People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1 - 50

Types of Knowledge-Sharers
Connectors: Identify
information and people
valuable for performance
improvement initiatives.

Mentors: Provide constructive feedback to an
individual.

Collaborators: Think and act
together on an organizational performance
improvement initiative.

Influencers: Provide insights
and constructive feedback
to an individual, but with a
more limited interpersonal
relationship than a mentor.

Facilitators: Guide
interpersonal relationships
between collaborators to
generate a learning and
performing unit capable of
seizing opportunities.

Allies: Stand by an
individual to support a
potentially controversial idea
or action required to
contribute to improved
organizational performance.

Disseminators: Spread
news and information
important to an organization's performance
improvement opportunity.
Narrators: Move beyond
spreading the news to
telling the story of an
organizational performance
opportunity-a compelling
message about current
challenges and future
successes on a personal
and organizational level.

ing these techniques, leaders in any industry
can recognize and seize opportunities to
improve and sustain superior performance
for their organizations.

References
Baldwin, C. (2002). The seven whispers. Novato, CA:
New World Library.
De Smet, A., Schaninger, B., & Smith, M. (2014, April).
The hidden value of organizational health-and how to
capture it. McKinsey Quarterly.
Detroit Free Press. (2009, December 15). Mulally's
speech in Senate: 'We are more efficient ... more global'
Emmons, C. (2013). Improving organizational performance: Building organizational resilience and austainability through knowledge-sharing relationships.
Ford Motor Company. (2014). One Ford.
Hoffman, B. G. (2012). American icon. New York, NY:
Crown Business.

As both mentor and ally, Mulally's attention
to his relationship with Fields has allowed
the two men to work successfully together
during the FMC's initial turnaround (2006-
2007), the global economic crisis (2008-
2009), and FMC's triumph of becoming the
most profitable automaker in the world
(2010). In July, Mulally stepped down and
Fields was named the new chief executive.
Both Mulally and Fields were confident the
transition would be smooth, as the team and
processes were already in place.
A disseminator spreads news and information
important to an organization's performance
improvement opportunity. After Mulally had
been with FMC for a month, he sent an email
to Ford's employees around the world titled
First Impressions. In the email, Mulally complimented Ford's workers, outlined the challenges as well as the opportunities ahead, and
offered a compelling message of the future
changes and success: "Everyone loves a comeback story. Let's work together to write the
best one ever" (Wall Street Journal, 2006).
During the U.S. economic crisis, Mulally
went to Washington to pass on the bailout.
In his speech to Congress, Mulally acknowledged the business model needed to change
and that FMC had changed in the last two
years. He explained, "This is the Ford story.
We are more balanced. We are more efficient. We are more global. And we are really
focused.... Ford is an American company,
and an American icon. We are woven into
the fabric of every community that relies on
our cars and trucks and the jobs our com50

PEOPLE & STRATEGY

pany supports. The entire Ford team, from
our employees to shareholders, suppliers to
dealers, is absolutely committed to implementing our new business model and becoming a lean, profitable company that builds the
best cars and trucks on the road for our
customers. There is a lot more work to do,
but we are passionate about the future of
Ford" (Detroit Free Press, 2009).
This move distanced FMC from competitors
GM and Chrysler and allowed the company
to capitalize on its choice to decline the government bailout. When Mulally went to
Washington to make the announcement, he
was accompanied by his press aide, Ford
Americas group controller, and the vice
president of government and community
relations, a group that had collaborated and
determined together what face Ford would
put forward to Congrees and the public.

Creating Opportunities
If there's anything to be learned from Ford
Motor Company's positive adaption to the
automotive industry crisis, it's that unlike
competition, macroeconomic forces, and
market dynamics, leaders truly can impact
organizational health.
Baldwin (2002) described "a dance of intersections and connections between myself
and other people and the opportunities we
create as we cross each other's paths."
Knowledge-sharing relationships and the
positive adaptation process promote this
dance and present opportunities. By apply-

Lewis, J. P. (2002). Working together: 12 principles for
achieving excellence in managing projects, teams, and
organizations. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Prusak, L. (2006, April). The world is round. Harvard
Business Review, 84(4), 18-20.
Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline. New York, NY:
Doubleday.
Sutcliffe, K. M., & Vogus, T. J. (2003). Organizing for
resilience. In K. S. Cameron, J.E. Dutton, & R. E. Quinn
(Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship: Foundations of a new discipline. San Francisco, CA: BerrettKoehler.
Mulally's 'First Impressions' (2006, December 22). Wall
Street Journal.
Wang, S., & Noe, R. A. (2010). Knowledge sharing: A
review and directions for future research. Human
Resource Management Review, 20, 115-131.

Chris Emmons, Ph.D., is a performance consultant who designs and
delivers workshops and other initiatives to increase the effectiveness of
leaders and team members. Strategic
planning, change leadership, employe e engagement , a nd i n novat ive
approaches to knowledge management are the foundation of her practice. Her recent research involves
improving organizational performance by building organizational
resilience and sustainability through
knowledge-sharing relationships.
Chris can be reached at cbemmons@
gmail.com.

People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of People & Strategy Winter 2015 Vol. 38 Issue 1