Lucidea’s Lens: Knowledge Management Thought Leaders Part 58 – Beverly Wenger-Trayner

Beverly Wenger-Trayner is a social learning consultant who works with organizations to develop strategies and practices for cultivating communities, networks, and other forms of social learning.

Her expertise encompasses both the design of learning architectures and the facilitation of processes, activities, and use of new technologies.

Bev’s specialties include dealing with complex issues (part of the social discipline of learning); designing and facilitating events that integrate online and offline; integrating social media in the learning strategies of communities of practice; working and designing for distributed teams; and designing for conversations and dialogue that cross time, space, and cultures.

She has substantial experience in coaching conveners and in supporting multilingual groups across cultures, time zones, and geographic locations. She has published chapters and articles about learning in internationally distributed communities and co-authored multiple books. Bev feels most at home working with people in international settings and complex landscapes, especially when it includes the integration of new technologies and social media in innovative ways.

Bev supports government agencies or organizations who are setting up learning environments or communities of practice in distributed communities. This support can come on three levels: developing strategic learning strategies, training, and coaching of community leaders, and facilitation of events. Monitoring the value of the communities is often a part of her work.

People have called her a learning architect, a social artist and a technology steward. Bev often facilitates community meetings for people who want quality conversations and dialogue. She has been the creative designer of a platform that combines social networking, workspaces and a library.

She sees herself as an action researcher with aspirations for doing more auto-ethnographic writing. In the 70s, Bev was a political and social activist, passionate about connecting people globally and raising awareness of global issues of justice in local contexts. She has lived in four countries: Kenya, UK, Portugal, and the USA. As a result, Bev developed a hybrid socio-techno-political worldview that spans continents. She identifies with people whose life has been one of crossing boundaries, from the very tiny to the very big.

Communities of Practice Within and Across Organizations: A Guidebook with Etienne Wenger-Trayner, Phil Reid, and Claude Bruderlein – This new guidebook captures the practical experience of the authors with communities of practice. It includes chapters on setting the organizational context, cultivating communities of practice, facilitating meetings and social learning activities, using technology, and articulating the value created.

Systems Convening: A crucial form of leadership for the 21st century with Etienne Wenger-Trayner – This short book showcases systems convening work in different contexts around the world. It describes the role and practice of people who enable learning across boundaries and connect people across silos. Their work often goes unnoticed, but they have a vital role to play in addressing 21st-century challenges.