KM Champions - what motivates them

I've recently participated in a fishbowl conversation where KM practitioners and consultants talk about how to sustain and motivate KM Champions / Activists. The common ideas include setting target for KM Champions via Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), providing them support thru adequate KM training and getting management support. While everyone agrees that these factors are important, no one has confirmed that they worked.

Struggles of the KM Champions
In my experience, KM Champions have their own work obligation to fulfill, their departments KPIs are the reason they were employed, and they are constantly reminded to fulfill them given the proximity of their department's colleagues. As such, KM Champions always struggle hard to be the advocates of KM and they fight a lone battle to promote KM in their department. How long can they last, how long?

I've heard KM Champions talking - "We gotta figure a way to kill this KM before it kills us". Yes, this came from a really pessimistic KM Champion, whom in the first place should not assume the role. But it do tell us that we need to be mindful that KM Champions need to be well resourced, well supported and well motivated.

Traditional role of KM Champions
Many organisations used KM Champions as extensions to the KM department, helping to coordinate and manage the top-down KM initiatives, and advocate KM values within their department. In my experience, this will not work very well because again we are sending them to fight lone battles in their departments. They will do it, but we will not see good results and passion.

Some organisations use KM Champions to form informal networks, so that work development/issues can be discussed and help offered among them. In my experience, this rarely works unless KM champions come from similar work domains. Because KM Champions come from disparate departments chances are their knowledge domain defers, and the possibility of helping each other limited.

A framework for sustaining KM Champions
I feel it's better for KM Champions to be involved in bottom-up KM initiatives guided by a set of common KM beliefs. Just like Alcoholic Anonymous (AA), activities of various AA meetings are not managed centrally. Every AA support group is guided by a set of beliefs and supported by common knowledge resources. People are accepted into an AA group as long as they will to stay sober. Today AA support groups are located all over US and Canada, very much how we like KM to propagate within an organisation.

It's the duty of the KM department just like the AA central office to propagate what KM is, how it benefits the organisation and people, and help them understand their role as KM Champions. With knowledge of KM and the role of KM Champions, potential KM Champions can choose to opt in or out. This 'recruitment drive' should happen periodically. This process will ensure that KM Champions join because they want to be, not because they are nominated to be.

What's in it for me? We know that KM Champions simply will not become one because they know KM is good. We can put in social and monetary recognition to reward KM Champions, something exclusive for KM Champions only. We can award different levels of KM titles, measured by the KM achievements. Let's say we have 5 level of KM titles - by accepting to become a KM Champion, all KM Champion are awarded with a Level 1 title. Like a pyramid, we will have less Level 5 titles than we have for Level 4 and so on, which gives KM Champions a motivation to do better. And of course, each level is tight to a different monetary award that goes into the salary, which further motivates the KM Champion to perform. And when a department's KM Champion do well, it reflects that the department is supportive of KM too. Every year, the KM Champions will be evaluated for the title awards, where they may be escalated or demoted.

Where bottom-up approaches are concerned, on-the-ground knowledge management issues can be surfaced and discussed by KM Champions, who will then look at how situations can be improved. The KM department will help guide the approaches, scope the effort, introduce relevant KM methods and support the initiatives. It is absolutely fine that some KM Champions will be more involved than the rest especially for issues they can relate to. Opportunities will arise for the other KM Champions when new issues are discovered. This approach helps KM Champions to space out their KM involvement and prevents them from getting burnt.