Novell community builders: a blended solution

At Novell, we recognize that knowledge is most powerful when it is shared. Internal and external Novell communities are gathering steam and becoming not only a forum for collaboration, but a way to bolster the knowledge, expertise and ultimately the value we provide to our customers.

From system architects to managers, Novell employees are conversing together in communities of practice (CoPs). More than just like-minded individuals sitting around a table, they are employees from across the globe who challenge one another to provide increased value to our customers. They provide a virtual space for members to network and foster a culture that values and encourages knowledge sharing and collaboration.

Natural selection

The Novell KM team solicits support from executive sponsors and champions within the organization in order to align communities with business objectives. In doing this, we realized a need to form a CoP leadership nomination, selection and development program.

We strategically nominated individual members to a selection committee. This committee is a group of volunteers that meets quarterly to interview, discuss and select leaders. We found that the senior leaders in the committee understood these nominees' roles within the organization and assisted them with tools to be successful in future roles. By participating, the committee members gained more insight on the community and were able to provide focus to the nominees in their future endeavors.

We also worked with the HR managers, senior managers and community members themselves to identify potential leaders. As a result, we've been able to educate employees about not only the leadership role and responsibility, but also the overall program. Leaders are selected for a 12- to 18-month term on a volunteer basis in addition to their existing roles as consulting geography leaders, technology leaders, etc. We've found that a typical leader spends on average 10 hours a month on nurturing activities.

All the right ingredients

There are many methods to help an organization create a community leader. I've seen a variety of methods and I call them "blended smoothies" as they have a blend of unique characteristics that balance out the business needs of Novell and its employees. Some aims are to:

1. Align the leadership program with the corporate vision or programs:

We work on a quarterly and annual basis with our business sponsors to establish a clear vision for each community to cultivate plans. By setting these expectations early, we were able to gain clarity and mind share with community members involved in the process.

2. Involve leaders in the design of the program:

In terms of the community leadership program, we found that by including a leader, we were able to gain more credibility in the process. We continue to include them in the selection process and a leader acts as the official secretary of the committee. For example, the leader sends out the agenda, notes and supporting material each quarter to the selection committee itself.

Furthermore, we stopped talking our way and just walked through this leadership program into a new way of behaving at Novell by creating a learning environment that endorses the leaders themselves to organize and leverage knowledge. For example, we asked community leaders to host virtual knowledge shares, seminars and events where they share their community projects and/or learnings. We also have a forum where community leaders or moderators of communities can go to ask questions on a forum or share information in a way to build a practice of community builders.

3. Establish a clear leadership nomination and selection process:

Community leaders feel the need to contribute to community and business goals while continuing with their personal development. So we created a community leadership selection and development program as a community itself. During one workshop, we solicited input from the leaders to ask them for their advice and support on the succession planning and recruitment process. The KM team was able to take their feedback and incorporate this into the recently refreshed process.

Leaders are interested in learning and sharing, so we have also facilitated a semi-annual leadership workshop that allows community leaders to meet in our corporate offices to share innovative projects and ideas while building competencies. External speakers that have real-world experiences also share with the leaders, which allows them to get out of their day-to-day jobs and foster innovation.

Since the community leaders learn from one another by sharing goals and tasks, the KM team coordinate a "birds of a feather" discussion sessions at our annual Brainshare Users Conference, which bands together various community leaders to work with our customers, partners and employees to discuss and solve business problems together.

Community members need to know that their participation is valued. We have a variety of recognition programs that reach out to employees to extend their network and thank them for their community contributions. For example, one community has a "hall of fame" program that recognizes individuals on a quarterly basis who are transforming tacit knowledge into explicit.

4. Create a nurturing plan for community builders:

We've taken the community spirit and applied it to the leadership program through identifying opportunities for continued engagement with leaders. The KM team listens to their input and incorporates it into the overall program. We host summits, workshops and birds of a feather sessions throughout the year.

Our group has been aligned with the corporate culture and development team for several years. In doing this, the KM team often serves as change agents to support the desired corporate culture as well as to influence the culture. An example is in leveraging our informal and formal social networks to identify opportunities to connect the leaders with other individuals and/or projects in the organization. We do this in practicing the desired behaviors in the company as well, providing and receiving feedback on our programs.

5. Welcome and recognize community leadership:

We have developed a new leader welcome wagon process and kit. We invest time to sit down with the new leaders and explain their role and responsibility. We discuss the community leaders corner on the corporate intranet and review existing internal resources. We introduce them officially to the community via an e-mail to a distribution list and article published in the corporate newsletter. Plus, we have a letter sent via postal system on official Novell letterhead to the leaders and their managers to thank them for their contributions to the program and welcome them to the CoP family. This is unique for Novell being a very e-mail intensive company. Therefore, we make a concerted effort to invest time to provide these leaders with a short message.

We also recognize leaders when they have completed their 12- to 18-month time commitment through a thank you recognition packet. We send a personalized letter to them and their managers via the business sponsor, and include some Novell clothing and a personalized trophy.