Knowledge Management Issue: Building Trust

Friday, June 11, 2004

TOP TIPS: Building trust that builds virtual communication


The necessity of dialogue can never be overstated. Remote communities or teams need to establish a trust-bound foundation through personalinteraction before any technological means are relied upon for communication. Here, author and consultant Nancy M. Dixon of Common
Knowledge Associates details three vital considerations before you schedule that team conference call.

1. Build trust. This is formed through face-to-face meetings. Once formed, trust is like a full bucket: possible to "dip into" with virtual meetings. But after a while it will have to be refilled or it will vanish.

2. Understand the kind of content being requested. Explicit
knowledge requires little trust and travels well virtually through e-mail, fax or a voice message. Tacit knowledge, however, does not. It requires a conversation in order to transfer knowledge effectively. If a trust relationship is established, then a virtual, synchronous exchange can carry on for a period before the "trust bucket" needs to
be refilled.

3. Think reciprocity. One major reason members of a team are willing to come to a knowledge translating session, or "peer assist" is that they realize they will learn something. When teams meet virtually, the learning is greatly reduced. This loss is significant in the short term, but even greater in the long term. If originating teams
consistently receive little for their effort, the practice will fade since effective knowledge-sharing systems depend on reciprocity.

Source: Excerpted from "Does your organization have an asking
problem?" in the current issue of KM Review.

Blogged on 9:38 PM by Upay

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