Knowledge Sharing is Power

Although I am used to preaching the message, I sometimes ask myself whether I am really sharing the best of my knowledge and information sufficiently with others. It is easy to say to your colleague “please share with me what you think is important for me to know”, but to do it yourself and to give away what you value as a key source of personal advantage is still felt difficult by us human beings. The dictum of the old economy -“Knowledge is Power”- is still quite persistent in our body and mind and we are afraid that by sharing knowledge we may loose position, power and control.

On the other hand we all see that the new information and communication technologies have created conditions for a new world: the knowledge society. And our common sense is telling us that free flow of knowledge is crucial for such a society and that knowledge sharing should be the daily practice. Why is it then that we still act according to the rules of the old economy? Indeed: knowledge IS power. But everyone also experiences everyday situations where Knowledge Sharing is even more powerful. I feel that an important reason for not sharing knowledge is a lack of trust: the fear that somebody will misuse or misapply your knowledge out of context or will pass it off without giving any recognition to you as the source. But maybe the major reason for not sharing knowledge in many organizations is due to the lack of time. There is a continuous pressure on us to act and to produce, and how can you possibly find time to add your lessons learnt to your institute’s knowledge database or have a knowledge sharing session with your colleagues?

Jan Luijendijk
NBCBN, Project Director

This article was published in NBCBN Newsletter Issue 6 January 2007