes from what it collectively knows, how efficiently it uses what it knows, and how readily it acquires and uses new knowledge.”

Davenport, T. and L. Prusak (1998).Working Knowledge. Boston: HBS, p. xv.

Key premise

“All knowledge is ultimately based on experience, and narratives are the vehicle by which that experience is transmitted from person to person.”

Denning, S. (2004). Squirrel Inc.: A Fable of Leadership through Storytelling. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, p. 98.

Key premise

“Collaboration is the critical competency for achieving and sustaining high performance – especially in the Internet Age. It won’t be the ability to fiercely compete, but the ability to lovingly cooperate that will determine success.”

Kouzes, J. M. & B.Z. Posner. (2002). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, p. 242.

Key premise

Communities of practice are at the core of the organizational transformation that has already begun. They are one of the primary agents of change that will prepare organization to more successfully operate in the knowledge era, in which knowledge capital will be readily recognized as a core asset of an organization and strategies will be focused on generating that capital through learning and collaboration.

(Saint-Onge and Wallace, 2003)

Take 1 – What’s a community of practice?

Groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their understanding and knowledge of this area by interacting on an ongoing basis.

(Wenger et al., 2002, p. 4)

Take 2 – What’s a community of practice?

A group of self-governing people whose practice is aligned with strategic imperatives and is challenged to create value by generating knowledge and increasing capabilities.

(Saint-Onge and Wallace, 2003)

…Characteristics

• Centered around a knowledge domain or practice – focused on current need

• Self-governed; self-managed• Generate knowledge to enable their

practice• Support each other; sense of

“community”• Utilize productive inquiry for problem

solving and innovation• Collaborate via multiple channels

…Precursors to success

• Partnering mindsets and capabilities

• Supportive context and leadership endorsement

• Strong technology platform

• Realistic expectations for return on investment on the part of management

…Catalysts for change

• Build internal capabilities parallel to market factors

• Build generative capabilities

• Increase capabilities to collaborate and partner with other organizations

…Catalysts for change

• Leverage collaborative technology

• Create a new value proposition for the employee

• Strengthen employee/staff value proposition

…Building communities

• Planned, systematic approach• Aligned with strategies; imperatives• Executive sponsorship,

organizational support• Seed group of membership• Dedicated resources: project

management & facilitation• Steering group to drive process

Phase I

Phase IIEvaluate

Purpose & Direction

Evaluate Purpose & Direction Grow

Community

GrowCommunity

EstablishCommunity

EstablishCommunity

Launch Community

Launch Community

EstablishCommunity

Components

EstablishCommunity

Components Define

CommunityProject

Define Community

Project

Checkpoint Progress & Value

Checkpoint Progress & Value

Sub- community

Sub-community

ExpandCommunity

ExpandCommunity

Community Development Process Model

…The leadership challenge

• Leader brings the participants together

• Establishes an open agenda• Tells or sparks a moving story• Encourages a process of sharing

stories• Has an action plan to capitalize on

the energy generated.

Denning, S. (2004). Squirrel Inc.: A Fable of Leadership through Storytelling. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

…The leadership challenge

• Create a climate of trust

• Facilitate positive interdependence

• Support face-to-face interactions

Kouzes, J. M. & B.Z. Posner. (2002). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, p. 242.

…The information challenge in communities

Tacit (connection & exchange)• Making sure the right people are aware of

the community support community participation

• Encouraging the development of connections within the community

Explicit (capture & retention)• Capturing and organizing information

created by the community• Tying external information with internal:

content, quality, presentation(L. Pauloski – Dofasco)

…The role of information professionals

• Information provider/broker• Information organizer• Networker• Facilitator• Promoter• Member

(L. Pauloski – Dofasco)

…Why communities – form

• Social beings – collaboration and partnership

• Naturally inquisitive – critical thinking, problem solving, innovation

• Motivated to succeed – meet objectives; fulfill aspirations; embedded in situation

• Familiar – low resistance and effort• Situated in practice – relevant, realize

strategy

…Why communities – function

• Create capabilities

• Drive innovation

• Problem solving situated in practice

• Leveraged to create strategic advantage

• Catalysts for change

…What can I do tomorrow?

• Analyze: What communities am I aware of in my organization? What communities do I belong to? How do they generate capabilities? What is their value proposition?

• Strategize: Where could communities benefit my organization? How would they fit into existing strategies? Meet existing goals or imperatives?

• Operationalize: How can I be a catalyst for change in creating communities? What role could our information services play in supporting communities?

…References: print

Dixon, N.M., N. Allen, T. Burgess, P. Kilner, and S. Schweitzer (2005). Company Command: Unleashing the Power of the Army Profession. West Point, NY: The Center for the Advancement of Leader Development and Organizational Learning.

Kim, A. J. (2000). Community Building on the Web: Secret Strategies for Successful Online Communities. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press.

Saint-Onge, H. and D. Wallace. (2003). Leveraging Communities of Practice for Strategic Advantage. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Wenger, E., R. McDermott, and W.M. Snyder. (2002). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

…References: online

Nancy White and Full Circle Associates:http://www.fullcirc.com

John Smith and CP Square:

http://www.learningalliances.net/CP_bib/

Mega Sites:http://virtualcommunities.start4all.com

http://communities-of-practice.pagina.nl

…Contact information

Deb Wallacedebra.wallace@konvergeandknow.com