ABSTRACT
Leaders need to see a full picture to decide what the best next steps are. They need quick access to different kinds of knowledge, and meaningfully relate this to the evolving stories. External to leader area of influence they need to map the sources of information and secure permission to access them. Stewards of organisational memory often have things to offer other than knowledge about the past. They often contributed to the creation of the organisation and carry respect and authority. They may know how to solve problems by accessing the right people at the right time. Within leader area of influence they can construct inter-related databases to amalgamate complementary information. 'Participatory enquiry' helps people with real-life experience to contribute to the enquiry at every stage, generating knowledge through sharing their complementary insights – practice teams and patients together investigating fair and sensitive ways of offering appointments is an example.
