In-House Counsel

The Road Not Taken: The Force Awakens

If your organization values collaborative effort over individual success, then it may benefit you more to share tribal knowledge. If your organization rewards individuals who resolve internal gridlock or provide historical context to an issue, you may be better off hoarding than sharing.

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The biggest movie event of our generation has been out for a little over a week now. Did you see it opening night, or did you wait a few days? If you were one of the people who saw it the first night, did you keep your mouth shut about it, or did you spoil it for your friends and loved ones at your first opportunity?

Information is powerful currency. When working, information about how things work in an organization, the history of projects, and knowing who’s who and what that who can do for you. This kind of information is often referred to as “tribal knowledge” and the only way you get it is by experiencing and absorbing it. Tribal knowledge is valuable currency earned by longevity, persistence, and patience. Tribal knowledge is your reward for surviving in one place longer than others.

If you have this currency, what do you do with it? Do you lord it over your colleagues, withholding it until just the right moment so you can come in and save the day? Or, do you offer up the information freely without immediate reward? I think most people would like to think they would offer up the information freely, but the fact is, that doesn’t happen.

As humans who work with other humans, we know that people hoard information. Because information is power. It’s an easy way to appear smarter, and more accomplished than your colleagues without expending any real effort. Besides, aren’t you entitled to reap the fruits of your hard labor and tenure in an organization? Capitalizing on tribal knowledge is your harvest. Giving it up would be a waste. Wouldn’t it?

This is where the “correct” answer is, “No. Sharing information with your colleagues and helping others is its own reward.” However, we all know the world doesn’t work that way. It may not be the correct answer, but the honest answer is, “It depends.” If your organization values collaborative effort over individual success, then it may benefit you more to share tribal knowledge. If your organization rewards individuals who resolve internal gridlock or provide historical context to an issue, you may be better off hoarding than sharing.

It sucks, I know. It isn’t fair, that’s true. What can you do about it, though? You can rebel. You can change the culture.  

You can share your tribal knowledge.

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True, you will sacrifice the immediate gains of possessing something valuable, but that sacrifice is in furtherance of a future investment: with each morsel of knowledge you share with a colleague, you make a tiny change towards a more collaborative culture.  

Information sharing is an indicator of workplace culture. If individuals reserve tribal knowledge for their own benefit, you know you are likely dealing with a cutthroat environment. Plenty of people thrive in that sort of environment and many workplaces facilitate that sort of workplace culture. However, if you aren’t the type that thrives long-term in a less collaborative environment, you can either find a job that nurtures that culture, or you can try to change your tiny sphere of existence.   

Much is made of finding a right fit in a workplace. How tribal knowledge is dispensed and shared by veteran employees is an important indicator of workplace culture, which can inform your determination of fit.

What suits you best? Star Wars spoilers aren’t an exact analogy, but how the individuals in an organization share important information not available to everyone can tell you if you are working with Jedis or Siths.   

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Celeste Harrison Forst has practiced in small and mid-sized firms and is now in-house at a large manufacturing and technology company where she receives daily hugs from her colleagues. You can reach Celeste directly at [email protected].

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