What is it?
A group of people pursuing mutual interests or endeavors who deepen their knowledge and skills through regular and ongoing interactions.
Why is it important?
Whether formally sanctioned or self-organizing, Communities of Practice (CoPs) provide an opportunity for individuals to share insights and innovate. Long before Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger(Wenger 2002) introduced CoPs and a series of best practices, these types of groups were an organically forming, ever-evolving phenomenon that supported knowledge management. Today, CoPs are hailed as a key strategy to support an organization’s competitive edge in a knowledge-based global economy.
Why does a business professional need to know this?
Communities of Practice (CoPs) are more than a knowledge management strategy in service of a larger business strategy. They are fluid, living repositories of tacit and explicit domain-specific knowledge. Knowledge can live within, without, or across personal and professional silos. CoPs codify shared knowledge and shape the identities of their members. Understanding what a CoP is and what it is not is critical to designing as well as nurturing this type of resource.
At the core of this term are two words: community and practice.
- A community does more than bring diverse individuals together based on a set of collective attributes. A community meets the fundamental biological need to feel a sense of belonging.
- A practice, on the other hand, can be a way of being or doing, a repeated effort to increase proficiency, or a convention that is routinely followed by others. The very nature of practice simultaneously embodies who we are, what we do, and how we do it.
Creating a CoP and assigning it a digital space is only the first step. How knowledge will be shared is equally important. Opportunities for storytelling, coaching, and apprenticeship must also be present.
Knowing about CoPs empowers a business professional to unite participants around a process of continuous improvement while reminding them that they are not alone.
References
- (Wenger 2002) Cultivating Communities of Practice: a Guide to Managing Knowledge—Seven Principles for Cultivating Communities of Practice.: Wenger, Etienne, Richard McDermott, and William Snyder. (March 2002). Harvard Business Review Press.
- (Wenger-Trayner 2015) Introduction to Communities of Practice: Wenger-Trayner, Etienne, and Beverly Wenger-Trayner. (2015). PDF format.
- (Wenger-Trayner 2022) Communities of Practice: Wenger-Trayner, Etienne. (2022), YouTube video.
- (Lave 1991) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation: Lave, Jean, and Etienne Wenger. (1991). Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 978-0521413084.
About Rhoda Deon
Rhoda Deon, PhD, is a healer, musician and educator. On a mission to normalize the struggle of being human, her frameworks weave mindfulness practices and data analysis techniques together with games of chance. She has served diverse, global learners in K-12, post-secondary, corporate, and non-traditional settings. Rhoda is a co-designer of Conscious Conversations, a card game that uses levity to help people talk openly about their organization's culture and business practices.
Term: Communities of Practice
Email: rhoda.deon@gmail.com
Website: rhodadeon.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rhodadeon