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Knowledge Mobilization (KMb): Multiple Contributions & Multi-Production Of New Knowledge

Category Archives: Today’s Knowledge Inspiration

Growing Your Own Tree Of Knowledge

Leave a Comment Posted by on April 29, 2013

tree

I don’t want to die until I have fully shared my knowledge and refined the knowledge of others until even the tiniest seeds of knowledge exchange help grow a better world for everyone. Call it idealistic or impossible. I see it as a way of contributing to something better rather than to something that is fatalistic or ignorant in this world.

I believe in the idea that each of us has knowledge to share. It is how knowledge is shared that will always make a difference. Even the tiniest seeds of knowledge exchange can grow into tall trees, beautifully towering and majestic over the hurtful and hateful conditions that can wear us down on the ground. When we contribute to greater knowledge exchange we are contributing to the conditions that make the world a better place.

Whenever we share what we consider even the “insignificant” knowledge from the life experiences we were provided we can contribute something to the world that only we can contribute. When these unique seeds of knowledge are combined with the knowledge of others we grow and learn and develop further knowledge that becomes even more beneficial to the people who live in this world with me. Not just the people I know, but also the people I don’t know.

We will all die one day. Not knowing when or how. Each person wants to know they have somehow made a difference in life. Each person wants to know they have attempted to make a difference. We don’t have to change the world ourselves, but we can add something very valuable when we combine our knowledge with the knowledge of someone else to create greater understanding as the first steps to something even bigger and better beyond ourselves.

Start growing your own tree from the seeds of your own knowledge by sharing your knowledge with others and being open to the knowledge of others. You will see that the tiniest seeds of knowledge exchange can help grow a better world for everyone.

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140 Twitter Characters To Knowledge Mobilization – Revisited

1 Comment Posted by on April 5, 2013

How have traditional models of research and dissemination changed to present new knowledge to the public or further inform research by creating broader public engagement?  Many researchers – particularly in the health sciences – are still embedded in long-established values and approaches to methodology and validity, often overlooking new modes of knowledge mobilization such as social media.

NCE Logo

One of my recent KMbeing blog posts presented a very brief Twitter survey of the 16 classic Networks of Centres of Excellence in Canada (NCE). The survey found that many of these NCEs are still not effectively using Twitter as a valuable social media tool that can enhance knowledge mobilization strategies. This quick overview showed that of those NCEs that could actually be found on Twitter only four NCEs tweet an average of just over one tweet per day – which is clearly insufficient for effective social media and potential stakeholder engagement. It would appear that using Twitter as part of a knowledge mobilization strategy is clearly not on the radar screen of many of these NCEs, despite the potential of Twitter (and social media) as a valuable means of addressing key outcomes mandated for NCEs – including working with end users to accelerate the creation and application of new knowledge.

To be fair, my own quick methodology of the previous survey focused on the average number of tweets per day over a 30 day period from the 14th February 2013 to the 15th March 2013.  The average number of tweets in a month was then divided by 30 to get the average number of tweets per day. Although the Twitter profile start date for each NCE was included along with the actual total number of tweets since each NCE began tweeting, this was not considered when doing the first brief survey.

So now, for part two of the original blog post survey 140 Twitter Characters To Knowledge Mobilization, I present a somewhat deeper (though still brief) analysis that takes into consideration the length of time each of these classic NCEs have used Twitter.

I used timeanddate.com to calculate the total number of days from the start date of each NCE Twitter profile to the 15th of March 2013 (up to and including March 15th to be consistent with the first survey). Then the total number of tweets since each NCE joined Twitter was divided by the total number of days each NCE has been using Twitter to create a tweet-intensity score.

Each NCE was then ranked, showing the following results:

Twitter Intensity Scores NCEs

 

                  

(Click on diagram above to enlarge)

Tweet-Intensity Ranking:

  1. Allergy, Genes and Environment Network – AllerGen
 @AllerGen_NCE

(funding to 2019)

0.96
  1. AUTO21 Network of Centres of Excellence
 @AUTO21NCE 

(funding to 2015)

0.83
  1. ArcticNet
 @ArcticNet

(funding to 2018)

0.81
  1. Canadian Arthritis Network – CAN 
 @commcan

(funding to 2014)

0.80
  1. Stem Cell Network – SCN
 @StemCellNetwork

(funding to 2015)

0.73
  1. Carbon Management Canada – CMC
 @cmc_nce

(funding to 2013)

0.47
  1. Canadian Stroke Network – CSN 
 @strokenetwork

(funding to 2015)

0.37
  1. NeuroDevNet
 @NeuroDevNet

(funding to 2014)

0.34
  1. Canadian Water Network – CWN
 @CdnWaterNetwork

(funding to 2015)

0.28
  1. BioFuelNet 
 @BioFuelNet

(funding to 2017)

0.13
  1. Graphics, Animation and New Media Canada – GRAND
 @GRAND_NCE

(funding to 2014)

0.10
  1. Canadian Photonic Industry Consortium – CPIC 

Not Found

(no longer funded)

0.0
  1. GEOmatics for Informed DEcisions Network – GEOIDE 

Not Found

(no longer funded)

0.0
  1. Marine Environmental, Observation, Prediction and Response Network – MEOPAR 

Not Found

(funding to 2017)

0.0
  1. Mprime Network Inc.

Not Found

(funding to 2014)

0.0
  1. Technology Evaluation in the Elderly Network – TVN 

Not Found

(funding to 2017)

0.0

Although it’s still a simple calculation from the total number of tweets since each NCE started using Twitter, the current results show a more accurate tweet-intensity over time, with one of the NCEs – AllerGen – ranking first and showing a fairly impressive use of tweeting for the shorter amount of time on Twitter.
(It would be interesting to include the number of followers into the mix to see if that variable contributes to tweet effectiveness – but I’ll save that for a future blog post!).

However, results still show that the average number of tweets per day still remains well under the evidence that a minimum of at least ten tweets per day creates more valuable engagement and greater opportunities for knowledge dissemination. There’s still room for improvement to create greater social media engagement for more effective knowledge mobilization.

Just as a comparison, I decided to look at the results for Canada’s leading knowledge mobilization network ResearchImpact and my own KMbeing Twitter account.

Twitter Profile Twitter Name Twitter Start Total Days On Twitter Total Tweets Tweet-Intensity Score
ResearchImpact @researchimpact May 15, 2009

1401

9450

6.74
KMbeing @kmbeing March 25, 2010

1087

9982

9.18

researchimpact

KMbeing logo

(Perhaps this is the reason why both ResearchImpact and KMbeing were voted in the top ten Canadian Knowledge Mobilization Influencers for 2011 and 2012).

Canadian policymakers and government agencies have recognized the value of drawing together leading researchers and research institutions into national research networks to support trans-disciplinary and multi-sectoral collaboration.  The effectiveness of these research networks are also a great example to the rest of the world.  It’s a first step towards incorporating knowledge mobilization into strategic planning to successfully increase communication and collaboration among a variety of stakeholders. It’s a changing research model using networking as part of the research process.

The next step for Canada’s flagship Science & Technology networks is to increase the use of social media for knowledge mobilization.  Again, social media is not a fad, and the use of social media for academics and institutions is becoming more incorporated into strategic planning. Many researchers and academic institutions are recognizing the value of using Twitter in a more consistent and productive manner for knowledge mobilization.

David Phipps

As David Phipps, Executive Director of Research and Innovation Services at York University (and ResearchImpact) pointed out in a keynote address to the Canadian Knowledge Mobilization Forum in 2012 (and posted on the blog MobilizeThis!), the future of knowledge mobilization and research engagement will depend on social media, but researchers and knowledge mobilizers are still trying to figure out how to effectively use social media to do this.

“15-20 years ago IT folks had to develop a business case to convince corporate leaders to invest in an enterprise e mail system. Today e mail is a fact of life (unfortunately). Many of us are now using social media as a broadcasting tool and a large portion are also using it as a listening tool. We are now starting to figure out how to use social media as a tool for engagement but we’re not there yet. These trends will accelerate.”

Just as email changed society, so too is social media changing the traditional models of research, dissemination and engagement. Social media provides new modes of knowledge exchange and broader public input, creating a further research resource in the current KMb world as a way of providing broader participation in discussions around research topics.  Social media also breaks down international barriers to share academic research in a way that is more friendly and immediate to a wider audience. Yet, social media is still a tool that needs to be used correctly to be effective (see my previous blog for tips on how to do this).

Canada’s Networks of Centres of Excellence are making a start.  They just need to continue to take a few more steps forward into new modes of research and into the future of using social media – especially Twitter – for knowledge mobilization.

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A Thank You For Knowledge Exchange On The Job

Leave a Comment Posted by on March 29, 2013

Thank you

This week I had to say goodbye to a great job and a great team because my work contract has come to an end. What an amazing opportunity to work in the Knowledge Exchange (KE) Unit at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). I knew coming into the position that it would only be a temporary one, but I took the contract anyway, and the chance I was offered was a further step in a new career path to leave another behind – and I’m so very glad I took the chance. It’s said that if you can find a job you enjoy, it no longer feels like work. I say if you can find a team you enjoy, your colleagues no longer feel like colleagues and more like friends, and then your job no longer feels like work – no matter what that job may be.

After a few hugs, handshakes, a farewell lunch and some very touching greeting cards and emails (along with a potted plant – thanks Stephanie!) expressing how much my contribution and talents were appreciated as part of the KE team, and how much I would be missed, I was very moved and sad to be moving along. But I know our paths will cross again given our common interests in knowledge mobilization. And I know that I will have opportunities to stay in touch.

There are many people in the world who are much more comfortable preaching than they are practicing.  There are many people in the world who are much more willing to complain than they are to take action. There are many people who don’t take chances to make change in life but constantly talk about making a difference – yet never do. There are many people who never share their knowledge because they’re too afraid or feel too “stupid” to do so.

We don’t have to be like that. Knowledge mobilization is about listening to a diversity of knowledge voices, taking action and making change.

As long as we’re aware of the need to maintain consistency between our words and our actions, between sharing our knowledge and being open to the knowledge of others, we have a very good chance of making our life – and that of everyone on this planet – something we want it to be.  Our values, our beliefs, and our desire to sincerely share our knowledge to help our fellow human beings as best we can is what makes a difference. I believe when we are open to sharing knowledge and listening to a diversity of voices to connect our knowledge and create new knowledge for social benefit, we begin to make the world a better place – in whatever space we live or work in.

When we practice without preaching to others, when we share our knowledge with sincerity to make a difference, and truly give others a chance to do the same, people can sense our authenticity. They know that we’re being ourselves and not expecting them or ourselves to live up to some artificial expectations of “intelligence” or knowledge that we’ve created and built up, and they can relax around us, be comfortable with us, work well with us, learn from us – and we can learn from them.  When we move our own lives and actions to a higher level in whatever job we have, when we are open to sharing knowledge no matter how “limited” we may think it is – then we don’t even need to preach to others – our very lives will be all the message that we want or need to send to others as moments of shared knowledge.

Our lives become what we make of them.  They don’t just happen.  We do have a choice.

Our knowledge is what we make of it. Knowledge needs to be shared. We all can make a difference.

I have to admit that my CAMH job got off to a bit of a rocky start and there were some embarrassing mistakes that were made. I admit that I had fears, frustrations, and my critical side saw fault in others. But I had a choice to move forward, learn from the mistakes – or continue to blame by negating, cutting down or criticizing. I chose to move forward and learn from the mistakes – and recognize the same in others, creating greater team building along the way because of this choice.

Fundamentally, that’s what knowledge mobilization is all about. Knowledge is always moving forward to learn from mistakes, continue to create knowledge exchange and not barriers, to collaborate as a team to seek the best evidence to improve and make our jobs, our work teams, our lives, our world a better place.

Thanks again for giving me that chance as part of the knowledge exchange team at CAMH. I am very grateful.

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Storytelling, Social Media, Equity, Knowledge Mobilization & Donuts!

1 Comment Posted by on March 24, 2013

storytelling

Sharing knowledge by telling a story can make a presentation, blog or conversation more interesting. Why?

When I was five years old, I was hit by a car. I fractured my collar-bone and was unconscious for nearly 48 hours. Doctors feared that I would suffer brain damage due to the impact of hitting my head against the pavement after being thrown forward by the force of the car. Fortunately, I was wearing one of those Sherlock Holmes-style winter hats for kids that my mother thought looked so cute on me. Thankfully, the hat cushioned the blow. I recovered, but my skull – though healed – still has a fracture line that I can run my fingers along.

Sherlock Holmes hat     donuts

I blame free donuts as the reason why I was hit by a car.

I crossed the busy street because it was the grand opening of a donuts shop – and I wanted free donuts. Being five years old, I wasn’t really paying attention to traffic and more to the opportunity for free donuts…and…bam…thrown in the air to land on the pavement into unconsciousness.

What’s interesting about this story is that you are more likely to be able to visualize this incident and remember the details of the story with its connection to free donuts because of an emotional connection you’ve made to the knowledge I’ve shared. You would probably be less likely to do so if I simply presented this story with a list of strict facts:

  • I was five years old
  • I was hit by a car
  • There were free donuts

Since the very first days of tribal story telling, exchanging knowledge through stories has been one of our most fundamental communication methods. We all enjoy a good story. Ask any teacher and they will tell you that using stories to share knowledge is a much more effective way of retaining what’s being told. There’s also a neurological reason for it as well. When we are given information, the language processing parts in our brain are activated. When we hear a story many more parts of the brain respond. When a person shares knowledge through a story we connect intellectually and emotionally.

Sharing knowledge through storytelling is still very much a part of Aboriginal culture. I was reminded of this at a three-day Knowledge Exchange (KE) Training event this past week attended by Regional KE leaders and team members from across the province of Ontario. Day one of the KE training focused on marginalized populations and how to engage with these various groups, such as those that are homeless, of low-income, racialized minorities, Aboriginal (First Nations, Métis, Inuit), or from LGBT communities who are marginalized based on sexual orientation or gender diversity. A session focusing on the use of the Health Equity Impact Assessment Tool (HEIA) presented how this tool can be used to identify and address potential unintended health impacts (positive or negative) when developing a policy, program or initiative with specific population groups.

I can certainly see the potential of incorporating HEIA into a knowledge mobilization (KMb) strategy as it helps us better understand context and equity. Yet, a broader and still underused knowledge mobilization tool to include the knowledge of marginalized populations is social media.

At the KE Training Event, I spoke with several knowledge brokers about how I use social media – particularly Twitter – as an effective knowledge mobilization tool. I was surprised to hear that many knowledge exchange leaders at the event are still not using social media as part of their own knowledge exchange work. Certainly, EENet, the Evidence Exchange Network is one step forward in using social media as a knowledge exchange tool. Yet, as I wrote in an earlier blog, the greater potential of using Twitter as a knowledge mobilization tool is still not clearly understood.

One of the more enjoyable presentations of the KE Training event was from closing keynote speaker David Phipps – a person who knows how to tell a great story to share knowledge. One of David’s MobilizeThis! blogs is a great example of the power of story telling using social media for knowledge mobilization. In David’s engaging presentation, he illustrated how understanding context is essential for effective knowledge mobilization.

Fundamentally, Knowledge Exchange, Knowledge Mobilization, Translation, Implementation, K* (K-Star) – whatever you want to call it  – is about connecting the knowledge of PEOPLE. Each group has their own stories to tell in their own context – and each group can share knowledge through these stories. Knowledge doesn’t always have to be packaged in a formal, academic presentation or format. Sometimes simply being open-minded enough to listen to another person’s story – particularly those who are marginalized in our society – can be a powerful way of sharing and mobilizing knowledge.

But how do we engage marginalized populations using social media to better understand their context when some may not even have access to a computer? Or – more importantly – how can knowledge brokers collaborate with these often unheard voices and use social media for more effective knowledge mobilization?

One way that comes to mind is through digital storytelling.

I think of another great storyteller, Peter Levesque from Knowledge Mobilization Works, who also uses story telling as a KMb tool. Peter points to digital storytelling as “one of the MOST important forms of knowledge mobilization available to community-based organizations and citizens”. Peter uses a specific example of Aboriginal storytelling combined with digital technology as an effective method for understanding context, and conveying these stories through social media.

Additional examples of using social media for great and effective digital storytelling can be found at MindYourMind and HomelessHub who use both YouTube  and Twitter as knowledge mobilization tools.

As someone who strongly believes in the power of social media for knowledge mobilization, I see the combination of storytelling by marginalized communities using social media to convey context as an essential knowledge mobilization tool. If you’re a knowledge broker – how well are you incorporating this equity tool into your knowledge mobilization strategy?

Now, for some reason…I feel like having a donut!

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140 Twitter Characters To Knowledge Mobilization

4 Comments Posted by on March 16, 2013

The use of Twitter as an effective social media tool for knowledge mobilization is still not understood. This was made clear to me by two things that happened this past week:

1)      I was actively involved in a discussion with several members of EENet – the Evidence Exchange Network where the use of Twitter for research dissemination was called into question

AND

2)     I performed a brief Twitter survey of the 16 classic Networks of Centres of Excellence in Canada (NCE) that focus on research-driven partnerships, and found that these NCEs are still not effectively using this valuable social media tool, despite the Government of Canada’s knowledge mobilization mandate for NCEs “to transform these discoveries into products, services, and processes that improve the quality of life of Canadians.”

First, the EENet Discussion:

EENet logo

Melissa MindyourMind

Melissa Taylor-Gates, Social Media and Project Coordinator for the award-winning MindyourMind (@mindyourmind_ca on Twitter) was interested in hearing about what other members of EENet are doing “to engage in meaningful knowledge mobilization” and how people use social media to achieve this goal. She started the discussion-ball rolling. The conversation soon focused on the use of Twitter as a key social media tool for academic/institutional researchers to engage with a wider and more diverse audience about research being done. Melissa aptly called Twitter “the great equalizer” and demonstrated this point with an excellent graphic showing the difference between equality and equity (which I gratefully co-opted for one of my blog posts here), making a further point that using social media for research dissemination is “more than just making a paper available to everyone online, it’s translating the information into accessible means.”

Well said Melissa!

These comments sparked valuable discussion – especially around how to sift through the deluge of information to find accurate, evidence-based research findings and trusted sources on Twitter. (For more about sifting through what I refer to as data/information noise, see my previous blog post here). One member’s comment, “I devoutly hope that no-one would assume that they could get sound clinical research information from a tweet” and concerns about the limitations of 140 characters caused a flurry of counter-comments.  Many EENet members pointed out how to find Twitter sources for relevant and useful research to credible peer-reviewed journals and Twitter profiles using hashtags and hyperlinks.

Some of the key messages that came out of this discussion are that Twitter is simply a tool – just another medium of sharing information, good or not so good, that can be used properly or not, requiring further learning and skill to effectively use social media for knowledge mobilization.  In contrast to Marshall MacLuhan, in this case the medium is not the message – the content is the message. Yet, it’s an important social media tool that is no longer a fad or waste of time. Twitter is an effective tool for knowledge mobilization. For my practice as KMbeing, Twitter has successfully created knowledge networking connections with researchers and other stakeholders from Canada, U.S., U.K. and Denmark where we have continued knowledge collaboration offline and in-person at conferences and other events. Yet, like any social relationships, social media relationships also require time and regular tending.

 

NCE

Twitter survey of the core 16 of Canada’s Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE):

 Using social media – especially Twitter – as an effective tool for knowledge translation and mobilization is being adopted more by academics and formal institutions as a way of contributing to greater social benefit. Each day sees an increase in the number of Twitter accounts being created by universities and research organizations, but simply having a Twitter account and only sporadically posting information is not an effective way of using Twitter for knowledge mobilization.

As Canada’s preeminent Science & Technology investments, I was curious to see what type of presence the core NCEs have on Twitter and how they might be using this effective social media tool as one of the products and processes (mentioned on the NCE website) for knowledge mobilizing of multidisciplinary research from across Canada (and from around the world) as a mandate from Canada’s funding agencies:

Although my survey is only a very brief overview of average daily tweets, completed over a day on March 15th, 2013, it does reveal that only 11 out of 16 classic NCEs are easily found on Twitter, and that only four NCEs tweet an average of just over one tweet per day – which is clearly insufficient for effective stakeholder engagement.

NCE Twitter Survey
(click on diagram to enlarge)
(Note: Last tweet = number of hours since or date of last tweet)

Evidence shows that users who tweet between 10 and 50 times per day have more followers on average than those that tweet more or less frequently, and have greater opportunities for knowledge dissemination and engagement.

Tweets per day
So what does this say about missed opportunities for increased research dissemination and collaboration between researchers and research users using social media for knowledge mobilization?

 It appears that the Networks of Centres of Excellence have yet to fully embrace the potential of Twitter (and social media) as a valuable means of addressing key outcomes mandated for NCEs:

  • Mobilizing multi-disciplinary research capacity from across Canada
  • Engaging partners from multiple academic institutions and various public and private-sector organizations
  • Working with end users to accelerate the creation and application of new knowledge
  • Increasing collaboration between researchers in Canada and abroad

This is either because – like some EENet members – they’re not fully aware of the potential for research outreach and engagement using Twitter, or the NCEs have not identified this as a priority despite the evidence (presented in a book chapter that I co-authored) of using social media as a means of applying research for public benefit using knowledge mobilization.

For those still uncertain among Canada’s NCEs (and other researchers) as to how to best approach and develop a social media strategy using Twitter, here are some tips:

  • If your NCE doesn’t have one already – create a Twitter account. For nothing else, protect your brand by reserving your naming rights on Twitter.
  • Use a simple and descriptive name for your Twitter profile that will clearly identify your affiliation with your NCE and include a brief description of the research focus
  • To avoid what is referred to as “shiny object syndrome” – zoom in on pertinent subject matter by using Twitter hashtags which will also establish connections with topics, people and sites that are relevant to your research
  • Designate individuals within the NCE whose primary responsibility is for populating, maintaining and monitoring your Twitter account, ensuring they have the time and enthusiasm to consistently tweet and retweet several times throughout each day. This isn’t a full time job but needs to be someone’s job.
  • Don’t simply tweet without including links (unless you are engaging in the next bullet point)
  • Tweet with a 140 character conversation to connect with other national and international researchers and stakeholders in your discipline to facilitate the social in social media by engaging in dialogue and creating opportunities for further engagement online and offline
  • Regularly schedule a monthly evaluation of your Twitter account’s success and be prepared to realign your Twitter content and approach

Social media is not a fad, and the use of social media for academics and institutions is becoming more incorporated into strategic planning. Many researchers are now recognizing the value of using Twitter in a more consistent and productive manner for knowledge mobilization. Perhaps it’s time that some of Canada’s NCEs and mental health stakeholders do the same.

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The Persistence Of Sharing Knowledge

Leave a Comment Posted by on March 9, 2013

persistence

When we persist in sharing knowledge for social benefit it becomes easier for us to do.  Not that the nature of the knowledge has to be earth-shattering, but it’s the ongoing action of taking steps to contribute to greater knowledge for good that makes the world a better place. Any bit of knowledge shared for social benefit can make a difference.

I’ll never know what knowledge I may have gained if I had other opportunities in my life. But life is about choices, and I’ve made the choice many times to give something up in favor of something else, and in the process, making new knowledge connections while missing others. That doesn’t mean that the knowledge that I have shared or gained can’t continue to make a difference. It’s all about the persistence of continuing to share the knowledge I have and be open to the knowledge of others that makes the difference.

This persistence in sharing knowledge reminds me of when I first started writing my knowledge mobilization (KMb) KMbeing blog. My first blog post on April 3rd 2010 was a first step into the unknown as I wondered if my knowledge sharing could make a difference. Almost anyone can write a blog and share knowledge. It’s the persistence in adding a new post at regular intervals that has helped me recognize that I can make a difference for good that makes the world a better place. By consistently sharing my knowledge and learning from the knowledge of others each day over the past few years, I have been able to connect with people from over 140 countries, and gained recognition as one of Canada’s top ten knowledge mobilization influencers.

Sharing bits of my knowledge on my blog has invariably become much easier for me simply due to persistence – and I believe this can happen for almost anyone if they persist in continuing to share their own knowledge and be open to the knowledge of others.

As we share our knowledge more openly with each other, our world becomes more connected, which can lead to greater recognition of our diversity and our common humanity – ultimately leading to greater understanding, and hopefully a world of greater harmony. 

Unfortunately, though, many people feel the discomfort and insecurity of sharing their own knowledge and they quit (or don’t even start) before they ever give their knowledge the opportunity to contribute to social benefit – they quit before their chances increase.

Public speakers grow by speaking, writers grow by writing, bloggers grow by blogging – knowledge grows by sharing. In whatever manner you want to share your own knowledge, just start and it can make a difference. The more we do something, the better we get at it and the easier it becomes for us. That temptation to give up is simply avoiding the discomfort or insecurity of believing in the power of one’s own knowledge to make a difference. It’s about not second-guessing that somehow even the “limited” knowledge we think we may have can’t connect with someone else’s knowledge and move towards making a difference in this world. It’s all about the persistence of sharing knowledge for social benefit that can make the difference.

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Change & Uncertainty For Gaining Knowledge

1 Comment Posted by on February 23, 2013

question mark

If we can recognize that change and uncertainty are basic principles of gaining knowledge, we can face the future with the understanding that we do not know enough but can make a difference by being open to learning something new, taking chances, sharing our knowledge – and in due course create new knowledge to pass on to someone else.

Currently, I’m wondering about my future career direction in my life. I currently have a great job as Knowledge Exchange Events and Resources Planner with an amazing team in the Knowledge Exchange Unit at The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) – but it’s a contract position, funding is coming to an end, and so is my employment. I left a long career in hospitality (over 15 years), making a big jump and decision to take a chance, make a change and face some uncertainty to take a temporary job. I left the security of a guest service career, with the full knowledge that my new job was only a three-month contract. In so doing I enabled a new, but unknown future outside the hospitality industry.

I faced change and uncertainty, yet gained new knowledge. I’m contributing my own knowledge to the job at CAMH, while also meeting and working with some great professionals as we exchange further knowledge. And I am thankful to those who gave me that chance.

A few years ago, I couldn’t kick the feeling that the former 15 year career path I was on was just an extended detour for the path I should really be on. While still working as a flight attendant, I went back to school, graduated with a B.A. in Psychology – got on the Dean’s Honour Roll – did a lot of volunteer work, increased my skills, networked with a bunch of people in knowledge mobilization (KMb), started writing this KMbeing blog, was named among the top ten knowledge mobilization influencers in Canada in 2011 and 2012 - and changed the direction of my life and my resume.

For those of you who have been long-time readers of my KMbeing blog, you’ll remember when I made my first jump out of the hospitality pond to work at Kobo, learning valuable skills as an Executive Assistant, and the difficult challenges I encountered when I had to work supporting someone (think of Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wears Prada) who is no longer working for Kobo (too late for me).

Devil Wears Prada

I loved the job and the chance to support others in this environment – and I gained some incredible knowledge (perhaps the hard way). The personality of the person I was supporting wasn’t the big problem for me. I can deal with different personality types. The problem was that this person kept expecting me to do some personal, non-work related things that interfered with what I was expected to do in the job, and because of this person’s position in the company there was little recourse. I still have friends from Kobo who recognized the situation and supported the reason I decided to leave.  I was disappointed, but, had I not taken that chance, I would not have gained that valuable knowledge to deal differently with such a challenge in the future.

I was fortunate to land on my feet and find a job working for a great hotel as a guest service agent at The King Edward Hotel – back in the hospitality industry. You have to pay the bills somehow – and hospitality is what I know, not necessarily what I wanted to do. I started getting that detour feeling again, and wondered if all of the effort I had put into moving out of hospitality had gone to waste.

Don’t get me wrong. The dedicated hotel staff and my ability to provide excellent customer service along with some sincerely caring, and hard working people (some who have since become friends) made me feel so much at home. With my love of history and writing, the King Edward Hotel was an ideal subject for another interesting blog that I started writing while working there, trying to get management to recognize some of my further skills. I tried to see about transitional opportunities within the hotel from hospitality to administration or communications; unfortunately, no opportunities presented themselves.

Then the CAMH temporary contract position came along, working back in an academic/research environment. More change and uncertainty, but I took the chance. And now more change and uncertainty, but an opportunity to gain more knowledge and contribute some of my own.

resume

So now, I’ve started sending out my resume again, and when I don’t receive an acknowledgement of it, I don’t take it personally. I don’t think there must be something wrong with me that will prevent someone from even wanting to interview me for a position. I don’t start second-guessing myself and my valuable skills, or wonder if I made a mistake to leave the security of hospitality and guest services behind. Fortunately, I also have a connection with an employment placement agency to ease some of the insecurity.

I know, it’s the deep feeling of confidence in me and the passion I feel about my choice in wanting to change my career path that assures me – I haven’t made a mistake. I recognize that change and uncertainty are basic principles of gaining knowledge.

The paradox is that gaining knowledge takes time but gaining knowledge also happens in every second.

I really don’t know enough about a potential employer’s situation to allow myself to be negative or depressed after I’ve sent my resume off.  I don’t know if an internal candidate was chosen before all others, or if someone with more specific experience or education was chosen.  I don’t know if there was a lot of discussion about me, or if others thought I should be interviewed, or if, ultimately, the boss wanted someone else for reasons that have nothing to do with my own skills and experience. And besides, it’s a great, big world out there with plenty of other people with valued skills and knowledge. I just need to continue to have confidence and show my passion, continue to put it out there, and when given a chance – be thankful when that chance finally happens.

crystal ball

I don’t believe in crystal balls to see into the future. I don’t know what lies ahead in a few weeks or months from now (perhaps I’ll write about it in a future blog to let you know) – but I do know there will be more change and uncertainty. I also know that had I not jumped into taking this temporary job – and changed my career path – I would not have had this chance to gain more knowledge that will make it possible for me to accept another longer-lasting position that’s much more suited to me and for me in the future.

We must recognize that we always face change and uncertainty and that our knowledge should never be scripted, for our knowledge scripts are always altered everyday. If we can relax and let life take its course, we can get much more out of life and living, and we can be optimistic enough to know that we can gain knowledge from change and uncertainty if we take a chance. As Dale Carnegie once said…

Take a chance! All life is a chance. The person who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.

Individual Knowledge Mobilization, inspirational, KMb, knowledge, knowledge exchange, knowledge mobilization, making the world a better place, social collaboration, Today's Knowledge Inspiration , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Knowledge Before It’s Too Late

Leave a Comment Posted by on February 22, 2013

before it's too late

One of the greatest challenges for most of us is our hesitation to share knowledge with others – before it’s too late.

In my lifetime, I’ve seen many people come in and out of my life, and there have been some incredible occasions where I’ve been able to learn so much from others by sharing knowledge. Many of these people I’ll probably never see again and never get the chance to tell them how much the knowledge they shared with me has helped me in developing my own knowledge, and to share this knowledge even further with others.

There are other people I still see regularly, and I try not to miss opportunities to share knowledge. We all have unique life experiences and we all have knowledge to share. I also try not to miss opportunities to tell others how grateful I am that they have shared their life experiences of knowledge with me. If it means a lot to me to hear this from others, then I hope it means a lot to others to hear it from me.

One of my major problems early in my life was that I spent much of my time thinking that others weren’t really interested in the knowledge I had to share with them. I use to think that my knowledge was useless, stupid, and not good enough. In short, I use to think that any knowledge I had to share couldn’t possibly make a difference in making the world a better place. As a boy and a young man, I shied away from sharing my knowledge because I was sure that it just didn’t matter.  As a young adult, that thought was so deeply ingrained in me, I could hear a voice saying “you’re stupid” in my head, guiding my actions and guarding my interactions with others. I use to have a hard time fighting my way past it – and sometimes I still do. But I’ve learned some valuable lessons when I’ve been brave enough to open up and share my knowledge with others. And from sharing my own knowledge, others have shared their knowledge with me from their own life experiences, and we have created new knowledge together.

It’s really unfortunate that we don’t spend more time sharing our knowledge with others.  While I’m sure there are some people who feel as awkward as I use to feel, as long we are sincere and tell others we value what they have to say, no matter how “limited” they may think their own knowledge is, most people will appreciate the opportunity to share their own knowledge from their own life experiences. As these are the moments when we can learn to make the world a better place.

Sharing knowledge with others with this intention in mind people can help us all to contribute in a very real and very positive way to the world in which we live, for the more people there are in the world who feel their knowledge is valued, the more people there will be in the world who are able to share their knowledge with others – before it’s too late!

inspirational, KMb, knowledge, knowledge exchange, knowledge mobilization, making the world a better place, social collaboration, Today's Knowledge Inspiration , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

With One Piece Of Knowledge

1 Comment Posted by on February 19, 2013

change the world

If you could change the world to make it a better place with one piece of knowledge you’ve learned in your life – what would it be?

inspirational, KMb, knowledge, knowledge exchange, knowledge mobilization, making the world a better place, Today's Knowledge Inspiration , , , ,

Your Unique Knowledge Fingerprint

Leave a Comment Posted by on February 16, 2013

Finger print tree

A person’s knowledge may be called ignorant, useless, mocked and devalued, but our knowledge – stemming from all of our personal life experiences – is always knowledge, and is always our own knowledge.

Others can say all the negative things they want about you and your knowledge, but the only way that it will affect you is if you allow their words to affect you.  Again, your knowledge is your own knowledge, all the good, bad and ugly of the experiences that make up all of your knowledge in your lifetime. Just as your fingerprint is unique to you – so too is your knowledge to share with others.

Your knowledge – any of it at anytime in your life experience – can always teach others something, whether you think it’s “limited” or not.  

But knowledge on its own, without turning it into action is limited. It’s like having hands and fingers (and fingerprints) without ever using them.

It’s how we share our knowledge; combine our knowledge to make the world a better place that creates the most value.

Some people are so insecure that they try to hurt others by knocking even the slightest amount of knowledge that a person may have, to take away their dignity or self-esteem.  But if we believe a cruel, insecure person’s view that our knowledge is useless, if we let them take away our dignity, what does that say about how we see our own knowledge, about how we see ourselves?

People have acquired knowledge in war, in prison, in concentration camps, in abuse, in difficult social situations, in loss, in love, in friendship, in ignorance, in education, in failure and in success – why shouldn’t we value any of the knowledge we have where we are, right here and right now? 

But again, knowledge on its own, without turning it into action is limited.

A person’s knowledge always has some value. Sharing our knowledge for social benefit creates greater value, and is always worth it. When we share our knowledge with this understanding and intention – we can use our own knowledge to make the world a better place.

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