Giving The Gift of Knowledge

Information is one of the best gifts you can give in your organization.

When information flows freely through an organization team members feel an increased level trust and cooperation. Members who feel included tend to increase team contributions and accomplish their goals more efficiently. Despite the benefits of keeping everyone fully informed, it’s common to see leaders keep team members in the dark.

Why?

People justify hoarding information for many reasons. People who enjoy being in control may feel sharing too much information makes them less valuable or replaceable. The need to be liked can also contribute to withholding. These individuals worry that others won’t agree with them about the information which could impact their relationship. People who find boundaries important may worry sharing will be seen as an intrusion, while those who pay special attention to detail avoid sharing until they have personally verified all details.

No matter the justification, withholding information will have the same detrimental effect on work. Your team members can tell when they’re being left out of the loop. This weakens production, can cause adversarial relationships, and completely drains the trust from any organization.

The remedy starts at the top! If a manager is withholding information, team members are inclined to do the same. This snowballs throughout the organization until everyone is withholding information, creating a culture of low productivity and mistrust between co-workers.

Focus on sharing relevant information that will improve your team’s cooperation as possible.

This can be challenging for certain personality types. If you consistently notice your team is unmotivated or disinterested, make sure they have a full understanding of the why behind a project. This information yields better teamwork and results.

Create an information sharing culture to make communication second nature. Consider organizing team building exercises, people are more inclined to share information with those they trust. Be sure to recognize team members for their accomplishments and invest in a collaboration tool that keeps everyone in the loop.

Sharing knowledge in the workplace is a gift that benefits everyone. Employees are able to grow from continual learning, and new ideas and innovations begin to surface in trusting, open environments. Stress the importance of spreading information in your organization and you will reap the benefits of higher productivity and happier staff members.

Utilizing the PDP team report is a great way to understand how your team communicates. Have regular meetings with your organization and include this report to find the best way to build an information sharing culture.