We’ve all seen the Fast Company and Inc. articles detailing unbearable coworkers’ personality traits and characteristics. Obnoxious people and their distracting tendencies are in no short supply. Each office is filled with ramblers, loud talkers, procrastinators, over-sharers, dominators, and the easily offended. But the one group that gets under my skin more than the rest keeps all the information to themselves.
I call these folks the knowledge hoarders. Knowledge hoarders gather and guard information for personal preservation and future use.
Regardless of importance, information hoarding can profoundly impact an organization.
Fueling the knowledge-hoarding epidemic
There are a lot of different reasons people choose to keep information close. Perhaps they’re power-hungry, have trust issues, or fear looking bad if they’re wrong. These are all very different and serious reasons colleagues refuse to share information.
Let’s dive into the factors at play for each of these groups:
- Power hungry. People crave authority and importance, and access to information is often mistaken for power. They believe that if they are the keeper of information, they are in complete control.
- Trust issues. Sadly, 25% of people don’t trust their employer. When asked for information, people hesitate to share and wonder, “Why do you need this information?” and “Who will this be shared with?”
- Uncertainty and fear. Many people are afraid of giving the wrong answer, so rather than responding to a request with the information they have, they remain silent.
The driving forces for knowledge hoarding are detrimental to teams and organizations. So, what can we do to shift the culture?
Creating an information-sharing culture.
Knowledge and skills are vital for personal and organizational performance. Shifting from a knowledge-hoarding to a knowledge-sharing organization requires a culture rooted in communication and collaboration. Establishing a free flow of information will give your organization a powerful edge.
To get started, examine your work culture and understand the tools and resources you need to implement to open communication channels. Study existing mentoring programs, explore departments and teams that collaborate and work well with each other, listen to feedback, and connect with your team.
Collaboration and communication skills don’t come naturally to everyone. A learning management system helps capture and manage information and sharing across your organization. Allow employees to document and share their organizational and vocational knowledge. The insights documented in the system will give you a better understanding of how shared information can help the business thrive. Consider including professional development and certification courses in your corporate learning and development training. Provide employees with the opportunity to sharpen their skills and boost confidence. You’ll notice you have many more knowledge sharers than knowledge hoarders soon enough.