In order for reliable, effective collaboration to take place, work to create a culture in which … [+]
Strong, strategic collaborations don’t happen by accident. They require that both parties involved develop a shared vision and goals with a foundation of trust and strong communication. Collaborations are more likely to succeed when both sides are willing to self-advocate, while also being attentive to the needs of their partner.
But if you truly want your collaborative efforts to achieve (or even exceed) your intended goals, you and your partner must be willing to share knowledge with each other.
1. Knowledge-Sharing Establishes Transparency
Trust in strategic collaborations is heavily dependent on transparency. Sharing information builds trust because both sides are supplying the information the other party needs to perform their own work effectively.
In science, knowledge-sharing and transparency are especially important during research — notably, in circumstances where two sides have opposing views. As detailed by the American Psychological Association, “Adversarial collaboration […] is when scientists with opposing theoretical views conduct experiments jointly. This forces transparency in methods and rigor from the beginning of a study and can avoid years of back-and-forth and criticism between teams working separately.”
Interestingly, an early example of this style of research led the adversarial collaborators to conclude that “both sides were a little bit right.” Such outcomes would not have been possible, however, in an environment where the researchers did not share their methods and findings with each other. As this demonstrates, transparency in knowledge-sharing can even build trust between sides with conflicting ideas.
2. Knowledge-Sharing Prevents Miscommunication
In strategic partnerships, one of the most important reasons to share knowledge is to prevent mistakes and miscommunications that might otherwise occur. When one (or both) sides don’t have sufficient information, they are far more likely to make mistakes that create setbacks for the project.
As Eric Weschke, founder of Advanced Folio Capital Management, explained to me during a recent conversation, “We can see how a lack of knowledge-sharing causes mistakes in the world of personal finance. Our education system often fails to teach individuals about essential things like taxes, interest rates, inflation or basic investing. This results in missed opportunities like not understanding how resources like 529 plans or Roth IRAs work, as well as more serious mistakes in regards to investing or managing taxes.”
Continued Weschke, “In business collaborations, one side’s tendency to hoard knowledge, rather than share it, can lead to similar missed opportunities for their partner. In the end, this hurts both sides, as the partner doesn’t have the resources or information they need to maximize their potential.”
As Weschke’s example reveals, mistakes stemming from a lack of knowledge-sharing don’t even have to look like mistakes. Quite often, the setbacks come in the form of missed opportunities for innovation or strategy adjustments that might have been identified if partners had received sufficient information from their collaborators.
Of course, not sharing information can lead to costly miscommunications and other issues that are obvious mistakes or setbacks. In particularly severe instances, such mistakes could erode the positive, collaborative nature of the partnership.
3. Knowledge-Sharing Enhances Productivity
Knowledge-sharing isn’t just about avoiding negative outcomes — it’s about creating additional opportunities for positive results. When relevant knowledge is shared in an open and transparent manner, it can greatly enhance the partnership’s overall productivity and innovation. Good information streamlines decision making and can help partners identify crucial insights that impact how they approach their work.
The power of knowledge-sharing on internal teams is well documented. For example, a report from the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command highlights how international law firm Cooley uses a mentoring system that pairs new hires with more seasoned professionals so that knowledge-sharing can take place. This helps new hires learn the ins and outs of their roles and responsibilities much faster, and is cited as a key reason for the company’s 95% retention rate.
In this example, knowledge-sharing enhances productivity by getting new hires up to speed in a more efficient manner. This allows new hires to become more productive much sooner. In a partnership, effective sharing of information — particularly at the beginning of the partnership — can have a similar effect, allowing partners to hit the ground running.
Of course, continued knowledge-sharing over the course of the partnership is critical for maintaining that high productivity. Sharing the information that partners need, when they need it, helps both sides maintain a desired level of output and potentially enhance their capabilities.
Sharing Is Power
In a TED Talk, General Stanley McChrystal, former commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, said, “Information is only of value if you give it to people who have the ability to do something with it. The fact that I know something has zero value if I’m not the person who can actually make something better because of it…instead of knowledge is power…sharing is power.”
In a military setting, sharing knowledge can be the difference between life or death. While your strategic collaborations may not have such high stakes, there is no denying the importance of sharing your knowledge with your collaborators.
By creating a culture of knowledge-sharing within your collaborations, you and your partners will be better equipped to work together in an effective manner that helps you accomplish your goals.
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