The Learning Organization

Learning organizations are characterized by the five disciplines described by Peter Senge in The Fifth Discipline: Mental models are explicit -- the deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or images that influence how we understand the world and how we take action.  The vision is shared -- shared goals, values, and mission. Individuals commit to personal mastery (lifelong learning) -- continually clarify and deepen your personal vision, focus your energies, develop patience, and see reality objectively. Teams commit to team learning -- suspend assumptions, discover insights not attainable individually, recognize patterns of defensiveness that undermine learning. Systems thinking is predominant (the "fifth" discipline) -- recognize that businesses are bound by invisible fabrics of interrelated actions that often take years to fully play out their effects on each other; and because you're part of that fabric, it's hard to see the whole pattern of change. Some key concepts of systems thinking:  Structure influences behavior (systems cause their own crises); different people in the same structure tend to produce qualitatively similar results (they get caught in the same ruts). Structure in human systems is subtle, including how people make decisions (the operating policies whereby we translate perceptions, goals, rules, and norms into action). People often have potential leverage they don't exercise because they focus only on their own decisions and ignore how their decisions affect others. It's important to address the underlying causes of behavior at a level that patterns of behavior can be changed. Leverage comes from new ways of thinking. In everyday thinking, learning has come to be synonymous with "taking in information," or adaptive learning. The learning organization is involved in generative learning -- learning that enhances our capacity to create ("learning about learning"). Key Organizational Archetypes: Limits to Growth (a.k.a. Limits to Success) - Accelerating growth encounters a balancing process as the limit of that system is approached; continuing efforts produce diminishing returns as one approaches the limits. Shifting the Burden - The first of several archetypes that illustrate the tension between (1) the ease (& reductionist thinking) of symptomatic solutions to visible problems, and (2) fundamental solutions based on analysis of underlying structures that produce the pattern of behavior in the first place.. Eroding Goals - Performance fails to meet a stated goal and managers seek a rationale for changing the goal to one that appears more attainable, rather than discovering what prevents the organization from performing as initially anticipated. Escalation - Based on the belief that competition requires mounting a response to competitors' actions, managers escalate behavior to the point of harming the organization and reducing value to stakeholders. (For a fascinating counter to this, read Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant). Success to the Successful - The practice of rewarding good performance with more resources may ignore others who underperform through no intrinsic lack of skill or capability because conditions affecting their performance aren't addressed (can also lead to the erosion of innovation and change). Tragedy of the Commons - The "commons" is a resource made available to multiple people/teams who are unaware of the total demands and act in their own interests. Individual or team performance declines with erosion of the commons to meet their needs, and aggregate performance erodes as interdependencies reflect the declining performance of individuals/teams. Fixes That Fail - Resembles Shifting the Burden in focusing on symptoms vs. identifying the underlying systemic problem, but Fixes that Fail also function as a reinforcing loop, creating a steadily worsening situation where the initial symptoms are worsened by the fix that is applied. Growth and Underinvestment - Without investing to keep its capabilities and core competencies at a level that ensures competitive advantage, growing action seeks to stimulate and reinforce demand while current performance behaves as the limit to its growth. No amount of growing action will overcome customers' reluctance to reward the organization with sales when their needs aren't getting met. Declining performance leads to declining revenue which limits cash available for investment. Accidental Adversaries - One party in a partnership unintentionally acts in a way the other party considers outside their agreement, the offended party interprets this as unfair advantage and acts to right the perceived wrong. The first party is surprised at the retaliation and responds with more retaliation. Only if they suspend their mental models and engage in dialogue can they reveal the root of their misunderstandings and gain a fresh start.