Sharing your knowledge: What’s in it for you?
You are an expert, so why should you share your knowledge with your co-workers or with the rest of the world. I will tell you in this post. It works for me; I’m working in the field of e-Learning for 20 years now, and I’m writing this blog (and sharing my knowledge) since 2010. It built me a network, established my name in the field, made me a speaker at conferences all over the world and most important: I learned a lot while writing these posts.
Knowledge sharing is the ultimate form of learning
In the didactical theory, there is a model called Blooms Taxonomy. It divides learning into six different categories ranging from easy to complex. It begins with remembering followed by applying, analyzing and evaluating. It ends with the highest level of learning: creating. This means that if you can write about a subject (and create) in such a way that others will understand it, you are learning. And this key to knowledge sharing: by writing about a topic in a way that others can understand and learn from, you will deepen your knowledge and very often get new insights.
Strengthen your name as an expert
Companies are using our authoring tool Easygenerator to create user-generated learning (courses, quizzes and curated documents, created by experts in the company). They are publishing their knowledge inside the company and in the process establishing their name as an expert in their field. On top of that, people will start writing about the same topic and discover colleague’s that are experts in the same field. After a while, expert groups will emerge. Discussing their expertise and creating content together. Creating even better content for their co-workers and learning from their fellow experts while doing this.
It’s a time saver
Creating a course or a curated document takes time, but it is effective in the long run. If you are an expert in a certain field, you often have to answer questions from colleagues, give short presentations or work on an official course for the company as a subject matter expert. Those actions combined will take you a lot longer than creating a course will and you are not bound to any time restraints.
Easy access to knowledge
Apart from you being able to share your knowledge, you will also be able to learn from your colleagues. Due to everyone being able to create and share their knowledge without limits, the learning potential within the company becomes endless!
It is a culture changer
The fundamentals of learning within an organization are changing. In the past, it was the organization that would decide what you had to learn to either keep your job or move up amongst the ranks. Nowadays, employees are becoming more and more in charge of their self-development. Knowledge sharing is just the tip of the iceberg. With initiatives like this, companies start forming a basis for a culture that is not only aimed at surviving the 21e century but is key for staying ahead of the game.
For your colleague’s
Of course, a big part of this is about you wanting to help out your co-workers. You have the knowledge, share it! Help someone else boost their knowledge, and in return, they can do the same for you. So not only you but the entire organization will benefit from it.
Well?
If your organization has an initiative for knowledge sharing: participate in it. You will find that it will bring you much. Is your organization not active on this field? Convince them that they should or otherwise just start a blog and start sharing like I did seven years ago.
Lees het hele
artikel