Are we finding it difficult to approach colleagues who know or can do more than we do? What potential are organizations missing out on in knowledge management?
Our colleague Laura Rinker from the University of Hohenheim has just published a super exciting paper on this topic. We think her work is pretty cool and would like to highlight two insights from it;
We don't like to share knowledge with colleagues we perceive as more capable. We feel threatened by their superiority (according to our own perception, which may well be distorted).
We don't mind so much when this happens with older or younger colleagues. Then we feel more comfortable sharing our knowledge, even if he or she is perceived as professionally superior.
For companies, these findings mean that social dynamics need to be taken into account, whether when brainstorming in workshops, for mentoring programs or when putting together teams. In other words, organizations should be aware of dynamics and be able to actively manage them.
Especially in our knowledge-oriented working society, knowledge transfer between older and younger colleagues is incredibly important. Both to secure know-how and to create new expertise. Understanding these processes better and being able to shape them optimally can set organizations apart from others in the future.
Laura and her colleagues at the University of Hohenheim provide a translation of their scientific work into practice online: https://wirtschaftspsychologie.uni-hohenheim.de/kurz_erklrt?utm_source=pocket_saves#jfmulticontent_c500694-1. Worth a read, not just the article mentioned here.
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