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Most of us have, at one time or another, worked with a colleague who hoarded information as if it were gold. And lets not forget the manager who passed on company information
only on a need-to-know basis (kind of like working for the CIA).
This approach to information is frustrating and counterproductive, but understandable. Many people believe their value to the company is based on what they knowand they dont want to give up that perceived edge. Their theory is that if they share that knowledge with their co-workers, that will increase the co-workers value and diminish their own.
This is a battle that business has been fighting for decades, but its heated up during the past few years of ongoing layoffs, when employees are more interested in surviving than collaborating. Ironically, this is happening at a time when knowledge management and collaboration technologies are getting a lot of attention from business leaders, who understand how these technologies can benefit their organizations.
Learning to share requires a change in perspective. Instead of focusing on what we as individuals are giving up, we need to focus on what we as a teamand a companyare gaining: We are exchanging knowledge, learning new skills, and improving the health and stability of the business. Taking a long-term view, that means we are all more likely to keep our jobs.
That sounds like common sense. However, a speaker at the recent World Innovation Forum in New York pointed out that emotions often trump sense. Chip Heath, a professor of organizational behavior in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, noted that individuals find comfort and security in the old ways of working. Analytically, they may know that they need to change, but emotionally, they dont want to change. He added, People hate change because change is hard.
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