Knowledge is POWER: Give It Away Before Its Too Late!!

Knowledge is POWER: Give It Away Before It Is Too Late!!

By Dr. Richard Ray, RODP

“Knowledge speaks, WISDOM Listens” -Jimi Hendrix

I recently had the privilege of speaking at The New Normal HR Conference hosted by Dean Steve Nail at the Anderson University College of Business . The focus of the conference was on workplace wellbeing and creating cultures that endure. Some great organizations were highlighted like Eastern Industrial Supply by Kip Miller and Kim Miller. This organization should be THE MODEL for how leaders drive culture and culture leads to success. Eastern is also a model for how servant leaders, guided by their values change, not only change their workplaces, but change the world around them.

Psychological Safety and Inclusion were covered in the context of safe cultures and engagement. There was a reminder and emphasis on employee assistance programs with a talk by Lucy Henry of First Sun EAP. Access to an EAP and support for mental, emotional and family health should be just as important as ANY benefit, tuition reimbursement and insurance.?There was an excellent and innovative discussion by Jeffrey Moore from Anderson University (SC) , Karine Brunet , and John Sugden from Walgreens about leading edge research on inclusion and performance, based on the work with employees with disabilities (EWD). The conference even had speakers discuss the power of HR analytics and strategically positioning human resources for impact. Cassie Thompson, SHRM-SCP of Infinity Marketing pulled back the curtain on artificial intelligence in human resources and gave the conference a great education, and some of us a little scare.

Some good learning, exceptional dialogue, and networking with HR leaders. My favorite session was a panel discussion facilitated by Dean Nail with Kathleen Lant , Silvia King , Annmarie Higgins , Mary Alice Bowers , and Cassie Thompson. These bright, successful, talented, and thoughtful women were asked to opine on trends in the workplace and “what keeps you up at night?”?They listed the things you might guess, innovation, attracting and keeping talent, AI, advising and coaching executives, changes in the workforce, “the economy,” and the moving target that is HR Law. In the middle of this discussion, the topic of "knowledge" or "knowledge sharing" came up and there was discussion about the importance of capturing, documenting, and sharing knowledge. I was struck by something one of these ladies said about sharing knowledge among employees and how there is often hesitancy to share for fear of not being as important or relevant in the future. The power of knowledge.

For the past two days, their conversation has been with me. Trends? Yes. Wisdom and Expertise? Yes. Powerful leaders contemplating future trends? Check! Their discussion on knowledge reminded me of some of the work that I have performed with executives who struggled understanding that Knowledge is indeed power. And how sharing knowledge can make one much more powerful than hoarding information or not sharing knowledge in crucial moments. Those that hoard knowledge or try to exercise control by not sharing key information at key times are typically proven to be fools or management immature.

In fact, Knowledge is a special kind of POWER. It’s not THE power that Lord John Acton warned us about that “tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Nor is it THE power Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (okay, Star Wars nerds) cautions a young Anakin Skywalker that “those who gain power are afraid of losing it" (again, fools). Knowledge is unlike money, status, corporate secrets, land, or title. All of these powers are fleeting, limited in scope and by time. All, once accumulated, require that you gain more to have more power. These types of power require that you create complex structures, alliances, and processes to maintain power. And all, money, status, land, and title, once given away result in the one who held them, losing power. Losing relevance.

Again, KNOWLEDGE is POWER. The one who holds this type of power actually gains more power when they give it away. And it is not just the person who has the knowledge. Knowledge is a type of power that grows every time it is shared, every time it is passed on to another.

Leaders in organizations should intentionally focus on how knowledge flows through their organizations. They should map it and categorize it. Asking the question, "What key knowledge is core to organization success?" Not just the “big knowledge” related to patents, key processes, and strategy implementation, but also the “little knowledge.” Which employees understand the unwritten rules that drives conversations? What are the key processes that are performed every day quietly, keeping the firm on track day to day? And it's not the “knowledge management” that IT professionals often facilitate or maintain; it is relationships, processes, and culture held by “power brokers” that we normally don’t consider.

There are some formal techniques such as Integrated Learning Groups?, networking and knowledge software, and catalogued shared drives that captures knowledge. Leaders also have to surface knowledge and identify knowledge keepers informally. Some actions organizations might implement to surface knowledge and leverage it throughout the organization include:

• Educate leaders at all levels on the power of knowledge, informal and formal
• Facilitate brown bags where internal SMEs share their “special Knowledge.”
• Train employees in lean six sigma where a byproduct is often surfacing knowledge and informal processes.
• Bring knowledge brokers into succession planning conversations.
• Conduct audit of key departments to document organizational learning
• Create a culture of psychological safety.
• Create Integrated Learning Groups? and build a culture of learning.
• Reward those who share and nurture learning and growth in organizations.

?Knowledge is the ONLY power, when you give it away, you actually gain more power. It is the only power that multiplies without taking power from another. Here are some of my favorite Knowledge Quotes. I hope you will add some of your favorite quotes….and I hope YOU share YOUR POWER!

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In a time of turbulence and change, it is more true than ever that knowledge is power. - John F. Kennedy

?I am convinced that knowledge is power - to overcome the past, to change our own situations, to fight new obstacles, to make better decisions. -?Ben Carson

?“The man who asks a question might be a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life." – Confucius