The 7 C’s of Knowledge Leadership: Innovating our Future Artur Gonçalves Sepideh Haeri

New economic world order

• Mainly based on the flow of intellectual not financial, capital.

•  Profound changes everywhere in the way human talents are managed.

•  The effective leadership is not having the most knowledge, it is to know how to use it.

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Innovation: the key to survival

• Real value is created when connections are made among seemingly isolated elements (Innovation).

•  Innovation need several sub components, all of which rely greatly on proper knowledge leadership.

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Seven domains to (re) consider for the implication of knowledge management •  (C1) – Context •  (C2) – Competency •  (C3) – Culture •  (C4) – Communities •  (C5) – Common Language •  (C6) – Communications •  (C7) - Coaching

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Knowledge Leadership is a matter of CONTEXT (Financial capital and Human capital orientations)

• Both orientations are necessary to ensure optimal flexibility, adaptability and agility

• However, new world economic order pushes towards going Human Capital orientation more and more.

• Why? Tremendous speed of change in multiple interdependent variables that brings high levels of uncertainty.

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Knowledge Leadership is a matter of CONTEXT Characteristics of

Financial Capital Orientation (Traditional/Industrial)

•  Performance measures are static and financial, $$$ are the main asset.

•  Structure/culture is Competitive, based on market share and there is a distrust of boarders

•  Leadership concerns: Costs/expenses, profitability

•  Processes: Independent (isolated islands), Cause/effect •  Technology : Information processing, data/information,

things/warehouse

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Knowledge Leadership is a matter of CONTEXT Characteristics of Human Capital Orientation (Knowledge, Innovation)

•  Performance measures are dynamic and comprehensive (measuring intangibles). Relationships are main assets.

•  Structure/culture is collaborating, value-adding and based on sets of alliances.

•  Leadership concerns: Revenue/Investment , Sustained Growth. (more insight into future)

•  Processes: Inter-dependent , value system •  Technology : Knowledge processing, tacit/explicit

knowledge, Flow/Process

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Knowledge Leadership is a matter of CONTEXT What today’s leaders must do?

•  Lead by example •  Inspire passion for the work •  Walk and talk •  Ensure that teams are well prepared for decision making

under fast changing, information flooding conditions of today’s world.

•  Help others stay focused and balanced as they establish priorities.

•  Convey context and meaning in ways that enable others to leverage their own talents.

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Knowledge Leadership is a matter of COMPETENCY •  Innovation is believed to be the one competency needed

to manage into the future. •  It is the key to survival of any being that is going to be

sustainable. •  BUT ….

•  There are many Sub-Components •  In fact innovation is a compound of several different

competences. The individual competencies are %70 generic and %30 field or industry or case dependent.

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Knowledge Leadership is a matter of COMPETENCY (2)

• Competency Map: is an assessment tool that outlines the skills and

behavior required to successfully undertake a position or role.

• Banff Centre for management has conducted a research on the subject.

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Knowledge Leadership is a matter of COMPETENCY (3) •  The research identified 35 competences organized in the

following categories: ▫  Direction setting ▫  Change Leadership ▫  Critical Thinking ▫  Organizational development and diversity ▫  Personal/Organizational Balance ▫  Quality ▫  Knowledge and Innovation

•  Each indicates four levels of apptitude.

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Knowledge Leadership is a matter of COMPETENCY (4)

Leadership Training

•  It is almost impossible to be taught LEADERSHIP. •  In fact it can be done in a 5 step LEARNING process: ▫  Step 1: Competency Profiling of the learner. ▫  Step 2: The Learning Contract (customized plan for

individual). ▫  Step 3: The Learning Process (hands-on, interactive,

feedback, re-focus, real environment and applications, knowledge circle). ▫  Step 4: Re-entry Planning (it is not as simple as teaching -

takes a lot of listening exercise, identifying language, motivation and talents in others ready to be nurtured) . ▫  Step 5: Measurement of Impact : Successful

DEMONSTRATION of the desired skills and learning competencies is ESSENTIAL.

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Knowledge Leadership is a matter of CULTURE • Corporate culture is very important.

• Over the long term, culture does more to influence the impact of corporate leadership than any other factor.

•  Innovation is defined as the number-one advantage of the knowledge program, the main obstacle however is the development of knowledge sharing culture!

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Knowledge Leadership is a matter of CULTURE(2) •  Two greatest obstacles to successful knowledge

Leadership : 1.  Lack of trust 2.  Inadequate communications Specifically regarding values, mission and critical

success factors. These 2 elements combined with lack of vision

seem to be the root of management duress.

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Knowledge Leadership is a matter of CULTURE(3)

•  Creating and sustaining a culture where knowledge is valued is one of the most difficult challenges in practice.

•  Appropriate culture are those that: 1.  Engender change, innovation, openness and trust 2.  People are recognized and rewarded for their

knowledge contribution 3.  Flexible, networked organizational structures, multiple

teams and a climate of intensive and purposeful networking.

4.  ….

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Communities •  Various disciplines started converging in responsibility

and practice. ▫  Integrating core principles from the domains of others. ▫  Convergence of functional perspectives and common

agendas are emerging. ▫  Growth of circles and networked organizations ( harness

creativity and promote cross-fertilization).

•  (…)The need to know what each other knows ( Brown and Gray, 1995). ▫  Provides insights into how the entire operation may

effectively led. ▫  Leaders, will not operate only based on competition. ▫  Collaborate and contribute to the success of one another.

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Conversation and Common Language •  Innovation Language ▫  Language that does not focus on a particular function. ▫  Encompass industries, sectors , regions….universal scope

•  Knowledge language with a glossary of terms ( Skandia and Ericsson in Sweden ) ▫  On-line capability to add terms( more that 400)

�  Appling heritage, purpose, mission and strategy of the enterprise ▫  Spheres of influence ( Once connections are made among internal and external constituents) ▫  Structured conversation and dialog ▫  Flow of meaning

�  Quality and level of conversations �  Network of conversations ( Ray Stata, Chairman of Analog Devices of Nortwood

Massachusetts) ▫  Common Language and shared vision

▫  Encourage �  Employers to become a community of inquirer’s not advocates, �  Managers to understand the knowledge, skills experiences of one another

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Communication •  Dramatic increase in computer and communication technology. ▫  Explosion of www, e-commerce ▫  strategy of how best leverage the technology ▫  Taking advantage of internal and external mechanisms( group-ware,

multimedia, cyberspace ) to optimize results ▫  Communication not always technical

▫  Apprise organization and stakeholder of priorities, changes in direction, success stories

▫  Simple but not simplistic communications ▫  Integrate plans with human capital ( knowledge of all stakeholders in the

innovation process.) ▫  External messages must be consistent with internal culture, values and

vision ▫  How companies are perceived in the marketplace, Platform Knowledge type advertising campaigns ▫  Knowledge economy, not only designed for market products and services ▫  External stakeholders and a motivation tool for employees ▫  Importance of the right words in the right context ▫  Communication strategy as a learning process and also as a dissemination

tool

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Coaching •  Tow parties – Both responsible. ▫  Forward looking, change oriented, and developmental ▫  Enable client success, productivity, growth, stakeholder value ▫  More about ‘Being’ than ‘doing’

�  Involves trust, support and shared values.

•  The coaching relationship enables people to work out issues and find answers through their own effective discovery process.

•  Successful leaders values others and have a need to ‘know what the other know’.

•  Ability to coach and be coached. ▫  Value of Mutual talent

•  Important to have others – motivate their own innovation process. ▫  Personal coaching success fact!

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Measure Leadership •  Principles have been around for decades

�  Few organizations have implemented them �  Fewer have discovered a systematic way to measure the results

�  In recent times, with the significant research being done, institutes began to comprehend,

“the power of the intangible value of the enterprise.”

•  Measure what we can measure ▫  “ I’d rather be roughly right than precisely wrong!” (Leif Edvisson, Chief

Knowledge Officer )

▫  Major research project The intangibles agenda, as a priority!

▫  Best practice guidelines( Skyrme and Amidon, 1999):

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Measure Leadership •  Large gap between management expectation and

actual achievement of results �  Most important but the least understood

•  Traditional accounting mechanisms did not provide reliable ways in measuring the intangibles.

•  Investing executives ▫  Effective in understanding the past and present ▫  Not very effective in predicting the future directions

that companies should take

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A Knowledge Leadership Litmus Test

• Knowledge Innovation Assessment ▫  Innovation Strategy is leadership

•  How innovative is your organization?

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Global Knowledge Leadership map

• ENTOVATION network invited to participate in the Global Knowledge Leadership Map.

• Variety of disciplines, a wide range of functional responsibilities and representing 50 nations.

•  They are all playing a role in shaping our new economy.

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•  Admire those who are considered innovation genius

•  Value of collective

•  Common language

•  Value communication process

•  Coach and be coached

•  Shared vision

•  Embrace innovative mechanisms tools and methodologies

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