Sharing - a new work pattern

One important aspect for driving change and the implementation of Knowledge Management is the ways of working, work behaviour and work patterns.

I have experimented in looking at it, analyzing how my own work behaviour has changed, distinguishing between the “traditional” and the “Web 2.0” behaviour.

The “traditional” ways of working I use for something like 2005, and they include mainly face-to-face, phone and email, while “Web 2.0” way of working stands for today and is a collective term for also including community and wiki collaboration, as well as the deployment of Social Media in terms of blogs, microblogging and virtual connectivity / social networking of any kind.

A model that provided me with some insights distinguishes the work purposes (respectively the productivity character of occupation):

• work on own agenda (this gives my own productivity);
• stay on top of things / learn (no immediate, direct productivity)
• help / support others / share (this creates productivity of others, when re-used)

While the traditional work pattern – and the steering mechanisms – focus on working off the own agenda, the “Web 2.0” work pattern are characterized by much less work on the own agenda, but increasing efforts spent on staying on top of things / learning and support others /sharing.

So sticking to steering mechanisms that favours working off the own agenda create a mismatch towards wanted ways of working in an Enterprise 2.0.

Moreover it is a fair question by managers – no, in fact, it is THE question: What is happening to the collective productivity when changing the ways of working towards “Web 2.0”?

But before answering the question on productivity in a simple model, the approach should be verified (My own experience – especially with changing jobs in between – is a bit of a sub-optimal sample, so I am heavily interested if you work behaviour has undertaken the same change): Do you experience the same shift in work patterns?

regards

gerald