Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Building A Learning Organization: Presentation by Teresa Brewington
Building A Learning Organization: Presentation by Teresa Brewington
Organization
Presentation by Teresa
Brewington
Building a Learning
Organization
Personal
Personal Team
Team
Mastery
Mastery Learning
Learning
System
System
Thinking
Thinking Shared
Shared
Vision
Vision Mental
Mental
Model
Model
System Thinking is similar to a
car.
A car cannot operate without
each and every part in working
order, contributing to the
whole, You can’t drive without
a steering wheel, or tires, or an
engine, or a battery. A car
much like any organization has
many different parts that must
be operating, functioning, and
contributing to the whole in
order for the car to be driven.
Systems Thinking
25
20
15
Employees
10 New Hired Employees
0
2003 2004 2006 2007
System Thinking:
The Five Whys Activity
First you must pick the symptom of where to start and ask the first
“why” of the group.
You must ask, “why is this taking place?”
Repeat the process asking “why” after each statement. You will
probably see many situations or problems with the same root or
cause.
Avoid blaming individuals or departments.
Why Activity : Why is our organization’s retention rate so high?
Because of “Burnout” especially with our Because our employees, especially Family Because we don’t have an HR department.
Family Specialist positions. Specialist overworked.
Why do our employees get “burnout” Why are employees overworked? Why do we need a HR department?
Because of low wage, entry level positions, Because our employees are dedicated to doing the Because an HR department can screen, hire and
especially with Family Specialist positions. job and meeting our demands and deadlines. They train more qualified employees.
are also required to make monthly visits to each
client’s home at least once a month. Doing so, often
requires Family Specialist to work after five to
accolade our client’s schedules. Yet, Family
Specialist are not paid or compensated in anyway.
Why is there low employee moral especially with the Why are our Family Specialist working so many Why why do we need an Hr department today but we
Family Specialist positions? hours over the required 40 hours per week? didn’t five years ago?
Because Family Specialist do not feel supported by Because of quality assurance, because the average Because our organization has doubled the number of
management. Family Specialist are our client’s first FS caseload is 15. Because we demand superior employees in the last five years to compensate with
and foremost contacts, they are the liaison between customer service adding more demands on our FS our organization’s success and growth.
management and our clients but yet they feel like positions to adhere to these demands.
they do not have a voice that they are only
information soldiers giving information from
management and relaying this to our clients..
What does management need to do in order for FS Why do Family Specialist have so many Why can’t upper management continue to handle the
positions to feel important? responsibilities new employee process?
System Thinking: Links and Loops
System Thinking: Links and Loops
Family Specialist Positions
Limits to Growth
Tragedy of the
Reinforcing Loop Commons
Do
Doyou
youwant
wanttotomake
makea a
working environment that
working environment that
encourages employees to Do you want
encourages employees to Do you want
become better employees that
become better employees that
contributors?
contributors? are proud to be
Do you want
are proud to be
Do you want part of their
employees to part of their
employees to organization?
motivate and organization?
motivate and
encourage other
encourage other
employees to do their
employees to do their
very best? Do
very best? Doyou
youwant
want
employees
employeestotofeel
feel
passionate, and
passionate, and
caring about their
caring about their
work?
work? Do
Doyou
youwant
wantyour
your
employees to be able to
employees to be able to
Do you want employees handle the large amounts
Do you want employees handle the large amounts
that of work handed to them
thatare
areinspired
inspiredtotododo of work handed to them
their but
buthave
havefun
funalong
alongthe
their verybest
very bestand
andtake
take the
pride way?
prideinintheir
theirwork
work way?
efforts?
efforts?
Personal Mastery
Mastery means not only to produce results but also to master the principles
underlying the way you produce results.
The practice of personal mastery involves keeping both a personal vision and a
current reality to form creative tension.
The more we practice this way of thinking the more we feel confident thus allowing
ourselves to be aware of the tension.
Personal mastery teaches us not to lower our vision.
Emotional tension is allowing ourselves to think negatively. Personal mastery makes
us aware when we have emotional tension.
In order to teach personal mastery you must be the leader or a coach. The first task
is to model your own behavior. As a coach you must have a good sense of your own
personal vision in order to inspire others to bring out their own.
Be prepared when emotions come to the surface.
VERY IMPORTANT: You must no longer assume that people are motivated only by
money, recognition, rewards, or fear.
Personal Mastery to create a
Shared Vision
In order for an Ask employees questions
similar to what is listed here:
organization to 1. What would you personally like to
succeed you want see this organization become?
2. What type of clients would it serve?
employees to take 3. What type of reputation would it
their personal
have?
4. What would be the organization’s
mastery and align it mission?
What values would it have? What
with the organizations
values would its employees have?
shared vision. How would people work together?
Establish a Personal Mastery Management Guide: This is your
organizations ownership manual you are the coach and you are here to
empower your employees to be the best they can be.
you see your own CEO, the press, your manager. Your future
depends on this report.
Make a list of all those that will be reading your
mental models clearly report and write what reactions they may have when
they read the report. Of the list pick 2 that are most
others perpective. you are in a time capsule and just found these
reports many years later. Ask yourself several
questions: What did you feel about the report, what
were your impressions, what does the author care
about? Do you think the author was telling the truth?
Now take from your 3 draft reports and write a final
report. The report should draw from all the reports.
What will need to be added or subtracted to your
final report. Share your report with one of the top
people you chose.
Mental Models Discipline:
As stated in The Fifth Discipline Field
book, Mental Models are the images, the
assumptions, and the stories in which we
carry in our minds of ourselves and other
people, institutions and every aspect of
the world.
Mental Models require Reflection and
Inquiry.
Mental Model: Reflection and
Inquiry
Reflection: Slows down the thinking process to Inquiry: Holding conversations where we openly
become more aware of how we form our mental share visions and develop knowledge about each
models and inquiry. others assumptions.
Reflection
Reflection
Inquiry
Inquiry
Mental Models Discipline:
As the leader of my organization I feel this discipline will be the most challenging but the most
important! I think that the biggest problem with the relationship with Family Specialist and our
management team is that they have underlying assumptions and ladders of reference that have
come from years of negative relationships and problems pertaining to Family Specialist positions.
It will be my job to teach them and successfully implement this model. I will need to teach them
to learn how to reflect, listen and be open to new ideas and concepts. I will need to steer them
away from the dictatorship type management they currently practice. I will need to work with
them individually on different mental model exercises to improve active listening skills. I feel that
this is the underlying problem we face within our organization. The relationship with the
management team and the Family Specialist is poor and this relationship if extremely evident. If
I can succeed in this discipline and break the ladder of reference with my manage towards
Family Specialist then half the battle will be won!
The Learning Team Discipline:
Starts with Self Mastery and knowledge.
This is NOT team building.
Must involve looking outwards to develop knowledge.
You must have mastered the art of forgiveness.
You must get rid of your assumption and conclusions.
You must not blame others.
You must listen and learn.
You must be willing to understand and be open to others point of view.
You need to use a dialogue.
Team Learning Discipline:
Dialogue 4 phases
A Dialogue is used to produce a shared
environment, and is intended for
exploration, discovery and insight. There
are 4 phases to a Dialogue.
You can go from Dialogue to Skillful
Discussion. In Skillful Discussion the
team will come to a closure, a decision or
an agreement.
4 Phase’s of Dialogue:
Phase 1: Come to the table as observers.
Phase 2: Requires listening and inquiry.
Phase 3: Conversation begins to go in a
new direction. In this phase you
should begin to see less of a
separation between management and
employees.
Phase 4: The distinction between memory and
thinking become apparent.
Dialogue between Family
Specialist and Management
I as the leader will encourage the management staff and Family Specialist to meet in
a mutual location. The dialogue will have at least 4 consecutive two hour sessions. I
will be the facilitator of the dialogue and it will be very important for me to remain as a
mutual party. The dialogue will not be used to encourage a conclusion or ending to a
problem the dialogue is merely a mechanism used to share insights and explore. As
the facilitator, after at least 4 successful dialogues if still necessary, I will move to the
Skillful Discussion, in which to come to a mutual understanding or conclusion. By
successfully completing this discipline relationships with Family Specialist and
management team will improved. Thus making Family Specialist feel like they are
appreciated and that their thoughts, feelings and opinions are understood. As the
facilitator of this dialogue I will have explained the ladder of reference to the
participants and management staff will hear and understand clearly what Family
Specialist are thinking without making assumptions. At the end of this dialogue I will
have broken down the obvious walls between management staff and Family
Specialist allowing for open and honest communication between the two groups.
Questions???
Reference: