Knowing vs. Not Knowing What You Don’t Know: A Game-Changer for Organizational Success

Most organizations worldwide face the continuous need to develop new skills, adopt innovative strategies, and stay ahead of the competition. However, one fundamental challenge often stands in the way: the difference between knowing and not knowing what they don’t know.

Organizations can find themselves on two vastly different paths depending on their awareness of their knowledge gaps.

This concept of awareness can be illustrated through skill mapping and visualizing gaps. On the one hand, some organizations might be unaware of their weaknesses and, as a result, take ineffective or misguided and sometimes quite expensive actions.

On the other hand, there are organizations that clearly recognize what they don’t know and can strategically plan to close the gaps. In this blog post, I will explore these two scenarios in detail and explain why knowing what you don’t know is crucial for success.

The Importance of Knowing What You Don’t Know

“Knowing what you don’t know” is pretty powerful. It refers to an organization’s ability to identify its knowledge and skill gaps, which then allows for focused, efficient decision-making. Without this awareness, organizations risk wasting resources on solutions that don’t actually address their real problems.

In the context of skill development, there’s a stark difference between an organization that knows what skills it needs to develop and one that doesn’t. The former is capable of taking proactive, informed actions, while the latter may flounder, unaware of its true shortcomings.

Two Scenarios: Knowing vs. Not Knowing

Let’s explore two scenarios: the first is an organization that doesn’t know what it doesn’t know, and the second is one that knows what it doesn’t know.

Scenario 1: Not Knowing What You Don’t Know

An organization that doesn’t know what it doesn’t know is ina dangerous situation. Such organizations are often unaware of their actual skill gaps and might take actions that feel like progress but are, in fact, unfocused or misaligned with their true needs.

For instance, consider a company that wants to upskill its workforce to stay competitive in the market. Without a clear understanding of its current skills landscape, it might invest significant time and resources in creating generic learning content, hoping that it will address the gaps. This approach, however, is like throwing darts in the dark. It might hit the target, but it is more likely to miss entirely.

Challenges of Not Knowing What You Don’t Know:

• Misallocation of resources: The organization might spend time developing learning programs and learning content that don't address critical needs. This wastes both time and money and creates frustration among employees.
• No clear path forward: Without a clear picture of the existing skills landscape, it's difficult to determine what actions will lead to tangible results. This can also come across as an organization that cannot offer growth opportunities for its people.
• Slow progress: The organization might make some improvements, but progress will be slow and inefficient because it is reacting to perceived needs rather than real data.

In this scenario, the organization may not even realize the existence of its most pressing skill gaps. This lack of awareness leads to an unfocused strategy, poor prioritization, and often a failure to achieve long-term success.

Scenario 2: Knowing What You Don’t Know

Now, let’s consider a different organization that knows what it doesn’t know. This company takes a deliberate and strategic approach by conducting a skills mapping and visualization exercise.

Through this process, the organization gains a clear understanding of the skills it has, the areas where it excels, and, most importantly, the critical skill gaps that must be addressed. A visual presentation of these gaps allows decision-makers to clearly see where to focus their efforts and what actions are necessary to close those gaps.

Key Benefits of Knowing What You Don’t Know:

• Targeted resource allocation: Instead of creating generic learning content, the organization can focus on specific areas where the most significant improvements can be made. This ensures that resources are allocated to the right places.
• Proactive planning: With a clear understanding of its skills landscape, the organization can take proactive measures to bridge the gaps. This might include hiring external consultants, engaging in targeted training programs, or even restructuring teams.
• Faster and more strategic progress: By knowing what it doesn’t know, the organization can execute a clear and strategic plan that leads to measurable improvements in a shorter period of time.

Let’s look at a concrete example.

Suppose this organization uncovers through skills mapping that its workforce lacks skills in data analysis, which is crucial for its future success. Instead of investing in broad learning content, the organization can

• Build learning content to close those skill gaps,
• Offer people specific courses to join
• Hire a Learning & Development consultant or
• Bring in an expert in data analysis to design a tailored learning and development program.

These actions would not only upskill the current workforce but also help them develop the specific skills necessary for success.

Visualizing Skill Gaps: The Key to Knowing

The first step in the path to success is getting a visual view of your organization's skill map. The process involves mapping out the current skills and by using benchmark values, comparing them to the skills required for success.

A visual view of this data is incredibly powerful. It allows decision-makers to:

1. Understand the current skills map
2. Identify areas of excellence
3. Pinpoint critical skill gaps and
4. Take actions and track progress over time.

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In Skilbit, colors are used to help visualize the different data. Skills excellence, or skills the organization excels in are highlighted in green, skill gaps that require some attention are in yellow and significant gaps appear in red.

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Such a visual representation provides an easy, at-a-glance overview of where the organization stands and where it needs to focus its efforts.

Bridging the Gaps: Knowing Leads to Action

Once the organization knows what it doesn’t know, it can start taking meaningful and strategic action. Some of these actions are:

1. For the Management Team: Keep the strategic and future skills data up to date.
2. For the Learning & Development department: Create targeted learning content to close the most critical skill gaps.
3. For Employees: Create and follow a personalized development plan with targeted content and activities to close skill gaps.
4. For Team Leads: Run regular 1:1s to reflect with team members on the skill progress.

Conclusion: The Value of Knowing What You Don’t Know

The difference between knowing and not knowing what you don’t know can be a game-changer for an organization.

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An organization that doesn’t know what it doesn’t know will struggle to make meaningful progress and may waste resources on ineffective strategies. Meanwhile, an organization that has a clear understanding of its skill gaps is empowered to take targeted, strategic action.

Skill mapping and visualization are invaluable tools that provide organizations with a clear picture of their current skills landscape, allowing them to identify areas of excellence and gaps that need attention. When paired with a proactive approach to bridging those gaps, this knowledge becomes a powerful driver of success.

Ultimately, knowing what you don’t know isn’t a weakness; it’s a strength that allows organizations to thrive in an ever-changing business environment.

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