The Information Steward Team as a Strategic Initiatives Team
As a librarian and knowledge manager, the "Information Steward" moniker grew out of information organization practices in academic libraries and international development nonprofit work. Examining who I am, what I believe, and my habits in vocational environments, I now recognize a broader scope of my work.
Narration by author:
Stewarding information (read more about my vocational philosophy) in this broader sense is connecting people, information, and habits to an organizational strategy. From this view, the guiding element is a set of shared desired outcomes and an associated strategy. While knowledge mobilization and information organization are integral to the process, the cohesive framework is that of a Strategic Initiatives Team.
The range of skills and the diversity of personnel on the Strategic Initiatives Team falls directly inline with an ethos of viewing the larger environment in which an organization sits. The team asks questions, explores, researches, and iterates as a standing group. The team's longevity reinforces the collective wisdom and pursuit of objectives.
In a medium- or large-sized nonprofit, a college, a university, or a for-profit corporation, a Strategic Initiatives Team reports to the Executive Director, President, or CEO (read more about the makeup of the ideal team in the vocational philosophy page).
The Strategic Initiatives Team concept is also appropriate within a subordinate unit of the organization. In this scenario the team is charged with a narrower focus. Examples include a strategic partnerships team, external funding team, or new product development team. The charter may be different; the purpose and practices of the team correspond to those outlined elsewhere.
Each organization chooses the purpose and the name of the Information Steward Team depending on context, sector, charter, and desired outcomes. I came to the general concept via an Information Steward lens; I now frame a broader horizon under a Strategic Initiatives Team concept.
Related Pages
The knowledge of the elders is sometimes written.
Knowledge sharing values lived out as habits. How individuals and teams practice knowledge sharing emerges from the values and culture embraced by those individuals. Rules, processes, and expectations succeed or fail based on the energy embodied in the culture. What is the knowledge sharing culture of your team or organization? The following activities may help illuminate the root of your knowledge sharing culture.
Stewarding information across work departments and teams necessitates links, relationships, visibility, and lines of communication at the highest level of the organization. Consequently, Information Steward co-leads will report directly to the organization's leader (CEO, President, Executive Director).
Narration
When two lead together, we, as a team, achieve a multiplier effect.
Knowledge Mobilization
What could a Knowledge Stewardship team look like? Consider the foundational elements below from which a scenario is then briefly sketched. The new model may only be achieved over the course of a few years through multiple step-wise iterations.