Creating a Learning Organization Culture, Part II
“A learning organization is an organization that is continually expanding its capacity to create its future.” Senge (2006, p 14)
Many organizations are seeking ways to continuously improve as a differentiating competitive advantage. They are focusing on continuous professional development and process improvement activities to assist them in reaching their next level of competitiveness. In the Learning Organization culture, there is a core value around each employee finding better ways to do his/her job(s). Consider a customer service associate who is encouraged and expected to make improvements in serving clients; how would this translate to customer intimacy? Imagine the results of a machine operator who is encouraged and expected to find ways to improve efficiencies and quality, and reduce waste; how would this impact the profitability of a manufacturer? Picture the Human Resource team’s results if each member of the team is encouraged and expected to find best practices to transfer training to the workplace, or identify and minimize skill gaps; what would this do to your talent management initiatives?
In this environment, it is easy to ‘get the right people on the bus,’ as Jim Collins discusses in Good to Great, because the right people want to be on the bus! In this workplace environment it is easy to retain the right people, because you are not motivating them as a management team, you are motivating them by allowing them to bring their best game and making their job better each and every day. When we were kids, no one had to tell us to be more creative, to jump higher, to build taller sandcastles, to run faster. As adults, we still seek to learn, we naturally strive to embrace a better way. But for some reason, for many reasons, most organizations take that natural enthusiasm for learning away. Within a learning organization, employees are allowed to practice, and strive to enhance their own systems. In a learning organization, learning and sharing knowledge are encouraged and rewarded.
Want to learn more about creating a Learning Organization culture?
Contact Dr. Patti Sullivan, info@tampacoaching.com or LinkedIn: Dr. Patricia A. Sullivan for group coaching and LO culture design.
Read: Senge, P.M. (2006). The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization. Currency, Doubleday, New York, NY.
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Dr. Patti Sullivan is a leadership coach, working with executives in diverse organizations. For over 15 years, she has assisted leaders in challenging their limited beliefs, cultivating key relationships, finding ease in leading high performing teams, and delivering exceptional results.