Organizations have long been facing major challenges in terms of their flexibility: rapid changes in technologies and markets, but also an ever shorter half-life of knowledge and experience are putting pressure on them. To counter this, organizations use the informal and flexible forms of networks and communities far too little.
A community is a special network
Networks connect people. Through the exchange in the network, its members gain access to resources that are otherwise not available to them. There are many types of networks, communities are a special form. A community always has a specific theme, challenge, or concern at the center around which its members' relationships are built.
In practice, we also know different communities with different goals. A community of interest connects people with a common interest in content. Communities of Action want to bring about changes in a targeted manner. Communities of Practice are particularly exciting and valuable.
What does a community of practice do?
A community of practice brings together people who face similar practical challenges and want to become more competent in this area. The focus of attention in this community is not abstract knowledge, but always concrete application knowledge. Practitioners are interested in this implicit knowledge of how knowledge is applied in practice, what positive and what negative experiences there have been with it.
By exchanging their practical experiences, the members themselves produce practical knowledge. In this way, they accelerate the acquisition of skills enormously compared to classic further training or lifeless knowledge databases. And this rapid development of competence is directly relevant for practice!
Community Building
In order for this knowledge building to succeed and develop well, the community must be created as a trusting learning space with clear rules. The start of a community is critical to success: fundamentals and framework conditions that have not been created well here lead to difficulties that can only be mastered again with a great deal of effort.
We are happy to support and accompany the conception, construction and development of communities with our experience. Contact us, let's talk about it.