Management consultants, technology vendors, and human resources departments often segregate workforces into “knowledge workers” and everybody else. In a collaborative organization, every worker is a knowledge worker. Every team member contributes, shares knowledge, and participates in making decisions, whether he or she is loading crates, designing products, servicing customer accounts, creating tactical marketing plans, or determining long-term strategy.
My current column for Bloomberg BusinessWeek.com entitled "Every Worker is a Knowledge Worker" describes how organizations can desegregate the workforce. You can read the column here.
Hi Evan, I absolutely agree with you, as I have also written on some posts (like http://ow.ly/3FIQR) on my blog, trust and reliability on each one of the participating members on collaboration are two essential assets we need to commit to. It is necessary for every shareholder to trust and be aware of everyone's role and knowledge.
Thanks for sharing it
Lorie
Posted by: Lorievela | January 18, 2011 at 06:00 AM
Good article Evan! I could not agree more with you. Instead of trying to cut costs using cynic tactics (layoffs), many organizations should really start treating employees as their most important assets - and not just pretend they are!
When it comes to increase team productivity, it's often the people who actually do the job who are in the best position to help.
Posted by: Fabrice Talbot | January 21, 2011 at 10:50 PM