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Side by Side Knowledge Leadership To Achieve Personal and Organizational Goals

 

Side by Side Knowledge Leadership To Achieve Personal and Organizational Goals


Most leaders receive their first promotion because they excelled in one or more areas of knowledge or skills. In one of the most research-based leadership books, Gary Yukl (1994) concluded that knowledge leadership, as well as interpersonal leadership, were more effective sources of power to influence others than power from one's position in the organization or the authority to reward or punish others (Yukl, Gary A. (1994). Leadership in Organizations (3rd ed.), Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, p. 208-209).

Part of the reason knowledge leaders are so influential is that they can solve problems faster than other people can. Because of their experience and expertise, these individuals can:
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 Recognize problems faster;
•
 Prioritize which problems are the most important to achieving the organization's goals;
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 Reframe a problem either by shrinking it, by getting it very specific, or expanding it and looking at its system implications;
•
 Quickly identify root causes of the problem; and
•
 Provide fact-based pros and cons when solutions are brainstormed to select the best solution.


The defining characteristic of knowledge leaders, however, is that they use their knowledge to help the team or organization achieve the priority goals. They do not get mired down in knowledge for knowledge's sake. Many smart people are unproductive because their acquisition and handling of knowledge is not goal directed. The Disney animation division, which produced such movie hits as The Lion King and Pocahontas has a hierarchy of knowledge leaders in the animation skill. This is similar to the technical career ladders at engineering and other high tech companies. At Disney, deadlines are used to stimulate creativity. Budgets and deadlines often provide a framework that prevents creative people from thinking too much. To keep the animators goal-oriented in their art and knowledge, the vice president of animation, Schneider, emphasizes doing it, versus over-planning, over-thinking and worrying about the project. The work builds the success momentum (McGowan, Joe, "How Disney Keeps Ideas Coming," April, 1996, pp. 131-134).

Being goal directed about the knowledge is required because knowledge leaders spend considerable time:

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 Acquiring knowledge (reading books, papers, and articles, engaging in telephone conversations, informal discussions, traveling to conferences or to organizations on the leading edge of the knowledge area);
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 Processing the knowledge (making notes, informal papers, diagrams and models, and once again holding informal discussions); and
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 Disseminating knowledge (holding informal discussions, producing written and published papers and books, providing formal presentations, claiming patents and inventions, and creating new models, procedures, and methodologies).
•
 Goal directness focuses knowledge acquisition on usage, application, and action. What are your goals for your areas of knowledge leadership?

All three of the above areas of activity include informal discussions. In an early study of the most productive engineers and scientists, Donald Pelz and Frank Andrews discovered that most effective engineers and scientists both sought and received more interactions with colleagues than their less successful peers received. Albert Einstein wrote up his famous theories of relativity after months of extensive interactions with his close colleagues in Zurich. Einstein maintained an extensive network of contacts throughout his life. Knowledge leaders are in communication with people who have information and knowledge to share.

Who is in your network for knowledge leadership development?
© Dennis A. Romig, 2002
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