ITHACA COLLEGE
Are We Building A Learning
Organization?
Mary Joseph Tomaselli
A white paper from the Office of Human Resources
12/21/2009
Are We Building A Learning Organization?
We are born with a desire to learn! Our intrinsic love of learning prompted our first step,
triggered our first words, took us to the moon, and brought us advances in technology that boggle
the mind. However, learning is not an event; it is a process of continuous improvement – a journey
with no end. In the Chinese language, learning means “study and practice constantly.” Today’s
economic climates, current financial woes, competitive pressures, advances in technology,
employee mobility, expectations of life-work integration, and pressure from boards and
constituencies to increase productivity and/or services have illuminated the need for organizations
to be agile, adaptable change leaders. They must position themselves for predictable and
unpredictable market conditions. The drivers of the organization, the employees, must be
knowledgeable, skilled and deliver results. As stated by the owner of a company as his employees
were leaving at the end of the day, “There goes my business … my company’s success.”
Employees’ skills, knowledge and motivation determine an organization’s future. The success of
both the employer and the employee lies in an appreciation for and commitment to continuous
learning.
Recognizing the impact learning has on an organization’s competitive advantage in terms of
innovation, quality, and performance; organizations today are aspiring to become learning
organizations. Two fundamental components are embraced by learning organizations. Firstly, a
culture is created where attention to the learning process is as important as the learning. Secondly,
it is understood that in order to strengthen performance, an organization’s strategy determines the
learning objectives. In other words, learning initiatives must be linked to organizational goals.
The Learning Process
Whether learning is at the individual, team or organizational level, a learning organization is
as conscious about the process of learning as it is about the learning. Referred to as the action
learning cycle for continuous improvement, the process includes: the identification of a goal along
with a plan for attaining that goal; implementation of the plan; gathering feedback on the progress
(How are we doing? What’s going well? What’s not?); assessing and evaluating the progress;
reflecting and making adjustments to the plan; and implementing the revised plan. While this
process is going on, a learning organization also observes its behavior asking, “What are we
learning about the way we are working together? What are we doing well? How can we improve?”
Communication, dialogue, and collaboration are essential in the action learning model at the team
and organizational level.
Action Learning Model (Do-Review)
Make a Plan/Implement Plan/Adjust Plan
Reflect,
Make Adjustments
Get Feedback
Assess/Evaluate
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Creating a learning culture begins at the top. However, commitment and support for
strategic learning activities are understood to be the responsibility of not only the leaders of the
organization but of the managers, supervisors and employees as well. All employees are rewarded
for learning through recognition, enhancement of job responsibilities, promotional opportunities or
monetary reward. Steven Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, suggests
that organizations create a culture where every learner becomes a teacher and every teacher
becomes a learner.1
Linking Learning to Organizational Strategy
Training and development is both costly and important; therefore, organizations should
strive to make every dollar invested produce desired results. With every training and development
initiative and dollar spent, the question should be asked, “How does this effort help us attain our
goals and advance the mission of our organization?” For example, how might teaching leadership
skills to facilities attendants at Ithaca College advance the mission of the institution? Or, how does
a supervisory development program help the College in modeling its guiding principles? Learning
organizations tighten the link between education and business strategy (vision, mission, values,
goals) when identifying and justifying training and development proposals, programs and
initiatives. See Figure 1.
The Learning Organization
Organizational strategy drives
organizational, departmental and
individual goals. Strategic training and
development efforts need to be aligned
with these goals.
Figure 1.
Are we a learning organization?
Peter Senge identifies the elements of a learning organization in his book, The Fifth Discipline: The
Art and Practice of The Learning Organization. His framework is comprised of five disciplines
that when pursued begin to separate the learning organization from the traditional, authoritarian,
controlling organization.2 The resulting benefits are higher performance, innovation, creativity and
goal achievement. He is also clear to state that like “excellence,” a learning organization is
something that is pursued; yet, never fully realized. The five disciplines of this strategic learning
model are: Systems Thinking, Personal Mastery, Building a Shared Vision, Team Learning, and
Mental Models.
Stephen R. Covey, “Teaching Organizations,” Executive Excellence (March 2000): 20.
Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization. 1994, Currency Doubleday,
NY, NY 10036.
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The following questions challenge us to reflect on the characteristics of a learning organization in
order to assess our own culture. Are we building a learning organization? These questions can also
be used to develop a series of metrics for the purpose of measuring our progress as a learning
organization.
1) Do we collaborate (Systems Thinking)? Do we work together to support the
organization? Do we support each other as individuals, departments, divisions, schools?
Do we use a systems thinking approach when solving problems so that solving a
problem for one group doesn’t create a problem for another? Do we share information,
pass it along, or do we withhold it for fear that employees and/or constituencies can’t
handle it? Do we share knowledge and resources or do we refrain, equating it with
power or because we have a poverty mentality? Do we work together to solve complex
organizational problems? Do we trust each other?
2) Does each of us strive to be the best he or she can be (Personal Mastery)? Is each
one of us in our organization committed to continuous learning? Are we aware of our
own personal values and how those values align with our organization’s mission and
values? Is each of us excited and energized to be here; or, are some just putting in their
time? Does the organization have spirit – does the presence of each of us bring life and
energy? Do we show passion? Do we take risks? Does each employee initiate
meaningful activity daily because the organization’s strategy is clear or do we wait to be
directed or told what to do? Does each one of us have an individual development plan –
a guiding map for our development aspirations? Are these plans developed with the help
of our supervisors?
3) Do we know who we are, where we are going and how we will get there (Building a
Shared Vision)? Does each of us know what our organization’s vision is? Does it
foster genuine commitment? Are organizational values or guiding principles identified
and modeled? Do we understand and support them? Are they communicated clearly,
frequently? Do we as leaders model the way? Does each one of us have goals that align
with the organization’s goals, vision and mission? Does each one of us understand how
the work we do moves the organization toward its vision and goals? Do we reinforce
learning, model what we teach, and provide opportunity to practice? Are conversations
between supervisors and employees a frequent occurrence and expected by the
organization? Is learning included in each job description? Is performance management
linked to learning? Is learning linked to organizational vision, mission, values and
goals?
4) Are we synergistic (Team Learning)? Do we model the old adage, “Two heads are
better than one?” Do we communicate well with each other? Do we educate ourselves
and our employees in the techniques of dialogue? Do we use these techniques? Are we
empathetic towards others’ opinions and experiences? Do we have rich discussion in
order to solve problems? Do we balance advocacy with inquiry – ask others for their
thoughts and also express our own? Does working in groups lead to more and better
ideas, actions, and possibilities than working alone? Are we respectful? Open? Nonjudgmental? Do we trust one another? Are we positive? Do we know how to give
constructive feedback up and down the hierarchy? Do we practice giving constructive
feedback? Are we educated in how to receive feedback?
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5) Do we examine our own perceptions (Mental Models)? Do we look at our
organization with fresh eyes and an openness to consider new or different possibilities or
ways of being? Do we question practices, procedures, beliefs, assumptions? Is the
importance of actively listening to one another taught and modeled? Do we view
mistakes as learning opportunities? Are we forgiving? Are we open to change? Do we
understand the stages of change and help each other move forward? Do we deal with an
unwillingness to change as a performance issue?
It would be easy to say we are a learning organization because we are an educational
institution that provides and supports plenty of learning opportunities. That is not enough.
Calendars of events, classes, and training programs do not make an organization a learning
organization any more than wearing a cape and tights makes one Superman. To truly be a learning
organization, one that thrives in today’s myriad of challenges while preparing for future unknowns,
we have to turn the mirror towards ourselves and take a good, honest look. When the practice of
asking ourselves the difficult questions becomes habit, and our reflection of our answers leads us to
work together to change our behavior, actions and our mental models, then we can say, “We are
building a learning organization.”
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