Getting Change Right: Element #4

Accelerating change through performance communities. Based on the pioneering work of Etienne Wenger about building communities of practice, Kahan has come up with what he calls “performance communities” or groups of people (stakeholders) who gather regularly and share their knowledge and skills to accomplish results no one of them could ever accomplish. Whether it’s a group of computer repair technicians working on new solutions or high level executives in news media determining new directions in the marketplace, such communities can help solve even the most difficult problems. To thrive such performance communities must have business benefits, address community concerns and have a payoff for each participant. Such communities require requires to look at employees as problem solvers (whom must be enabled to respond to needs) not merely be the implementers of corporate planning. Building a performance community is covered in much detail (starting on pp. 122). Here are just a few steps in building: Share the idea with key stakeholders, identify a social architect, find resident experts, invite people to participate, and much more. Pay attention to this chapter when it comes to real change that people will actually buy into.