Building A Knowledge-Sharing Community At Work

In many AEC firms, specialized knowledge accumulates around a single person. They become the go-to expert, the one everyone relies on. Over time, that expertise becomes central to how work gets done. That was the context at Boulder Associates. They had a senior medical planner, Kate, who had developed a set of powerful tools to help support her project work. Naturally, she became the person everyone turned to for guidance. The opportunity was clear: how could that knowledge be shared more broadly so others could grow into it and contribute at a higher level? Todd Henderson, Director of Practice Improvement, started by breaking the work into smaller pieces. Each of her custom tools was assigned to another planner. Their job wasn’t just to use it, but to understand it deeply—at a “Kate-like level.” They interviewed her, studied how the tools worked, and then presented short internal “MED Talks” to their colleagues—explaining what the tool does, when to use it, where its limits are, and when to go deeper. There was one rule: Kate couldn’t present. Each presenter became the steward of a specific tool. Over time, a broader network of expertise has started taking shape—people connected to particular tools, confident in how they worked, and able to support others. And something else happened along the way. By teaching the tools, these planners didn’t just learn them—they internalized them. They became visible contributors. The “nextperts” emerged: people who could support the work, evolve it, and extend its reach. Meanwhile, Kate was able to step into a more elevated role—coaching, guiding, and continuing to advance the work. This is what modern learning organizations do well: create simple, intentional ways for knowledge to be shared, practiced, and carried forward by others. 📺 🎧 This clip comes from “Partnering with AI to Solve Knowledge Problems,” episode 7 of our Welcome to KM 3.0 series with the TRXL podcast. You can watch or listen here: https://lnkd.in/gBP3-JPa 📖 I also mentioned this story in “Overcoming the Unspoken Barriers That Keep AEC Experts From Sharing What They Know”, issue 16 of the Smarter by Design Newsletter. You can read it here: https://lnkd.in/gWB8vHTM #AEC #KnowledgeManagement #ModernLearningOrganizations

A learning organization is one where learning is BUILT INTO how people work, solve problems, share knowledge, and improve. Many companies claim to be learning organizations, but in reality, they often confuse training with true learning. They focus on courses and workshops but neglect the daily habits that drive growth... like reflection, feedback, knowledge-sharing, and collaborative problem-solving. Sound familiar? If so... Here are some ways to move toward becoming a true learning organization: 💡 Make learning visible. Start weekly team meetings with one question: What did we learn this week? Whether it’s from success or failure, small experiments or major projects-capture it, name it, and make it part of the conversation. 📢 Encourage challenges. Let people respectfully question the way things are done. Leaders need to show that it’s not only okay to ask “why?”- it’s welcomed. This is a great approach to build into your daily Gemba Walk! ⚠️ Use problems as lessons. Don’t jump to blame when something goes wrong. Instead, ask, What can we learn from this? What will we do differently next time? Make this a habit, not a once-off response in your 1:1's and everyday interactions. 📋 Make reflection routine. At the end of a project or during quality meetings, take 10 minutes as a team to ask: What went well? What didn’t? What did we learn? What should we change? 🗣️ Share learning across teams. Too often, learning stays stuck in silos. Create simple ways to pass it on like learning libraries, book clubs or monthly learning huddles across departments. ✨ Lead by example. Leaders who regularly admit they’re still learning create a culture where learning is normal. Asking questions instead of always having the answers is a key behaviour to set the tone. Do you agree it's more important than ever to create learning organizations? Any tips on creating a learning organization? Share them below and let's chat!

99% of the best engineering teams I’ve seen share one simple rule: → The more you share, the faster you all grow. 🔁 Knowledge flows both ways: ∟ Seniors mentoring > Seniors managing Real growth happens when seniors teach, not just assign tickets. ∟ Juniors asking questions > Juniors guessing No one expects you to know it all. The ones who learn quickest are the ones who speak up. ∟ Sharing mistakes > Hiding them The team that admits bugs and failures up front fixes them before they spread. ∟ Pair programming > Solo struggle Two brains spot more edge cases. You pick up new habits, shortcuts, and ways of thinking. ∟ Writing docs as you go > Documenting at the end Knowledge that’s shared in real time helps everyone, not just future hires. The best engineering cultures are built on trust and curiosity— Seniors who lift others up. Juniors who bring new energy. Everyone growing, every day. That’s how you build teams that last. That’s how you make work worth showing up for.

If you run a remote team, this is worth a read. Might be the coolest thing I've seen in ages. (Not perks. Not ai.) Something that makes life a bit better  We have 100s of devs across the Philippines, LATAM - everywhere. Some hybrid. Some fully remote.  Different clients, skills, experience etc Same thing: → Working solo most of the time. Heads down. Sometimes isolated. → Even when in the office. It kept reminding me of founder peer groups like EO, YPO, Hampton - Private forums where founders can share what's going on Talk openly. Share struggles. Help each other. No judgement. But founders aren’t the only ones who need that. Devs feel it too. Everyone does. So we asked: What if our devs had peer forums? Same rules: → No managers or direct team mates → Confidential safe space → Real talk on life and work We piloted it: Small groups (max 8). Same cohort monthly. Format: Share 1 work win + 1 work challenge Share 1 personal win + 1 personal challenge The group picks / votes 2 challenges from the group to deep dive on No advice - just experience-sharing The feedback? → One of the most special things I’ve done → Raw conversations → New real friendships → A safe space to learn and share ideas  What I learned: Peer learning might be the strongest form of learning Connection doesn’t just happen in remote - it has to be intentional Create the structure. Now they run the show They’ve planned their own hike next month I love this stuff. Thought it was worth sharing I think it could work anywhere - across roles, functions, or industries V cool to catch up with the pioneer group just now Danica Julius Darwin Stephanie Trishia Nicole Patricia. We told dad jokes. 🧡 Would love to hear if anyone else is experimenting with community building ideas 👇

Growth is hard. Personally. Professionally. Organizationally. One of the hardest parts? Scaling institutional knowledge. Some of it can be written down — policies, workflows, documents. But so much of it lives in the gray: the stuff we all know, but don’t always know how to find or share. A few months ago, someone mentioned that a company I admire was building an internal training bot. I loved the idea. And like many good ideas, the best form of flattery is borrowing and building. So I did just that. I teamed up with a trusted partner, and we started working on a tool that became my nights-and-weekends project. We called it AskJules — a place where our managers could go to ask the questions they didn’t know who to ask, where to look, or maybe even felt too uncomfortable asking out loud. It’s been quietly rolling out — and the adoption has been incredible. Not perfect (what is?), but deeply needed. It’s taught me a lot: • About what information we think is accessible but really isn’t. • About how much lives in inboxes, heads, and hallway conversations. • About how empowering it can be to remove friction and make knowledge shareable. Building it in the platform our people were using daily (Teams) was the biggest lesson I learned. Go to where they already are. Honestly, it felt like building an API into my brain — and watching others benefit from it has brought me real joy. If you’re curious how we did it — or thinking about something similar for your org — happy to share what worked (and what didn’t). We need more of this kind of open learning.

For years, I thought my job as a learning leader was about what happened inside the classroom. The lesson plans. The facilitation. The decks, handouts, and eLearning modules. But somewhere along the way, I realized something profound: most learning doesn’t happen when we’re teaching — it happens when people are working. The moments that truly shape growth are the ones that happen after the training ends: 👉 A manager coaching through a tough conversation. 👉 A peer showing a faster way to solve a problem. 👉 A team member taking on a project that stretches their comfort zone. That’s where the transformation sticks. We often focus our energy on the 10% — the formal training that’s visible and easy to measure — but the other 90%? That’s where capability is built. Real learning is social. It’s experiential. It’s embedded in the rhythm of the workday. As learning professionals, our role isn’t just to deliver learning — it’s to design ecosystems where learning happens naturally, continuously, and collaboratively. That means: ✅ Equipping leaders to coach — not just manage. ✅ Encouraging peer-to-peer feedback and knowledge sharing. ✅ Embedding reflection and experimentation into real work. ✅ Partnering with operations to “put learning where the work is.” The truth is, if the only learning happening in your organization is in a classroom, you’re missing the magic. Because the future of learning isn’t an event. It’s a culture. And when that culture thrives — people don’t just remember what they learned. They become what they learned.

From Knowledge Hoarding to Knowledge Sharing: The Culture Shift L&D Needs. 💡 Companies don’t have a knowledge problem. They have a knowledge-sharing problem. Think about it—when an expert employee leaves, does their knowledge stay? Or does it leave with them? 📌 Why is knowledge hoarding a problem? 🚫 Employees don’t share what they know because they fear becoming "replaceable." 🚫 Teams work in silos, making cross-functional collaboration difficult. 🚫 Companies rely on outdated documentation that doesn’t capture real insights. 🔥 How some organizations solved this: One company, struggling with high dependency on senior employees, built an internal Knowledge Exchange System where employees: 1. Recorded their expertise through short video walkthroughs. 2. Created open forums for sharing best practices and lessons learned. 3. Integrated peer mentorship programs, where employees taught each other. 🚀 The impact? ✔️ Faster onboarding for new employees. ✔️ Less reliance on single experts—knowledge was accessible to all. ✔️ Teams collaborated more effectively, breaking down silos. 💡 What’s one way your company promotes knowledge-sharing? Drop your insights below! 👇

Lean Community: Knowledge-sharing within our community. I am often asked by fellow coaches, facilitators and project managers what I've seen work in the area of [non-traditional] EXPERIMENTATION in the trenches of continuous improvement itself. Here are my top three choices hands-down each for completely different reasons: 🏆 Working Out Loud is a method developed by John Stepper to foster purposeful collaboration and personal development. It involves building relationships through visible, generous contributions toward a specific goal. Structured around 12-week peer support groups called “circles,” participants enhance skills, expand networks, and cultivate a growth mindset, leading to increased motivation and empowerment.  https://lnkd.in/g4NexsDR 🏆 Group Intelligence (GQ), as presented by Siobhán (shiv-awn) McHale, emphasizes the collective behavioral patterns within organizations. Drawing inspiration from the collaborative nature of bee colonies, McHale advocates for leveraging group dynamics to drive meaningful and lasting organizational change. By focusing on shared behaviors and mindsets, organizations can become more agile and responsive to change. https://a.co/d/a64Xo8q 🏆 Phlow is an AI-powered knowledge management platform designed by Dr. Rachad Najjar, Ph.D and Daniel Ranta to unlock and utilize an organization’s collective intelligence. By aggregating and delivering relevant information across teams and departments, it enhances collaboration, decision-making, and innovation. Phlow operates without necessitating changes to existing tools or workflows, aiming to bridge the gap between knowledge and action. https://phlow.com/ What questions do you have that we can answer in this thread? #ContinuousImprovement #CultureMatters

Outdated knowledge assets aren't just an administrative issue—it's a safety and quality issue that affects everyone. Growing concerns and the loss of experienced personnel are creating more and more pain oints across manufacturing. Many recognize that knowledge management must be a strategic focus for accelerating workforce competency, protecting operational performance, and driving innovation. But moving from a strategic focus to embedding it within the cultute of an organization is where it gets tricky. In my conversations with manufacturing leaders, organizations that are most successful at maintaining current documentation have gone deeper than just building systems—they've created cultures that genuinely value knowledge sharing and accuracy. One way to support this cultural shift is by creating a "knowledge health index"—a dashboard showing the status of knowledge assets across operations. Some of The most effective systems include: 🔁 Collecting feedback from users on documentation quality and accuracy, in a non-intrusice way as soon as the job is done. 📈 Monitoring usage patterns to identify which procedures are most frequently accessed 🫶Mature capabilities that can automatically flag documentation that may need updates based on system changes 🤝Create a way to gauge how often knowledge assets are being reviewed and updated - and recognizing those who lead by example. One manufacturer who implementing this approach has maintained over 95% accuracy in their critical knowledge assets, compared to less than 60% before implementation. The difference between organizations that struggle with knowledge management and those that leverage knowledge to create value isn't just adopting technology—it's creating an environment where everyone understands that knowledge is a shared asset that requires collective stewardship. The LNS Research Industrial Knowledge Management framework provides a scalable approach for manufacturers, regardless of where you are in your journey. What approaches have you seen work for maintaining critical operational knowledge in your organization? 📣 I'd love to hear your experiences in the comments. ⬇️ #KnowledgeManagement #IndustrialTransformation #OperationalExcellence #ConnectedWorkforce #DigitalTransformation

A record 4.1 million Americans turned 65 in 2024, marking the beginning of "Peak 65"—the largest wave of retirements in U.S. history. (Source: Investopedia, 2024) As experienced professionals exit the workforce, many organizations are asking a critical question: How do we retain what they know before they go? Here are three ways to improve knowledge transfer in your organization: ✅ Build a culture of feedback and learning ↳ Encourage real-time sharing of ideas, updates, and lessons ↳ Recognize improvement, not just output ↳ Normalize asking questions and sharing unfinished work ✅ Make knowledge and information broadly accessible ↳ Use centralized, searchable hubs like Notion or Confluence ↳ Document workflows and decisions as they happen ↳ Ensure important data and documents are accessible to everyone—not just a select few ↳ Hold “lessons learned” meetings after each project ✅ Lead by example ↳ Set clear expectations around records retention and accessibility ↳ Share insights and context regularly ↳ Invite team members to teach what they’ve learned ↳ Highlight those who break silos and build bridges Knowledge sharing doesn’t need to be complex. It just needs to be consistent and intentional—otherwise, your organizational knowledge will fade, and so will performance. What’s one strategy you’ve seen work well for capturing and sharing knowledge? ♻️ Reshare to help more teams protect what they know before it’s lost. ➕ Follow Morgan Davis, PMP, PROSCI, MBA for actionable insights on achieving operational excellence.