Why You Should Share Your Knowledge

Stan Garfield
My previous post was about why people don’t share their knowledge. This post is about the benefits of sharing knowledge. Knowledge sharing provides numerous benefits to both individuals and organizations.
Personal benefits: Sharing your knowledge improves your personal effectiveness, skills, and well-being. Sharing what you know:
- Helps you learn: by doing research, synthesizing multiple viewpoints, and crystallizing ideas
- Improves your personal brand by showcasing your expertise
- Creates demand for your expertise: increases opportunities for sales, revenue, appearances, publications, etc.
- Encourages people to request that you apply the information you shared; knowledge is information in action, and this is what people actually want, not just written documents
- Comes back to you in the form of help when you need it
- Gets others to also share, which may ultimately benefit you
- Increases your personal morale; people feel better when they can help others
- Strokes your ego: when people ask for your help and then thank you for providing it
- Strengthens your knowledge: others can confirm, point out flaws, or improve what you know
- Aids your career: you can advance based on a reputation for getting results and helping the organization succeed
Organizational benefits: Knowledge sharing delivers value by:
- Avoiding redundant effort
- Avoiding making the same mistakes twice
- Taking advantage of existing expertise and experience
- Making scarce expertise widely available
- Showing customers how knowledge is used for their benefit
- Increasing and accelerating sales
- Accelerating delivery to customers
- Enabling the organization to leverage its size
- Making the organization’s best problem-solving experiences reusable
- Stimulating innovation and growth

Stan Garfield
Please read Stan’s additional blog posts offering advice and insights drawn from many years as a KM practitioner. You may also want to download a copy of his book, Proven Practices for Implementing a Knowledge Management Program, from Lucidea Press. And learn about Lucidea’s Inmagic Presto and SydneyEnterprise with KM capabilities to support successful knowledge management programs.
Similar Posts
Lucidea’s Lens: Knowledge Management Thought Leaders
Part 100 – Gordon Petrash
Discover the work of Gordon Petrash, a pioneer in intellectual asset management, demonstrating how companies can unlock the value of their intellectual capital.
Lucidea’s Lens: Knowledge Management Thought Leaders
Part 99 – Dennis Pearce
As a knowledge management strategist, Dennis Pearce has spent his career refining how professionals connect, learn, and innovate. From enterprise social networks to working out loud, his insights reveal how to build a culture of transparency, trust, and continuous improvement.
Lucidea’s Lens: Knowledge Management Thought Leaders Part 98 – Rachad Najjar
Generative AI, expertise mapping, and knowledge sharing—Rachad Najjar has spent his career at the intersection of these disciplines. As the CEO of 3R Knowledge Services and former knowledge-sharing leader at GE Vernova, he has helped many organizations design smarter KM strategies. In this edition of Lucidea’s Lens, Stan Garfield highlights Rachad’s contributions to the field.
Lucidea’s Lens: Knowledge Management Thought Leaders Part 97 – Art Murray
As CEO of Applied Knowledge Sciences and Chief Fellow of the Enterprise of the Future Program, Art Murray champions innovative approaches to knowledge curation, digital transformation, and governance. Discover Art’s work and impact on knowledge management and organizational transformation.
Leave a Comment
Comments are reviewed and must adhere to our comments policy.
0 Comments