To practice a discipline is to be a lifelong learner. You ‘never arrive.’
The more you learn, the more acutely aware you become of your ignorance.(Peter Senge)
Today, I’m kicking off a six-part series on the Five Learning Disciplines, based on Peter Senge’s phenomenally successful The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the learning organization (1990).
Viewed as the seminal book on the learning organization concept, as well as one of the 20th Century’s most important management books, Senge lays the foundation from which organizations have the opportunity to grow and prosper. He states upfront that he assumes no credit for inventing the five disciplines; they’re the product of the work done by hundreds of people over many years. Senge has devoted, however, many years to studying these disciplines.
Senge is the Director of the Center for Organizational Learning at MIT’s Sloan School for Management and the founder of the Society for Organizational Learning. He has introduced his work to tens of thousands of managers in dozens of organizations throughout North America and Europe. He continues to be seen as one of the world’s leading thinkers on organizational learning. As a continuous learner, Senge continues to explore new areas. In fact, to demonstrate his curiosity and commitment to lifelong learning, his most recent new book delves into sustainability and has received very positive reviews: The Necessary Revolution: How Individuals and Organizations Are Working Together to Create a Sustainable World ( 2008).
The Term Paper on Learning Theory in Organizations, Part II
This paper is the second of three discussing learning theory as applied to organizations. In this part, we'll examine instruction methods including programmed instruction and computer assisted instruction. (8 pages; 3 sources; MLA citation style)IIntroductionAs we've seen, learning that takes place within organizations is very different from formal schooling, because it has only one real goal: to ...
Also, check out thisBusinessWeek review of his book.
On a personal note I have to short anecdote to share. After studying Senge’s work for five years, I had the occasion to see him in action in September 2000 in Chicago at a conference. By way of fluke, he was connected to my hotel room the evening before his presentation. Peter had just flown in for day two of the conference and his overheads had been lost. He was curious to know how the first day gone and what were the key messages from the speakers. I shared what I had heard. His unfailing courtesy extended to the next day when I had the chance to meet him. To watch Peter Senge in action before a large audience, with no notes and walking among the participants, was nothing short of electrifying. He exemplifies what it is to be a lifelong learner.
Before delving into the five disciplines and what they mean for learning and leadership in organizations, I’ll begin with a look at the Seven Learning Disabilities. Understanding what these disabilities represent, and the impact they have on how organizations function, is critical to developing a more complete picture of how people collectively learn in organizations.
The 7 Learning Disabilities
Most organizations, not surprisingly, have difficulty learning when viewed as a collective of people. To address this problem we first need to identify what’s called the Seven Learning Disabilities. After each description of a disability, I’ve added a few thoughts and questions for your reflection.
1. I am my position.
Because we are expected to be loyal to our jobs, we tend to confuse them with our own identities. As Senge explains: “When people in organizations focus only on their position, they have little sense of responsibility for the results produced when all positions interact.”
Try this little experiement: the next time you meet someone for the first time (e.g, on an airplane, at a party or social function), ask them what they do. Listen carefully. Does the person talk about their corporate position and how important their work is? Or do they talk about family or a passion such as music or photography? You’ll learn a lot about this individual just from their response.
The Term Paper on Understand the legislation and policies that support the human rights and inclusion of individuals with learning disabilities
The following legislations and policies is by no means an exhaustive list, but does outline some of the main areas of law which promote an individual with learning disabilities rights The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 – was introduced in England and Wales in 2007 and aims to protect the rights of people whose mental capacity is in doubt and people without mental capacity. It provides ...
2. The Enemy is Out There.
We have a tendency to blame others when something goes wrong, whether it’s another unit in the organization, a community board of directors, or a competitor company.
Pay attention to what YOU say during times of trouble. Effective leaders don’t finger-point; they solve problems. How often have you been caught in this learning disability.
3. The Illusion of Taking Charge.
We hear all too often that we must be pro-active, taking action to make something happen. However, pro-activeness can really be reactiveness in disguise. True pro-activeness comes from our ability to see how we contribute to our own problems. In essence, it’s the outcome of how we think, not how we react emotionally.
Are you engaged in “busyness” or in moving forward in a strategic way for the betterment of your organization? If you’re in a managerial position, are you really in charge? Who are the real leaders in your organization?
4. The Fixation on Events.
The ongoing discussions and conversations in organizations focus typically on events, those “urgent” day-to-day issues that grab our attention. But the real threats to our survival are not events but rather the slow, gradual processes that creep up on us. We need to move away from short-term thinking to long-term thinking.
Take time to periodically reflect from where you’ve come and how you got there. Do you see a pattern? Is your thinking locked into the daily grind? What do you need to do integrate events into a big picture perspective?
5. The Boiled Frog.
This parable states that if you place a frog in boiling water it will hop out immediately. If you place it in cool water and gradually turn up the heat, the frog will remain in the pot, growing groggier until it cooks to death. What we learn from this parable is that if we wish to see the slow, gradual processes, we must slow down and pay attention to the subtle as well as the dramatic.
How are you coping in a frenetically-charged world? Do you take time out to do some personal reflection and thinking? Are you able to see the gradual, long-term trends?
The Essay on Critical Thinking Time Process Improve
Abstract Thinking or Critical thinking is a process of analyzing information and evaluate it and determine a best course of action based on reasoning. It could be analyzing any give problem, situation and / or circumstance and think out of the box and understand it from various different prospective and respond accordingly. Thinking is an ongoing process, which will have positive effect only if we ...
6. The Delusion of Learning from Experience.
We learn best from direct experience. In organizations, however, we usually don’t experience directly the consequences of our decisions. A major underlying reason for this is the functional silos that exist. These silos impede the flow of communication among people. The organization’s ability to analyze complex problems is subsequently greatly weakened.
How often (and how long) have you been in this environment? What can you do to help move your organization off this track?
7. The Myth of the Management Team.
This reflects the desire for management to appear as a cohesive group that is pulling in the same direction. The reality is that in most management ‘teams’ the need to uphold their image means that dissent is frowned upon and that joint decisions are ‘watered-down compromises.’ As Harvard’s Chris Argyris has discovered through his research (and referred to frequently by Senge), most organizations reward those who promote senior management’s views. Those who pose probing questions or who rock the boat are penalized.
What is your corporate culture? Are you and others (including senior managers) operating in a compliance mindset? What will be the ultimate effect on the organization’s performance and longevity? Do you wish to be part of this culture?
This brief look at the seven learning disabilities helps set the context for an exploration of the five disciplines. One key point needing emphasis is that these disciplines are all interrelated. They do not stand independently. And this is the beauty of understanding the five disciplines: because they are interrelated, they help us make sense of the complexities and turbulence inside and outside our organizations.
Our starting point is what Senge calls the cornerstone of the five disciplines:systems thinking. It underlies the other four disciplines: personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, and team learning.
The only prediction that will hold true is that no predictions will hold true.
Charles Handy
Next post: Systems Thinking
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The Essay on Greek Organization People Integration Fraternities
Greek Life Under Attack According to an article written by Jay Reeves, administrators at the University of Alabama are getting involved in integrating sororities and fraternities by imposing rules and punishments for those organizations that do not comply. Since the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960? s, Americans like to think that segregation does not exist in the United States. However, ...
Strange But True: Malcolm Gladwell On Why Size Really Does Matter
Have you noticed that bosses tend to be taller than the people they boss?
Here’s a funny-but-true tale from Malcolm Gladwell’s clever book, Blink, that offers a partial explanation:
“Have you ever wondered why so many mediocrities find their way into positions of authority in companies and organizations? It’s because when it comes to even the most important positions, we think that our selection decisions are a good deal more rational than they actually are. We see a tall person, and we swoon.
Not long ago, researchers went back and analyzed the data from four large research studies that had followed thousands of people from birth to adulthood, and calculated that when corrected for variables like age and gender and weight, an inch of height is worth $789 a year in salary. That means that a person who is six foot tall, but who is otherwise identical to someone who is 5 foot five, will make on average $5,525 more per year.
As Timothy Judge, one of the authors of the study, points out: ‘If you take this over the course of a 30-year career and compound it, we’re talking about a tall person enjoying literally hundreds of thousands of dollars of earnings advantage.’.”
Warren Bennis, the leadership author and academic, says that the best leaders are forged in adversity – that they go through immensely painful and difficult times and emerge the stronger. He calls those difficult times ‘the crucible’ as in the vessel that turns ore into metal when heated. Similarly, Hemingway wrote “The world breaks all of us. But some are strong at the broken places.” Here’s a footballer (OK, ‘soccer player’ if you prefer) to prove it (see the clip, below. It may take a minute or two to load from YouTube, if you are currently staring at a blank screen.)
http://www.theleadershiphub.com/videos/david-beckham-how-tough-times-make-you-stronger-leader
The Essay on Anchoring: The College Inspires Students For Hardwork
The college inspires the students for hard work and sincerity by all possible means. The students and staffs are encouraged for good work in different fields and duly awarded for their bright accomplishment. The annual prize distribution ceremony brings forward the talents of the college in public to keep instances of splendour for others and encourage them for something alike. Many distinguished ...
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Ben Zander, inspired by Libraryguy, on giving an ‘A’ on day one
Submitted by The Storyteller on May 2, 2012 – 7:58pm.
OK, I read libraryguy’s list of inspiring authors and notice Ben and Rosamund Zander are among them. So, inspired by that, I have reached into my story bag to find some inspiring words from the orchestra conductor and leadership consultant Benjamin Zander. Here goes:
Give everyone an ‘A’ before they start
Zander believes that every student is an “A” student and he demonstrates this by giving everybody in his class an “A” the very first day. He then asks the students to write him a letter dated one year later. The letter must begin “Dear Mr. Zander, I got my A because…” and must then describe the person they will become during that year. Zander explained that the students fall in love with the person they describe in the letter and that they try hard to become that person. They are all “A students” and they behave like such.
“My job as a leader is to awaken the possibility in others”.
“The ‘A’ offers possibilities for both mentor and student or manager and employee, reducing the disparity in power between them which can become a distraction and an inhibitor, drawing energy away from productivity and development.”
“I am a contribution”
Zander believes that better performance is achieved when people play the game of “I am a contribution,” rather than the success/failure game where everybody competes for power, success and position. He called this world the world of the “downward spiral”, where you can always find blame, obstacles, fault, and threat. However, naming oneself and others as a contribution, (as he asks each and every member of his orchestra to do) produces a shift away from self-concern and engages us in a relationship with others that creates an area in which we make a difference.“A leader should never doubt for one moment the capacity of the people he’s leading,”
The Essay on Censoring Our Students World Topics Rights
"Students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gates." -- Justice William Brennan For many years it has been debated whether students have the same amendment rights as any other person in the world. Many would say that they do not. They would say that by taking away those state given rights they are protecting the students from being exposed ...
I’ve put a nice story over in Storyville about how Zander achieved something remarkable with two young orchestras of American and Cuban musicians – demonstrating great leadership that we can all learn from; and that, in fact, underpins the workings of The Leadership Hub.
“One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.”
— Arnold Glasow
http://www.theleadershiphub.com/blogs/ben-zander-inspired-libraryguy-giving-day-one
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Video blog: Leading Mistakes & Drawing the Face of God
Submitted by PhilDourado on April 24, 2012 – 3:51pm.
If the space below is blank, it may take a minute for the embedded video to load from YouTube. It’s a clip on how to lead for innovation, creativity…and mistakes! Leaders frown on mistakes and failure. Fear of making mistakes or failing then freezes creativity, as people stay within their comfort zone and don’t take chances. Here’s a partial antidote (if you are reading this within Phil Dourado’s ‘My Page’, click on ‘read full post’ or whatever the link below says, to get to the video blog clip:
http://www.theleadershiphub.com/blogs/video-blog-leading-mistakes-drawing-face-god
http://www.theleadershiphub.com/blogs/30-minutes-richard-branson
Chris Anderson is editor-in-chief of Wired magazine and the author of The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More. Here’s his recommended reading for you – The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb:
“Our brains are wired for narrative, not statistical uncertainty. And so we tell ourselves simple stories to explain complex thing we don’t — and, most importantly, can’t — know. The truth is that we have no idea why stock markets go up or down on any given day, and whatever reason we give is sure to be grossly simplified, if not flat out wrong.
“Nassim Nicholas Taleb first made this argument in Fooled by Randomness, an engaging look at the history and reasons for our predilection for self-deception when it comes to statistics. Now, in The Black Swan: the Impact of the Highly Improbable, he focuses on that most dismal of sciences, predicting the future. Forecasting is not just at the heart of Wall Street, but it’s something each of us does every time we make an insurance payment or strap on a seat belt.
“The problem, Nassim explains, is that we place too much weight on the odds that past events will repeat (diligently trying to follow the path of the “millionaire next door,” when unrepeatable chance is a better explanation).
Instead, the really important events are rare and unpredictable. He calls them Black Swans, which is a reference to a 17th century philosophical thought experiment.
“In Europe all anyone had ever seen were white swans; indeed, “all swans are white” had long been used as the standard example of a scientific truth. So what was the chance of seeing a black one? Impossible to calculate, or at least they were until 1697, when explorers found Cygnus atratus in Australia. (Phil’s note: In Australia, all swans are black).
“Nassim argues that most of the really big events in our world are rare and unpredictable, and thus trying to extract generalizable stories to explain them may be emotionally satisfying, but it’s practically useless. September 11th is one such example, and stock market crashes are another. Or, as he puts it, “History does not crawl, it jumps.”
Our assumptions grow out of the bell-curve predictability of what he calls”Mediocristan,” while our world is really shaped by the wild powerlaw swings of “Extremistan.” In full disclosure, I’m a long admirer of Taleb’s work and a few of my comments on drafts found their way into the book. I, too, look at the world through the powerlaw lens, and I too find that it reveals how many of our assumptions are wrong. But Taleb takes this to a new level with a delightful romp through history, economics, and the frailties of human nature.”
The power of smiling
Memory for chess positions (featuring grandmaster Patrick Wolff)
Entertain Me: The most inspiring thing ever said?
Movie for 2012: How leaders inspire action. The Golden Circle; ‘The World’s Simplest Idea’
