To Share or not to Share

Over the last few weeks I’ve been asking friends and colleagues for feedback on my web site. It was the kind of request you throw out there not really knowing what sort of response you’ll get.

I’ve been really lucky to get some actual, detailed, specific comments come back to me. Comments that challenged me to think about what I was trying to achieve, the language I was using and the information I was providing, just to name a few things. Some things I already knew or had an inkling about, others came out of left field. 

The whole exercise made me think about how we approach sharing our ideas and knowledge with others. Not everyone I asked was able to respond and even though they had legitimate reasons it did get me thinking about what might stop someone from sharing what they know. Then I had a light bulb moment, what a fitting topic to cover in my first blog post. After all this is where I get to share my thoughts, ideas and knowledge!

So, here’s the list of reasons that I came up with to explain why we might be reluctant to share what we know.

1. We don’t value what we know - sometimes we don’t think we know enough to share. Surely everyone would already know what we know? I’ll just look stupid!
2.  We can feel a bit vulnerable and think that someone could get an advantage over us by knowing what we know. I’ll be left behind!
3. We might feel powerless once we aren’t the only person with that knowledge. Knowledge is power!

And here are my reasons why we need to overcome these concerns..

1. Re-affirming for someone what they know can be really helpful. You will also bring your own perspective and interpretation of knowledge which can provide some real insights for others and help shift their thinking.
2. I’ve always thought that sharing information and knowledge is about strengthening others and enabling them to act. It’s a great development approach that also happens to be a recognised trait of leadership. 
3. Most ‘informational’ power is pretty short-lived. Particularly these days when we have access to so much information at the touch of a key stroke. At the end of the day it gets back to what kind of leadership do you want to display.

So the next time you have the opportunity to share what you know, be brave and put your leadership qualities on show. 



"The hardest part about sharing is finding the courage to do it." Anon

“Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.” Dalai Lama

“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” Father James Keller



To everyone who shared their ideas with me, thank you for keeping my candle alight..