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Develop a Learning Organization
A "Learning Organization" is an organization where people are allowed and
encouraged to:
1. expand their capacities to create the results they truly desire.
2. develop and nurture new and expansive patterns of thinking.
3. develop collective aspirations.
4. continually learn how to learn together.
A "Learning Organization" cannot function affectively within a system of
top down management. A "Learning Organization" operates affectively
within a system which allows members of the organization to work on the
same level. There are no individuals provided any more perceived power
than any other members. Individuals maintain different responsibilities
within the organization, but no one individual is responsible for another
individuals actions. All actions are a part of the collective whole. It's
these collective parts which create the learning organization.
The management system which allows a "Learning Organization" to function
involves a shared decision-making process. A process whereby every
individual is provided the opportunity to be involved in decisions made by
the "Learning Organization" and thus ensuring that all individuals of the
organization are responsible for those decisions. This shared
decision-making process does not imply asking individuals for approval
after the process of decision-making has been completed. It implies that
all members are included in the decision-making process at the out start.
"The Leader as a Designer"
"The good leader is he who people praise. The great leader is he who the
people say, "We did it ourselves!" (1)
The designer is that individual or individuals that provide opportunities
for people to continually expand their capabilities to understand
complexity, clarify vision, and improve shared mental models. The
designer allows individuals to be responsible for their own learning and
personal growth within the "Learning Organization." The designer searches
for opportunities which inspire individuals to do that which they want to
do.
"This new view of leadership is vital. When all is said and done,
learning organizations will remain a "good idea" an intriguing but distant
vision until people take a stand for building such organizations. Taking
this stand is the first leadership act, the start of inspiring (literally
"to breathe life into") the vision of learning organizations. In the
absence of this stand, the learning disciplines remain mere collections of
tools and techniques -- means of solving problems rather than creating
something genuinely new." (2)
1 & 2 "The Fifth Discipline" by Peter Senge
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