Introduction

Have you ever wondered what tacit knowledge really is and how it impacts your organisation? While professionals often focus on explicit knowledge, facts, figures, and documented processes that are easy to share, there’s another form of knowledge that’s equally, if not more, important: tacit knowledge.

In this blog post, we’ll dive into what tacit knowledge is and how it shapes the actions, decisions, and problem-solving abilities within your teams. You may not always notice it, but tacit knowledge plays a crucial role in driving success and fostering a deeper understanding across your organisation.

What is Tacit Knowledge?

Tacit knowledge is the accumulation of life experiences, practices, and expertise. It stems from various sources: school lessons, lectures, TV programs, conversations, observations, and emotional experiences.

Unlike explicit knowledge, which can be easily documented and transferred, tacit knowledge is deeply ingrained and often difficult to articulate. First coined by Michael Polanyi in the 1960s, this form of knowledge represents insights and skills that are hard to codify. Polanyi famously stated, “We can know more than we can tell,” highlighting the challenge of expressing tacit knowledge.

Tacit knowledge is embedded in personal experiences, emotions, and situational contexts, often demonstrated through actions like problem-solving and decision-making rather than verbal communication. This makes it invaluable for innovation but challenging to capture and share. Studies emphasize that businesses harnessing tacit knowledge outperform competitors in adaptability and innovation (Choo, 1998).

Research suggests that tacit knowledge plays a crucial role in professional expertise, with studies showing that up to 90% of workplace knowledge is tacit in nature (Nonaka, 1994).

Since tacit knowledge is often communicated through informal, verbal interactions and personal experiences, it becomes significantly more challenging to capture and disseminate within organizations.

The Complexity of Caputuring Tacit Knowlege

One of the defining characteristics of tacit knowledge is its resistance to documentation. You won’t find “Tacit Knowledge 101” textbooks or standard operating procedures that fully capture this type of wisdom. The reason for this lies in its very nature—tacit knowledge is highly personal and contextual.

Consider, for example, a skilled event organizer. If you were to shadow this person for a day, meticulously noting down every action and word, you might think you’ve captured their secret recipe for success. However, if you hand over this detailed log to a newly hired employee, the results are likely to be quite different. Why? Because the new hire doesn’t possess the same background, experiences, or perspective as the seasoned organizer.

The Unique Nature of Personal Knowledge

Tacit knowledge is challenging to transfer because it’s as unique as a fingerprint. Our minds are like intricate mosaics, each tile representing a fragment of information or experience we’ve gathered over time. The resulting pattern doesn’t just inform what we know it shapes who we are and how we approach every aspect of our lives. This deeply personal nature of tacit knowledge makes it both invaluable and elusive, manifesting in our instincts, decisions, and actions in ways we often can’t fully articulate.

For instance, you might not remember every detail from your biology class in 2004, but perhaps one key concept stuck with you. That single piece of information becomes part of your broader knowledge stock, subtly influencing how you approach related problems or situations in the future.

This personalized nature of tacit knowledge means that even when we try to share it, the recipient will interpret and apply it through the lens of their own experiences and understanding. It’s not a simple transfer of information, but rather a complex interaction between the sharer’s knowledge and the receiver’s existing mental framework.

The Role of Storytelling in Sharing Tacit Knowlege

Given the challenges in documenting and transferring tacit knowledge, how can we effectively share this valuable resource? One possible answer lies in storytelling. By recounting our experiences, decision-making processes, and rationales in a narrative format, we can provide a richer, more nuanced understanding of our tacit knowledge.

For instance, if our skilled event organizer were to share their knowledge, they might create a detailed narrative of their process. This story would include not just what they did, but why they did it explaining their thought processes, the importance of speaking to certain people, the reasoning behind the order of tasks, and the subtle judgments made along the way.

This storytelling approach allows the listener to grasp not just the surface-level actions, but the deeper wisdom and context behind those actions. It provides a window into the tacit knowledge that guides the expert’s decisions and behaviors.

Leveraging Technology to Facilitate Tacit Knowledge Sharing

The good news is that we have new tools at our disposal to enhance the sharing of tacit knowledge. Platforms like Slick+, for example, allow experts to create detailed “playlists” of their experiences and successes. These playlists can break down complex achievements into manageable steps, explaining the rationale behind each decision and action.

Slick+ additionally includes interactive features that allow learners to ask questions and dig deeper into specific aspects of the expert’s story. This interactivity helps bridge the gap between the sharer’s tacit knowledge and the learner’s understanding, allowing for a more effective transfer of wisdom.

The Long-Term Impact of Tacit Knowledge Sharing

When we engage with someone else’s tacit knowledge through storytelling or interactive platforms, we don’t simply memorize a set of instructions. Instead, we absorb parts of their experience, integrating it with our own existing knowledge and perspectives. This process enriches our own store of tacit knowledge, subtly influencing how we approach problems and situations in the future.

Over time, as we accumulate more of these shared experiences and insights, our tacit knowledge grows and evolves. We may not always be consciously aware of this growth, but it manifests in our improved decision-making, more nuanced problem-solving approaches, and enhanced intuition in our areas of expertise.

Embracing the Power of Tacit Knowledge

While tacit knowledge may be challenging to capture and transfer, its value is immeasurable. It’s the secret ingredient that often separates novices from experts, the intangible quality that allows some individuals to excel in their fields consistently.

By recognizing the importance of tacit knowledge and actively seeking ways to share and absorb it we can tap into a vast reservoir of wisdom. This not only enhances our own capabilities but also contributes to the collective knowledge of our communities and organizations. In a world that often prioritizes explicit, easily quantifiable knowledge, let’s not forget the power of the tacit. It’s in these unspoken insights, hard-earned through years of experience and reflection, that we often find the most profound and transformative wisdom.

Conclusion

Tacit knowledge, with its deeply personal and experiential nature, remains a powerful yet elusive resource within organizations. Unlike explicit knowledge, which can be documented and easily shared, tacit knowledge is rooted in personal experiences and insights, making it difficult to transfer through traditional methods. However, this unique form of knowledge is essential for fostering innovation, adaptability, and problem-solving.

Slick+ can help bridge the gap between personal experience and broader organizational learning. By embracing tacit knowledge, businesses not only enhance individual expertise but also build a culture of continuous learning, collaboration, and shared wisdom.

Discover how Slick’s innovative, video-powered social learning system can transform the way your team learns, shares, and grows together. 👉 Book a discovery call today by clicking here.

The Author

Contact Linda Hegarty, Slick+’s CoFounder and CXO. Send us an email or connect with Linda on LinkedIn 😉

Reference

Choo, C. W. (2006). The knowing organization: How organizations use information to construct meaning, create knowledge, and make decisions (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. Oxford University Press.

Polanyi, M. (1966). The tacit dimension. Doubleday & Company.

Sternberg, R. J., & Horvath, J. A. (1999). Tacit knowledge in professional practice: Researcher and practitioner perspectives. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.