Organisational Learning

In my last post, I introduced the idea of Systems Thinking to argue David H. Maister’s belief that “Training should not be used as a first (or stand-alone) step to long-term change, but as part of a process toward organisational change.”

In this article, I’d like to continue and build upon this argument to help you understand why stand-alone training is not enough to encourage the evolution of your organisation.

Complex Issues

As Training Managers and Corporate Trainers we fully understand that the business world is developing quickly (from corporate practices to new technologies) and that organisational problems are becoming ever more serious and complex to address.

The only way to solve these problems is through organisational learning to ensure that all systems and subsystems are able to fulfill their functions effectively and are encouraged to reach their full potential.

Peter Senge wrote in his influential book ‘The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization’:

“An organization is learning when it can bring about the future it most desires. In the business community, learning is much more than just a way to create the future you want; in today's fast-paced, highly competitive work world, it may actually give your organization the edge it needs to survive—and thereby keep fulfilling its purpose.”

Organisational learning focused originally on the practice of five core disciplines:

Systems thinking is the art of seeing the world in terms of wholes, and the practice of focusing on the relationships among the parts of a system, which is the subject I discussed in my last article.

Team learning is what happens when a group of people working on something together experiences the feeling of synergy and productiveness. When a team is learning to its full capacity, the group as a whole becomes much more than just the sum of its parts.

Shared vision is possible when everyone in an organisation understands what the organisation is trying to achieve, is truly committed to achieving that vision, and clearly understands how his or her role in the organisation contributes to making the vision real.

Mental models are the deep rooted beliefs and assumptions we hold about how the world works. These models shape the decisions we make in life, the actions we take in response to events, and the ways in which we interpret others' behaviour.

Personal mastery is the identification of what mark you want to leave on the world during your life. Meaning, what's your unique purpose in life, and how do you want to go about fulfilling that purpose?

Support & Expand

These five disciplines should be core to organisational learning efforts. However, many working within Systems Thinking also believe there are other disciplines that support and expand on the above five, including:

Corporate culture is that intangible "something" that influences the environments in which we work every day. Corporate culture includes: policies, beliefs, activities, and rituals that determine an organization's "personality." A company's culture can support or hinder learning, encourage or stifle creativity, and so on.

Corporate social responsibility addresses the question of how the business community fits into the larger social picture. Specifically, what responsibility do organizations have beyond just their own industries and arenas of competition?

Dialogue concentrates on new communication forms that strengthen a group's combined intelligence. This discipline offers several fascinating tools and techniques that may seem unusual at first but will transform the way you talk with others, stimulating questions and insights that we often miss through traditional forms of conversation.

Leadership in the field of organisational learning takes on a particular focus. Specifically, how managers and leaders can unleash the full potential of each and every employee in the organization. This discipline is redefining the role of management within the corporate world.

Sustainability, as a discipline, entails being thoughtful stewards of the natural resources on which our organizations depend. After all, if we use those resources without regard to their limits, we may deplete them permanently—and our organizations can't survive that. Would you spend that money or use that much of it was yours, not your organisations?

Work/life balance is an interesting topic since the boundaries between work and home life have blurred in recent decades. The discipline of work/life balance seeks to explore the ramifications of these changes and address the question of how to set priorities and find meaning in both our work and non-work lives.

Structural Connections

As discussed in my previous post, everything really is structurally connected. An organisation committed to learning must practice all of the above disciplines in some form, rather than tackling them in isolation. Each discipline reinforces the others, and when they come into alignment, the organisation becomes more effective and productive.

Return on Investment

Business English may achieve a 1% increase in employees’ TOEIC scores but you need to question how this is going to affect your organisation in the long run. Is a 1% improvement a good return on investment? Surely, a Communications Skills team learning course which incorporates leadership and focuses on your corporate culture and a shared vision is going to produce a much higher return on investment over time.

I’ll say it again, everything within your organisation is structurally connected and therefore, “training should not be used as a first (or stand-alone) step to long-term change, but as part of a process toward organisational change.”


Many thanks for reading,

Emma

For more information on corporate training and seminars, or to provide feedback, please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk