Throughout the last few months, in previous knowledge management blogs I have discussed how business leaders continue to see the connection between knowledge management (KM) and the overall success for their organizations. APQC’s recent research on 2024 priorities shows KM remains a priority for most organizations with resources and investments for KM teams and capabilities continuing. Great news for KM leaders and practitioners!
KM strives to impact not only employee engagement, operational efficiency, and the drive toward building a change resilient and learning organization, but is also a key enabler for data-driven decision making and digital transformation. In a recent APQC survey on emerging technologies for KM, we discovered that a majority of KM teams are involved or getting involved in their organization’s digital strategies – meaning they are gaining a seat at the table for key inputs and decision-making on enabling technologies for KM. Again, great news for KM!
While KM teams continue to capitalize on this momentum, I want to recognize the people, like you, behind these continued advancements. Because KM is a journey with a people-first mindset, not simply a project or a tool, working in this discipline requires patience, a desire to see others succeed and resilience to persevere through the many changes most of you will endure. Building a culture and foundation for knowledge sharing approaches and capabilities is not for the faint of heart.
For those who choose this journey, they help set the stage for future generations of knowledge workers and ensure a change resilient culture, continuous improvement mindset, and a competitive advantage for organizations who “get it”. And remember, not all KMers are in a formal KM team. Partners in the business have always been a critical enabler to KM and essential to the success of KM teams and the capabilities they implement. Think about your community and network leaders, content authors and owners, champions and advocates, analysts and search experts, and who can forget our organizational partnerships with process teams, Digital/IT and HR. KM leaders and teams along with ALL their partners are, in essence, the bridge builders of the organization – enabling knowledge to grow, flow and continually create value.
A poem written over 100 years ago by Will Allen Dromgoole describes the purpose of becoming a bridge building and setting the stage for those we support, but mostly for those who follow. Going forward, I want to spotlight bridge builders around the world who have impacted the KM discipline over the years to share their insights and stories. Stay tuned and think about the bridge builders in your KM journey, and how you can ensure you are building bridges in your organization for future generations.
To see some examples of organizations who are paving the way as KM bridge builders you can access our case study collection Over the Years: Excellence in KM in our extensive resource library as well as other tools, best practice articles, infographics, and more.
