Bob Andrew suggests that we should refer to Knowledge management as Knowledge Leadership.
There has been much debate in the past over the differences between Management and Leadership. To me it doesn’t matter very much as there will always be overlaps but, simply put, it seems that management is about keeping stability and leadership about encouraging change.If this is true, why then do we have Knowledge Management and not Knowledge Leadership? Perhaps it is because many see KM as providing a stable and controlled environment where knowledge is gathered and hoarded, with all sorts of conditions like who gets to know what and where the knowledge is stored. This is the environment that gives rise to the saying that ‘Knowledge is Power”. The alternative view, and one that I certainly subscribe to, is that knowledge creates change through innovative action and adds value by the free sharing of gained knowledge. For this reason, from now on, I am going to talk about Knowledge Leadership and not Knowledge Management.
Does the use of knowledge makes a good leader? This was certainly the theme with a past client of mine who were developing leaders. I ran a series of sessions to help them understand how proactive identification and use of their knowledge would help them lead. Consideration of knowledge as a resource pushes back towards “management”, yet as Bob suggests, “many see KM as providing a stable and controlled environment where knowledge is gathered and hoarded, with all sorts of conditions like who gets to know what and where the knowledge is stored”. I see that as a purely backward facing activity and clearly not leadership.
Knowledge has always been about leadership for me. Let’s not forget to acknowledge that even those with a backward facing view on the use of knowledge are at least leading in their recognition of its value. Knowledge Management will stay in my vocabulary for two reasons. Firstly, habit and secondly, because most people are at least aware of the term. Bob, I wish you all the luck in the world.