Learning Organization-Creating a Learning Organization and Leading it

The Concept of Learning Organization

Principles of Learning Organizations

Continued from Page 3

LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS IN PRACTICE

Understanding Is a learning organization a promising possibility or a hoax? I see it as a promise. It is assumed by majority that learning organization is a state of organization that
no organization will probably reach. Contrary to this prevalent assumption, learning organization is already here. One can observe some of the five disciplines: systems thinking, mental models, personal mastery, shared vision, and team learning already operating in organizations like General electric, and Shell. These disciplines provide help in shifting the mind from seeing parts to seeing wholes, from perceiving people as helpless things (those can be manipulated) to active participants, from reacting to present to creating future. Systems thinking integrates all the remaining learning disciplines.

For example, “organization exists to make money” is the mental model held by majority of employees in an organization. This mental model might be useful in the short-term, but it is strictly dangerous in the long term. Once the organization becomes reasonably successful, people get complacent and the organization starts ignoring customers and competition. Mental models such as these have to be changed. But the problem is mental models are hard to identify. In order to change them they have to be first identified. A precautionary measure organizations can take is to at least create mental-models in the desirable way. That is what Jack Welch used to at GE (refer exhibit 1).

Exhibit 1
Jack Welch and Alignment of Mental Models

Jack Welch believes that, the art of running a business is to assume that all important decision makers have access to precisely the same set of facts. If that happens, he is confident that they will reach roughly the same conclusion about how to deal with a business issue. Here by ensuring that the same information was reaching all the decision makers, Jack Welch was ensuring that all the decision makers were operating based on the same “Mental models.” At his Corporate executive council meetings he used to ensure that his key leaders at GE exchanged their ideas. This exchange he used to consider as learning. By exchanging their ideas the leaders at GE were forming the same “Mental models.” GE relies heavily on employee surveys as part of its learning culture. What is GE doing here? It is ensuring that Leaders at the top are getting a grasp of “Mental models” prevalent in the organization.

Source: ICMR Case Studies and Management Resources.

Real work in the organizations is done by teams and not lone individuals. So for organizations to be effective, they need effective teams. Teams are supposed to operate at a higher level of intelligence than the intelligence level of their members. But often they operate at far lower level of intelligence than that of individual members. Further worrying fact is these teams organize and run themselves in such a way that they avoid learning. The cost of this neglected learning can be high. To avoid high costs and to operate at their true potential levels, teams have to continually learn. But defensive routines are often the bane
of team learning. People get defensive whenever they are encouraged to open up.

According to Argyris, [2] defensive routines are entrenched habits we use to protect ourselves from the embarrassment and threat that come with exposing our thinking. People use defensive routines as protective shell around deepest assumptions. They employ defensive mechanisms to protect themselves from pain that occurs when these assumptions are questioned or the thinking behind these assumptions is exposed. While these defensive routines protect the people from pain, they will also block them from learning about the causes of the pain.

How to overcome them? There are two ways. First is to diminish the emotional threat that causes defensive behavior. Coach or the leader overlooking team learning has to find what is causing defensive behavior. Then he should marginalize that threat. The second way to reduce defensiveness is to make the defensive routines more discussable. Leaders must learn to confront and discuss defensiveness without again arousing defensiveness. Leaders can adopt self disclosure as a primary step to confront defensiveness. They can start with an attempt to identify reasons for their own defensiveness. While exploring the causes, they can invite members for joint inquiry. Refer exhibit 2 to see how team learning has helped a basket ball team.

Exhibit 2
Team Learning at Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics (Celtics) is a basket ball team. This team is remarkable for the World championship era it created between 1957 and 1969. The team was number one in 11 of 13 seasons. How could it be? The coach of the team was intensely focused on the bringing out the collective potential of his team. Team learning was a key part of Celtics’ every day practice. The coach along with the team used to explore various ways to improve their game, and tactics. Members had high level of solidarity among themselves. Retiring players used to give tips to new players on how their competitor teams are going to play.

The coach made sure that every player was on the team as long as he contributed to winning. Everybody’s role in the team was clear. Bill Russell (arguably the best Basket ball player ever), a player of the team, recollects what his coach, Red Auerbach told him: “he told me that he was counting on me to get the ball off the backboard and pass it quickly to (other players). This, plus defense, was to be my fundamental role on the team, and as long as I performed these functions well, he would never pressure me to score more points. That conversation was worth a whole season of tactical coaching.” In this case the coach is assuring Bill Russel that he need not improve his score at the cost of team’s success.

Bill Russel further adds, “On the court, the most important measure of how good a game I’d played was how much better I’d made my teammates play.”

Adapted from “Fifth discipline field book,” By: Peter M Senge, Art Kleiner, Charlotte Robberts, Richard B. Ross, Bryan J. Smith, Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing group (1994), p351.

Shared vision

Shared vision is not an idea. Simply said, it is an answer to the question “what do we want to create?” Shared vision is the pictures, and images that all the people in the organization carry.

Why is shared vision important? It creates a sense of commonality, and gives coherence to diverse activities. People who have a shared vision, hold similar picture in the mind. Common aspiration binds all the people who share common vision. Just as a personal vision derives its power from individual’s deep caring for the vision, Shared vision derives its power from common caring for the vision.

Why is shared vision important for learning organizations? Shared vision provides focus and energy necessary to become and continue as a learning organization. The aim of a learning organization is to expand its capacity to create. This lofty aim is achievable only when people involve in something that truly matters them. Further on the path to become a learning organization, an organization is certain to face resistance from people who support status quo. The transition process needs the backing of shared vision.

See how shared vision promotes new thinking. Shared vision is a highly ambitious goal. The loftiness of this goal compels the people to thin k and act differently. Under the influence of a shared vision, people are more likely to expose their ways of thinking (in opposite to being defensive), forego deeply help redundant views. Finally, shared vision ensures long-term commitment as well. Exhibit 3 shows how shared vision propelled a major company into internet age.

Exhibit 3
Shared Vision of Internet

An executive in the strategy department of a global computer manufacturer was convinced by 1993 that company’s future lies in harnessing the internet. He used his social skill in networking with likeminded people. He formed a virtual community that went beyond organizational levels, divisions, and nations. With the help of a team he built from this community he created corporate website for his company. This website was among the first to be launched by a major company. Though held no budget or real status, just based on his own initiative, with marginal help from his allies, and people across divisions, he recruited 50 people from a dozen different units, and represented his company at an internet convention. Management took notice of these developments, and with in one year of conference formed the company’s first internet division.

Source: ICMR Case Studies and Management Resources.

[2] The work of Chris Argyris (1923-) has influenced thinking about the relationship of people
     and organizations, organizational learning and action research. Chris Argyris is a Professor at
     Harvard business school.