Knowledge Community Leader

A Knowledge Community Leader serves as the "parent" of the community and has significant weight in its chances for success. This is a professional managerial figure responsible for the ongoing operation of the community, moving it forward, and transforming it into a thriving and vibrant entity. The Community Leader is the person responsible for the community's operations, activating community members and key role holders to achieve the expected quality and scope of activity. They are responsible for raising motivation and performing core activities (such as managing FAQs, bulletin boards, and more). Fulfilling this role requires a unique personality who can embody the spirit of the position (a "passionate advocate").

Below is a detailed breakdown of the Community Leader's role components. It's important to note that these may vary according to the organization's nature and the existence of a complementary supporting figure:

Personal Example (Role Modeling):

• Regularly contributing knowledge items to the community.

• Using the community as a tool to transmit essential information that won't be published through other conventional channels, and asking employees to stay updated with this information.

• Daily interest in the extent of participation in the community. (Can be done through random hallway conversations, where relevant questions are directed to community members: "Did you visit the community this week?", "What did you read in the last week?", "Have you contributed a document recently?", "What do you think about the community?", etc.).

• Instilling knowledge management in general and the community in particular among employees.

Managerial Supervision and Guidance for Maintaining All Knowledge Items in the Community:

• Daily entry to the community and examination of existing content.

• Reading discussions and checking responses to discussions from community members. Ensuring answers are provided by an authorized person (content expert) or another relevant community member.

• Initiating discussions on topics on the organizational agenda.

• Identifying anchors in work processes where the contribution and use of content can be integrated.

• Maintaining a regular interface between the face-to-face and virtual forums (initiating discussions based on topics discussed in the virtual community, updating content discussed in face-to-face meetings in the virtual community, and continuing discussion, etc.).

Activity Monitoring:

• Publishing a procedure for expected participation levels in the community and enforcing it.

• Reviewing monthly/quarterly statistics to check the usage level of different community members and taking action if needed.

• Working with direct managers regarding community activity, if needed.

• Managing the content experts forum - empowering experts, providing tools to perform the role, and monitoring the quality of their performance.

• Responding to feedback from community members and addressing issues requiring attention.

• Identifying cultural barriers and addressing them according to their severity.

Increasing Knowledge Integration in Work Processes:

• Directing employees who are hesitant/delayed with a professional problem to the community to search for an answer/raise a question.

• Directing employees who present work documents and/or other documented knowledge items to save them in the community.

• Diverting discussions are taking place in undocumented channels for the community.

Continuous Thinking About Development Trends and Updates:

• Holding discussions regarding proposed changes/improvements in areas such as:

  • Removing existing community windows.

  • Changing the design/layout of the community page.

  • Canceling existing reports.

  • Proposing the creation of new windows.

And a small tip to finish: Sometimes we cannot embody all the characteristics (and time) required for implementation in one person. In such a case, it's worth considering combining two people - a leader and deputy, with a clear and well-defined division of roles that allows coverage of all needs as detailed.

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Want to learn more about communities of practice?

Here are some articles you might find interesting:

• The Untapped Team Advantage- Book Review

• Case Study: Knowledge sharing in the field of fostering

• Knowledge Management in the Third Sector