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A “Knowledge Strategy” For Your Organization

Written by: Roger Ingbretsen

Article Overview: A knowledge strategy is of critical importance to the overall strategy of an organization. It is our collective organizational knowledge that gives us the edge over our competition. “Brain is in… brawn is out.” An organization should determine the value of its collective intellectual capital and market it!

A “Knowledge Strategy” For Your Organization

A “knowledge strategy” can have a profound impact on virtually any type of organization. Simply stated, a knowledge strategy is knowing, growing and using the collective knowledge of an organization. Measuring, managing and improving such things as organizational intellectual capital, including employee knowledge, industry knowledge, patents, research and customer knowledge, can be used as an effective tool to increase organizational service and competitiveness. To effectively accomplish this, attention should be applied to the following.

• Understand what intellectual capital the organization presently has. Do a full assessment of college degrees held, certifications attained, and special competencies, skills and talents acquired by all employees. Produce a list of white papers, presentations, articles or other forms of demonstrated organizational knowledge. Produce an inventory of copyrights or patents held. Evaluate what assessments, creativity, innovation and research is going on and what products, services and marketing are planned to meet the organizational strategy for future sustainability and growth.

• Formally define a knowledge strategy which is focussed on technologies, products, industry needs, customer desires, processes, and services required to meet future objectives.

• After assessing what the organization has and where it is headed, do a gap analysis to start the process of filling in what knowledge, skills and competencies are needed to meet the organizations strategy. Look at patents that are not currently being used or will not be used in the immediate future to see if there are royalty opportunities to be gained. Review all formal information that has been produced for public/customer consumption to see what can be updated for re-release, or what areas have been missed that the organization could fill in with new articles/presentations.

• Develop a measurement system (such as the balanced scorecard) to assist in benchmarking the organizational “knowledge development effort” to include three major areas: human effectiveness, organizational structure and customer value.

• Capture the positive high points of the knowledge strategy process and capitalize on them by marketing organizational strengths in knowledge acquisition and the deployment of organizational intellectual abilities.

To be most effective, the “knowledge strategy” must be based on the overall “business and organizational strategy.” This approach affords the opportunity to target high priority and high payoff areas, as well as grow organizational intellectual capital in a manner that adds real value to the organization and best serves both the short and long-term objectives. A knowledge strategy helps to better ensure that every individual learning effort is aligned with the business strategy of the organization.

A knowledge strategy that is focused on the human effectiveness of the organization drives and sustains individual contribution in several ways. This is accomplished by increasing the talents, strengths, competencies, knowledge sharing and management of knowledge, so that all employees can best serve personal and organizational goals through the optimization of the organizations intellectual capital. A knowledge strategy that is focused on organizational structure drives the formation of effective business units, high impact teams, and well-defined and clear processes all aimed at cost effective efficiencies. A knowledge strategy that is focused on overall customer-value and market growth through “optimizing the delivery and use of knowledge to the customer” drives industry knowledge, product innovation, leveraging customer information and knowledge, and driving profitable revenues through customer retention.

In summary, a knowledge strategy is of critical importance to the overall strategy of an organization. It is our collective organizational knowledge that gives us the edge over our competition. “Brain is in… brawn is out.” An organization should determine the value of its collective intellectual capital and market it! A knowledge strategy will have a direct impact on the bottom line by: increasing organizational day-to-day effectiveness, help sell the brand, provide the information needed to hire and grow the right talent, evolve the best structures and processes, help organizations be increasingly more innovative, and allow organizations to prepare for, and execute to, their current needs and future growth.

Copyright Information:

You MAY reprint the information contained in this article as long as no portion of the contents are modified and it used “exclusively” within your organization. You must also give credit to information by including the tag line...

Roger M. Ingbretsen, Author, Speaker, Leadership Coach, Organizational and career developer For more information, visit www.ingbretsen.com or call 509 999 7008.
















Develop A “Coaching Leadership Style”

Coaching: A process which trains, prepares, assists or in some way enables others to increase their abilities, competencies, knowledge, skills or strengths so that they can excel and win at their chosen game of life. The basic intent of coaching is to produce a champion person, team or organization. A good coach works with good talent.

Style: Style is the way, in which leadership is said, done, expressed or performed. Each individual who has risen to a level of leadership in his or her chosen area of expertise has developed their own unique style of leadership. Some of the styles that have been identified are; autocratic, authoritative, affiliative, democratic, delegative, directive, coercive, participative, supportive, servant, transactional, transformational and coaching.

Winning: The action, accomplishment, goal attainment, or outcome, which was envisioned, intended or desired to be produced as a result of someone leading and coaching a specific person, team or organization to win.

A “Coaching Leadership Style” is one in which the leader uses his or her position to enable (coach) individuals, teams or organizations to win.

Similar competencies that “successful” coaches and leaders share are as follows.

• Coaches and leaders have the savvy, interpersonal skills and ability to effectively work with others.
• Coaches and leaders are open to learn and understand fully the importance of continual development and self-improvement.
• Coaches and leaders are adaptive, flexible, and innovative and deal effectively with change and reality.
• Coaches and leaders hire, build and successfully lead talented teams by employing careful selection, motivation and a challenging environment.
• Coaches and leaders set clear goals and expectations.
• Coaches and leaders clearly understand the importance of getting the job done, of maintaining an outstanding track record of performance.
• Coaches and leaders are self-assured and have a presence that commands true respect from those they lead.

Style in and of itself does not make a leader. Leadership style does however define how the leader comes across to others when attempting to influence outcomes. A practical way to define style is to describe it as directive, supportive, or a combination of both. A command and control style is directive, whereas a servant leadership style is supportive. The coaching leadership style described here is a combination of both directive and supportive behaviors. As a way of explaining this, consider the following.

There are times in sports when a coach, based on his or her experience and knowledge, is directive and calls the play or provides specific direction to a team member as to what they need to do to correct or enhance their performance. There are other situations where the coach sets positive expectations, encourages, praises, helps facilitate thinking, and listens to input from the team. In other words, the coaching leadership style is situational in that the leader’s role changes as the situation dictates. It is fully realized that each individual in a leadership role has a very distinctive and personal style of leading. The use of the “Coaching Leadership Style” is meant to describe an over-arching style of leadership that takes into account your personal preference in the context of how to attain the highest performance from your organizational team.

My research and experience has provided several insights on leadership style. First, every leader I have met posses their own unique core strengths, competencies and skills, which allows them to develop their own leadership style. Second, almost to a person, they have learned and developed their style from someone else or a combination of leaders they have worked for or observed during their careers. Third, of the many leaders I’ve spoken to, all had improved or changed their leadership style through reading, training, stretch assignments, coaching or mentoring by others or by other outside influences they had been exposed to. These findings support the fact that if you desire to become a leader you can use many resources to make that transformation a reality.

My research and that of others has also found that many leaders have one particular style they like best, but have in addition mastered several styles of leadership applying the style most appropriate for the situation. Just like a coach, the leader may have to demand immediate compliance or set a specific standard of performance. At other times the leader may need to develop consensus and mobilize people toward the attainment of a vision. The creation of team building and establishment of harmony and emotional bonds within an organization may at times be required. And then there are times when the leader may need to solicit collaborative input from experts within the organization. The point being, an effective leader will need to employ the style that brings about the desired results.

Additionally, I have found, most successful leaders have a strong ego, but are intelligent and savvy in that they are not egocentric. That is to say, they possess a strong sense of self and are not easily threatened by what others say about them, but also completely understand that they get things done by making others capable and effective in winning the game, accomplishing the mission or obtaining the goals of the organization. All of the above findings and observations have led me to believe that successful individuals are driven to lead a life of significance, rather than simply doing a job.

For all the above reasons and more, I believe the coaching leadership style described here has a great chance for success. This is especially true when blended with leadership qualities such as self-knowledge, persistence, risk taking, commitment and learning, are all used in concert with the innate strengths you already possess as an individual. I also believe many people accept coaching as a natural form of leadership because they have been exposed to it during their formative years playing sports or have seen its effects both live at sports events and on television. As more sports are opened to both men and women, I believe coaching as a form of leadership will become accepted as the norm rather than the unusual.

The ultimate litmus test of successful leadership is the leader’s ability to translate the intention of the organization into reality and then sustain and grow it through continual engagement of all stakeholders. The “role of a true leader” in this effort is to define the mission, provide a vision, evolve strategy, set direction, define the right outcomes, select the best talent, and then through a values-based organizational structure enable his or her followers to realize their full potential. To that end, individuals in a coaching leadership style role should:

• Define their leadership role as a “coach of human potential.”
• Continually assess and enhance their leadership strengths and competencies as well as the strengths and competencies of those they lead.
• Through example, continue to create a positive and disciplined organizational culture that is reinforced within a supportive work environment.
• Define the mission, develop a strong vision and then set direction through a defined and evolving strategy.
• Communicate, consistently and often, those things that are most important, relevant and desired for success in a great organization.
• Insist on a disciplined approach to processes and organizational outcomes.
• Challenge, encourage and allow all employees to be creative and apply their talents toward the innovative implementation of new products and services.
• Create synergy throughout the organization, so that together all stakeholders can have a greater total effect than the sum of their individual effort.
• Constantly communicate the importance of the customer.
• Provide consistent measurement and effective feedback.

Another way to describe the Coaching Leadership Style is to see it as being both transactional and transformational. Transactional in that individuals, the team or the organization, must do certain things to get rewarded and transformational in that both the coach and followers will be transformed to a higher level of performance as they work together to win the game and attain new objectives. As in sports, the role of the coaching leader is to transform good individuals into stars and those stars into winning organizations. The coaching leadership style offers the leadership of an organization a golden opportunity to step back, and reflect on the immediate and long-term needs of the organization. This approach of coaching from a “big picture” perspective, will allow the organization to put in place a development process that aligns leadership coaching skills along with building individual talent, which is capable of accomplishing the mission and vision of the organization. This approach is definitely strategic in nature and plays well into the important concept of succession planning.

The transformation necessary to achieve world-class performance and the satisfaction desired by all stakeholders, leaders or followers, is not easy… and it is never over. It can actually never be over. Transforming an organization from good to great through a coaching leadership style is not a quick trip, but rather a steady journey. There is always much more to do and higher objectives to reach. Any organization can do things better today than they did yesterday.

Three necessary elements for becoming a great organization are: exceptional coaching leadership styles at all levels, high performance teamwork, and a strong talent pool to draw from. You cannot have a world-class organization without world-class people, both leaders and followers (coaches and team players). It is also necessary to continually reinforce and apply the organizations stated cultural beliefs and values, which are fundamental to optimal performance. An organization must collectively “raise the bar” by living the essence of their cultural beliefs and values, and by continuously adopting new ways of “seeing,” “being” and “thinking.”

As an organization builds a solid business or operational foundation and wins the hearts of customers, investors or constituents, it must set even higher goals. One of the ironies of success is the better an organization becomes, the more is expected of that organization. If a professional team wins a world title, the fans (customers) expect the same or better performance next season. The same holds true in business.

The organization must focus on what is good and make it better. The organization must play off its strengths and make them stronger. It is often hard to think of improvement when things appear to be going well; however that is exactly what any organization must do. For prolonged success, an organization needs to continually foster a sense of urgency and be open to change and growth, because it will be continually challenged and tested by the market place or it’s constituents, to move to a new level of possibilities.

In attempting to realize high-performance goals and transformational change, as well as create even higher levels of performance, organizations must embrace new ways of engaging the hearts and minds of all members. Leaders must force decision-making that is aligned with the overall strategy and objectives of the organization, to encompass all levels of stakeholders, in every part of the organization. Thousands of small individual daily decisions must be aligned so they become collectively and synergistically big. This will require an enhanced style of leadership, a coaching leadership style that is comfortable with anxiety, deals with disruption and can transform for tomorrow while doing the business of today. It will require a leadership style that believes a very important task of a leader is to acquire, train, coach and keep only the very best people, while leading them to an agreed upon (bought into) vision of the future.

By having coaching leaders provide a challenging environment where each member of the organization can pursue personal and professional growth, both the individual and the organization benefit. This is especially true when the individual is coached to take the personal responsibility to gain knowledge that has a direct impact on their ability to specifically perform their job with excellence. “Training and education” are good, but when training and education are specifically directed at enhancing the ability of the individual to have impact, they become powerful assets that truly build the intellectual capital of the organization. This approach also prepares the person and the organization for a more productive future.

Research and experience show that people perform best in an environment of trust, respect, freedom to express and when positively coached, (all of which come from preserving individual dignity) rather than simply being evaluated and managed. A coaching leadership style leverages individual strengths and abilities for maximum performance. Coaching also provides for direct on-the-job learning as well as just-in-time learning tailored to a particular situation. By leading and enabling people to be more innovative and by facilitating behavioral change, coaching allows people, projects and organizations to move forward at a quicker pace and with less wasted effort.

If your organization is to win in a highly competitive environment, the coaching leadership style can hold the key for success for both now and into the future. Change is the norm and individual resilience along with performance will be crucial to team and organizational success. A strong coaching leadership style is the vaccine needed to fight the organizational immune system, which by the very presence of human nature is typically adverse to change. A coaching leadership style is not about providing comfort, stability and solutions to those you lead. A good coach continually challenges others by raising the bar, is always expecting higher levels of performance, works at getting individuals out of their comfort zone and is constantly stretching their abilities, thereby enabling them to grow and achieve greater possibilities.

Because of the importance of effective leadership, I believe that anyone in a leadership role must focus on coaching and growing his or her people to help ensure collective success. I further believe the primary function of leadership is to build a high performance team. The responsibility of a coaching leader goes beyond simply building and taking care of “their team.” It is in understanding the strengths and competencies of each team member and unleashing their collective expertise and power within the larger system of the organization team. A coaching leader is also continually building coalitions between and with all levels, groups, functions and departments within the organization. People using an excellent coaching leadership style sees the power and influence that talent, coupled with systemic thinking and processes, used by teams of people, have on creating the synergy required to go from good to great.

A great example of “teams within a team” can be found in professional football. Special teams are trained and developed to interact effectively with both the defensive team and the offensive team. All teams combined, when playing well, provide the overall organization the capability to win. Each team has its own coach, but to be effective as an organizational team, all coaches (leaders) must not only build and successfully lead their team, but also understand and contribute significantly to the total game-plan strategy. Having an excellent coaching staff, all training and developing solid talent, is the key to taking any organization from good to great.

In many leadership roles – sports, military service, and high performance business teams – leaders constantly challenge, encourage and coach those they lead to be all that they can be…to win the game, take the objective or beat the business competition. The coach/leader builds and inspires confidence in the follower even to the point where the follower can assume a leadership role if required. A uniqueness found in exceptional sports, military or business teams, is their belief in them-selves as individuals, their belief in teams to overcome obstacles, look at problems as opportunities and the ability to execute and attain the desired outcome.

As a coaching leader “you set the standard!” As a coach “you model the way!” As a coach “you must be what you want others to be.” As a coach “you create with the strength of your team, what you can’t create alone!” The key to becoming a great coaching leader lies in having the aspiration and commitment to making a difference in the lives of individuals, groups, teams, and the entire organization. The role of the coaching leader is clear – “In the context of the cultural beliefs of an organization – bring out the very best in those around you.”

Specifically with regard to leadership, I believe an organization’s fullest potential is based in its dedication to developing those who lead today and those who will lead in the future. To the extent that everyone in a leadership role can personify the cultural values of the organization, search for and develop the best available talent and relentlessly pursue excellence, the organization will indeed ensure that it will be a leading entity in the future. I believe that those who employ a coaching style of leadership can inspire the extraordinary performance required to go from good to great.

As you reflect on using a coaching leadership style, perhaps a good place to start would be to answer the following questions.

1. Are you committed to coaching others, and in what way will you develop you’re coaching skills to the point that your players will go to the wall for you and the organization?

2. What will you do to evaluate, hire, train, build and develop the talent required to win at your particular organizations game?

3. What adjustments and improvements will you begin to implement in your organizational environment, which will produce winning results?


Copyright Information:

You MAY reprint the information contained in this article as long as no portion of the contents are modified and it used “exclusively” within your organization. You must also give credit to information by including the tag line...

Roger M. Ingbretsen, Author, Speaker, Leadership Coach, Organizational and career developer For more information, visit www.ingbretsen.com or call 509 999 7008.

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Article Tags: balanced scorecard, collective knowledge, college degrees, creativity innovation, customer desires, customer knowledge, employee knowledge, gap analysis, immediate future, industry knowledge, intellectual capital, knowledge industry, knowledge skills, knowledge strategy, measurement system, organizational knowledge, organizational strategy, patents research, profound impact, public customer



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