7 Skills of Knowledge Work

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Humans in this day and age operate in Knowledge Economies, where the ability to acquire and apply knowledge is crucial for personal and economic success.

Acquisition and application of knowledge has 4 broad categories.  Each knowledge category represents a different aspect of knowledge: Know-what, Know-why, Know-who, Know-how.

Knowledge work has become a crucial aspect of organizational success.  The struggle between competing organizations has moved from tangible resources to intangible resources, where knowledge and the ability to use knowledge have crucial roles.  Having a robust Knowledge Management Strategy has become increasingly critical to remaining competitive.

Knowledge workers—employees who are valued for their ability to think critically, analyze data, solve problems, and make decisions based on data-driven insights—now have a critical role to play by creating, sharing, and utilizing knowledge to steer innovation and progress within their organizations.  Their expertise and skills are essential to driving creativity, productivity, profitability, and a competitive advantage for their organizations.

Research has come up with the following 7 skills integral to the success of a knowledge worker—synthesized by analyzing multiple studies conducted on the subject.

Cochran and Ferrari’s (2009) work has been used as the framework for selecting these skills, with “Personal Management” skill being added by the researchers from own insight.

1. Thinking Skills
2. Communication
3. Teamwork and Leadership
4. Lifelong Learning and Self-direction
5. Technology Use
6. Ethics and Professionalism
7. Personal Management

Each of these skills is essential for knowledge workers to excel in their roles and contribute to their organizations’ success.  Organizations and leaders ought to create an enabling environment through policies, procedures, and organizational structures in which the acquisition and employment of each of the 7 skills for knowledge work are ensured.

Let us delve a little deeper into some of the skills.

Thinking Skills

Thinking skills refer to the capability of employing information effectively to resolve problems, design solutions, and accomplish tasks.

Critical thinking, systems thinking, analysis skills, problem solving, creativity, and design all fall under the umbrella of thinking skills.

Communication

Communication skills refer to the capability of grasping and imparting ideas effectively.  Communication involves not only verbal and written communication but also nonverbal communication. 

The initial part of effective communication skills is understanding and deciphering complicated information from various sources via varied media.  The second part is communicating that information effectually and suitably in various formats.

Teamwork and Leadership

Teamwork and Leadership skills refer to the capacity to work with others to attain a shared objective. 

Teamwork and Leadership involve collaboration, motivation, and effective management to achieve common goals and maximize the effectiveness of the team.

Lifelong Learning and Self-direction

Lifelong learning and self-direction refer to the continual process of acquiring new skills, knowledge, and expertise in the field of work or interest.  Learning Organizations give this capability to their employees.

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