Communities of Practice

A Means of Encouraging Knowledge Management

Apr 4, 2008 Amy Smith

Communities of practice can not only acclimate staff into new roles in an organization, but also help retain and share crucial knowledge.

A community of practice is a group of individuals who come together informally to learn from one another and share ideas. Typically, a community interacts and is engaged in sharing experiences, knowledge, tools and templates, and practical application, among other things. A community of practice is defined by its identified purpose or reason for existence, which is continually redefined and negotiated by its members.

Benefits of Communities

Participation in a community of practice can promote development and assist in skill acquisition. In organizations, communities of practice provide the same benefits as networking by helping an individual evolve from outsider to insider. But, they also move beyond the benefits of networking to assist individuals who participate actively progress from novice to expert and “newcomer to old-timer.”

Characteristics of Communities

Key characteristics of the community of practice are that the community provides a stimulating and comfortable environment in which people can learn and exchange ideas. Mastery and expertise are often the goals, as well as knowledge exchange. However, the keys to successful communities of practice are not the level to which participants master a field or subject but the level of participation of the members at the community’s center and the outcomes the community produces for the benefit of its individual members and, in an organization, for the benefit of the organization.

Connection to Knowledge Management

How are communities of practice helpful in encouraging knowledge management? Knowledge management is the concept of storing and retrieving information that can be shared with individuals to provide assistance, increase skill level or improve work performance. Although software and tools are often used to “manage” knowledge, a lack of human interaction results in a lack of the richness that humans can provide through subjectivity. Knowledge management is practiced everywhere that individuals, in their personal and work lives, seek advice and guidance from experts and historical information, knowledge and experiences, and skill development tools are shared.

Key characteristics of knowledge management are a willingness to share knowledge and experience with others or a system whereby knowledge can be made accessible to all. Also key is a willingness to use personal knowledge and skills to enhance organizational knowledge and skills. In organizations that support knowledge management, such knowledge is used to make decisions and enhance strategic planning and thinking. Most importantly, knowledge management used correctly is cyclical and feeds into itself. Individuals gather information they need to perform well in their jobs, through new knowledge they create value and learn from what they create, and finally, this newfound knowledge is placed back into the system when they share it with others.

The relationship between communities of practice and knowledge management is one of interconnectedness. Communities of practice cannot exist without knowledge management. By definition, a community of practice is a tool through which knowledge management takes place. It is a formal means of sharing guidance and knowledge, as well as practical application and experience.

In looking at successful knowledge management, whereby the knowledge is shared, given value and meaning through its relation to a context, and then placed back into the system when shared with others, the community of practice is a perfect tool for both sharing the knowledge and returning it into the organizational system through the sharing of the knowledge with others.

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