An Appointment Letter for a CoP Leader

I've recently crafted a CoP leader's appointment letter with few of my colleagues help. I thought some of you may find this useful. I took the responsibilities description from Cultivating Communities of Practice.

There are many ways to identify a CoP leader and appointment may not be the best approach. At least, that's what I thought in the beginning. But given that the leader needs to be someone who is already in the practice, reputable and resourceful, this inevitably means that he has a current job in the organisation. Since he is so good at doing what he's doing, taking away time from his current job is serious business to the organisation, his boss and himself. Which is why if the idea of CoP is new to an organisation, it might be worthwhile to appoint someone simply because it's fast and you get a leader to work with at the end of the process. Voting or volunteering approaches to identify CoP leaders can come after the organisation experience what's a CoP like.

But the downside of the appointment approach is an irony - that the leader is asked to function in a community of volunteers. This is where the central KM team needs to come in and work out some magic.

Asking the right person to award this letter is another important consideration. I feel this is best sent out by an authoritative figure such as the COO or CEO. This will help the leaders gain instant recognition and support for the appointment.

here it goes... replaced text that are italicise.

Dear [CoP leader's name],

I'm excited to have you on board as the [domain] Community of Practice (CoP) Leader because of your recognised qualities as a [organisation appointment]. Congratulations!

The cultivation of the [domain] CoP is part of the strategic KM program in [Organisation name]. [The group of people] are the most critical workforce in [Organisation name]. Our highly competent group of [people] enable [Organisation name] to differentiate from our competitors and it is paramount that we continue to develop this strong [Domain] competency. I hope that as the [Domain] CoP Leader, you will be able to lead and facilitate the unification of our [people] despite their dispersed presence across the organisation. We need to bring them back together as a community, provide a platform for constant interaction, learn with each other and get better in what we care about. I'm confident that the [Domain] CoP under your leadership will achieve just that.

You'll form a core team of three to four members to grow this community with you. As a guide, some of your duties include:

• Identifying important issues in the Sales domain.
• Plan and facilitate community events.
• Informally link community members across [organisation name].
• Foster the development of community members.
• Help build the practice - including the knowledge base, lessons learned, best practices, tools and methods, and learning events.
• Assess the health of the community and evaluate its contribution to members and the organisation.

A CoP is unlike a project team, task force or department. The health of a CoP depends mainly on the voluntary engagement of members and leadership. You are going to need support to flourish this CoP. The [KM team], the [some other supporting departments] and the management teams are all supporting you in this [1] year journey. [Twenty] percent of your time has been formalised for this strategic cause.

I wish you success in advancing [organisation name] with the [domain] CoP and do approach me if you need any direct sponsorship.

Best regards,

[name]

Chief Operating Officer, [organisation name]