11.4 THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO BE A GREAT BOSS: Managing Knowledge Workers

(SHORT NOTES FROM TEAM MANAGEMENT:

Managing Different Groups of Workers at http://www.mindtools.com)

 

Knowledge workers are often the core of your organization.  It can be their ideas, experiences, interpretations, and judgments that keep your business moving forward.

It can be difficult to measure knowledge work.  Many managers simply don't manage these workers at all.  Managers often feel that if these workers have so much knowledge, they must know what they're supposed to be doing!  Others may treat knowledge workers like any other staff, applying rules that frustrate them, and damage their productivity.

The term 'knowledge worker' is somewhat controversial.  According to Thomas Davenport, Knowledge workers have high degrees of expertise, education, or experience, and the primary purpose of their jobs involves the creation, distribution or application of knowledge.

There's a tremendous amount of knowledge out there, and new discoveries are made every day.  Knowledge workers have to use technology to keep track of everything they need to know.  Make sure your knowledge workers have access to appropriate technology.  Develop a strategy to manage knowledge within your company.  Create a wiki containing organizational knowledge, along with systems that support and encourage the sharing and retention of knowledge in your workplace.

 

Most knowledge workers like at least some level of autonomy.  They usually don't want someone closely overseeing and supervising their work. Instead, they probably prefer managers to clear the way for them to work productively.  To maintain knowledge workers' trust and respect, stay aware of the work they're doing, and coach them as needed.  Bosses of knowledge workers are often knowledge workers themselves. This makes the role of coach even more important.  Develop a coaching relationship in which you give knowledge workers the freedom and support they need to do their work.

Knowledge workers often need to know 'why' as much, if not more, than they need to know 'what.'  When knowledge workers understand 'why,' they're more likely to offer solutions that are innovative and insightful.  The more connected knowledge workers feel to a project, the more motivated they're likely to be.  Greater motivation means more collective brainpower that will be used to make the project a success.

Knowledge work is mostly unseen, and therefore difficult to measure.  You can't watch knowledge being created in the same way as a physical, tangible product.  With knowledge work, it's the final output that matters, and the steps along the way are often less important.

 

Different people use their knowledge in different ways.  Some people like to sit and think in a quiet space, while others like to have roundtable discussions to generate ideas.  Fairness in the workplace can be interpreted as making things 'the same' for everyone.  But when you treat all of your knowledge workers alike, you may miss opportunities to discover what motivates them individually – and what each one needs to be more creative and productive.