Unlocking the Knowledge Silos Within Ourselves: 3 Strategies for Success

Any successful biz dev or sales professional should understand the importance of developing new ideas and sourcing new opportunities to keep the funnel flowing. Unfortunately, many don't. We all experience a rough patch during our careers as prior success gives way to slowing momentum and frustration. Why this occurs varies but ranges from a shortage of ideas and weak engagement to declining motivation, etc. When the slowdown occurs, some self-reflect about why, while others just throw in the towel and give up. On the surface, the reasons for these adverse outcomes are apparent, yet the complexities to course-correct remain static. We believe a more fundamentally destructive force is at play preventing forward momentum, and that is the presence of substantial knowledge silos within ourselves.

"When the slowdown occurs, some self-reflect about why, while others just throw in the towel and give up."

What is the knowledge silo? Knowledge silos, generally discussed in the context of organizational performance, reflect the lack of employees' willingness or ability to share information across the organization. Everyone at some level seeks to protect his or her knowledge fiefdom achieved primarily through lack of information sharing. This behavior creates barriers to performance and achieving larger organizational goals. Silos commonly occur at some level within any organization, no matter the stage of optimization.

At times we are our own worst enemy failing to appreciate our deep pockets of inner knowledge, much less how to unlock and utilize it. These internal knowledge silos also create barriers to personal performance and achieving personal goals.

We offer three strategies to implement as you set personal goals, create a more free-flowing thought process, and regain lost momentum.

#1. Find a Sense of Purpose and Engage a Catalyst

A set of experiences shapes our personal or professional lives at any given point in time. These experiences reflect our numerous interactions and information acquisition sources, including occupation, education, relationships, technical skills, etc. For example, just through our digital lives, the scale of interactions is enormous. In 2020 our daily digital interactions exceeded 1400. By 2025 this number is expected to approach 5,000. Identifying and cataloging our interactions and experiences for relevance can be a daunting task.

"Defining the larger goal allows you to ask the right questions"

Engaging a catalyst can be an effective solution to identifying this information and understanding its value. Catalysts appear in many forms, including a career or life coach, a group of friends or colleagues, a mentor, facilitator, etc. Most importantly, developing a sense of purpose and setting goals also help to understand information relevance and value is essential. Why are you doing what you are doing? Defining the larger goal allows you to ask the right questions establish clear objectives bringing relevant information to bear to achieve a favorable outcome.

#2. Connect, Collaborate & Cooperate

Creating new experiences and relationships remains essential for learning, growth, and personal value creation. As you discover your sense of purpose and begin to unlock your internal knowledge silos, you will discover areas or gaps to fill. Forming new experiences occur through various means such as networking events, social media, or through your existing network. Placing your overall goals in the context of these strategies creates clarity on the gaps that exist and the necessary steps to fill them. 

"Admittedly, the Covid-19 pandemic upended many of the traditional models for connecting, collaboration, and cooperation."

In addition to connecting to build new experiences, effective collaboration is perhaps more critical to enhancing the value of these experiences. Admittedly, the Covid-19 pandemic upended many of the traditional models for connecting, collaboration, and cooperation. However, the need for these activities never diminished but migrated to digital platforms, e.g., zoom, teams, etc. Whether or not you embrace the benefits of sustained digital engagement, these activities remain essential for momentum to return to our professional lives. As the pandemic subsides and we return to more traditional engagement models, the importance and value of effective collaboration will only grow.

#3. Streamline Your Knowledge Acquisition Processes

The importance of deepening and strengthening your knowledge reservoir is clear. In some respects, not understanding the importance of acquiring knowledge rests on par with the inability to unlocking your internal knowledge silos. Disadvantages created in the presence of limited access to knowledge include lost business opportunities, missed promotions or higher compensation, etc. Fortunately, knowledge is more accessible in today's world, as are the tools and resources to leverage that knowledge. For those in emerging economies across the Global South, improving telecommunication infrastructure and new technology platforms will further close the knowledge gap.

"Fortunately, knowledge is more accessible in today's world as are the tools and resources to leverage that knowledge."

As you achieve clarity in your goals and information gaps are better understood, take advantage of knowledge transformation to ultimately create new ideas. Throughout our professional lives, remaining competitive is a constant. A deep reservoir of knowledge and the ability to effectively further enhances that competitiveness. 

Some Final Thoughts…

Regaining lost momentum and clearing a path for success (however you define it) is a comprehensive and multi-layered process. Removing the presence of internal knowledge silos does clear a substantial hurdle toward these goals. All organizations intent on creating value at some point rely on their biz dev or sales platforms to achieve their financial objectives. Unfortunately, the culture of "what have you done for me lately" permeates every organization, particularly those with high competitive intensity. Many organizations take different approaches to address stalled performance; however, the underlying objective remains the same, e.g., fixing the problem. Developing effective strategies to unlock your internal knowledge silos enables you to thrive and succeed in an increasingly global and competitive business environment.