Organizations need to maintain their competitive advantage by quickly adapting to change and promoting new and innovative strategies to ensure their success. Researchers have determined that since most popular strategies focus on people and knowledge as assets in order to improve performance, learning at all levels is necessary for an organization to succeed (Kotter, 2012). Therefore, organizations should function as Learning Organizations (LOs) by creating an environment where members can learn continuously (Slater and Narver, 1995). Senge (1990: 3) considered a LO to be an organization “where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together.” Others, such as Pedler et al. (1998: 3) simply defined it as “an organization that facilitates the learning of all its members and consciously transforms itself and its context”.
A learning organization needs to embrace change and promote the development of leadership abilities (Senge, 1990). According to Hannagan (2005, quoted in CLMS, M3 U2: 6), Leadership is "...the process of motivating other people to act in a particular manner to achieve specific goals" or simply the ability to influence others (Pedler et al, 1998). Senge (1996: 36), defined leaders as those “who are genuinely committed to deep change in themselves and in their organizations”. As organizations evolve, leaders face more complex challenges and it becomes necessary for managers and employees at different levels in the organization to step into a leadership role when needed in order to move the company forward (Stringham...
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Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.
The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner (2007) is the result of twenty years of research on the factors that influence and create great leadership. Through studies and stories from leaders with various backgrounds throughout the world, the practices and characteristics that create great leadership are delineated. Leadership is viewed not as a group of inherent characteristics, but as learned behavior that anyone can achieve. The goal of Kouzes and Posner’s book is to inspire and educate leaders through transformational leadership. As such, leadership is about mobilizing others to become and do extraordinary things.
The purpose of Learning Leadership book is to answer a fundamental question: How do people learn leadership and how they can learn to become leaders? James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner have written this book as an exclusive guide for leaders to become the best leader by practicing the five fundamentals of becoming an exemplary leader. The book provides a framework to help people of all levels and backgrounds to develop their leadership style and become the best leaders they can be. Kouzes and Posner provide leaders a practical series of actions and some coaching tips for developing their leadership process and helping them to create a context to grow. The larger purpose of this book is to help leaders
Senge, P. M. (1990). The leader's new work: Building learning organizations. Sloan Management Review, 32(1), 7-22. doi: 812347
Change is a double-edged sword (Fullan, 2001). Change is a word that might inspire or put fear into people. Leadership is challenging when it comes to dealing with change and how individuals react within the organization to the change. Marzano, McNulty, and Waters (2005) discuss two orders of change in their book School Leadership that Works; first and second. Fullan (2001) also adds to the discussion in his book Leading in a Culture of Change, with regard to understanding change. In Change Leadership, Keagan and Wagner (2006) discuss many factors of change and the systematic approach to change. Change affects people in different ways. Leaders need to be able to respond to the individuals throughout the change process.
Rosen, R. H. (1997). Learning to lead. In F. Hesselbein, M. Goldsmith & R. Beckhard (Eds.), The Organization of the Future. The Drucker Foundation Future Series (p. 306). New York, NY: Jossey-Bass Inc Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership. (4th ed., p. 13). San Francisco: Johan Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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These disiplies are important in establishing a learning organization because in a growing environment, it is important to provide “creative thought process” feel. Concepts, ideas, and solutions should be discussed and available to everyone. Learning organizations set us free. Employees are allowed to express their ideas and challenges which contribute to a more efficient work environment. A learning work environment that incorporates these 5 disciplines can create the desired results where people and the organization will be equally
Today’s companies become successful based on their abilities to create and manage change. They can no longer survive without “…courage and imagination – the courage to challenge prevailing business models and the imagination to invent new markets.'; As the globe continues to evolve into a marketplace with vanishing boundaries, competition becomes stronger, tighter, and smarter than ever before, ultimately forcing organizational change. The tidal strength of competition that has been upon us over the past few decades has fundamentally changed the “blueprints'; of many corporations and how they now need to be led. Businesses have awakened to the hard fact that leadership can no longer be defined by the effective management of people and systems, but most importantly by the effective leading of change. Leadership, or the lack thereof, is proving to be one of the most crucial determinants of whether organizations will survive and flourish in the next century’s business frontier.
Senge, P.N. (1990) The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organisation London: Century Business
Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art and Practice of the learning organization (1st ed., Rev.). New York, NY: Doubleday.
Organizations need to not only develop and offer new services or product line, they need the capability to have creative solutions to challenges and problems, and members within the organization need to possess the experience and knowledge. Learning organizations are committed to management approached and concepts such as change management, knowledge, organizational development, and learning by acting. Approaches such as these function as transition methods in developing learning organizations. The philosophy lies in fact that the organizations wants to succeed, and survive, with training and education as the main parts of organizations policy.
Organisation must be aware that learning is necessary before they can develop into a Learning Organisation. This may seem to be a strange statement but this learning must take place at all levels; not just the management level. Once the company has expected the need for change, it is then responsible for crating the appropriate environment for this change to occur in.
Many people associate leadership with a specific job title or form of power within an organization. However, through personal experience, I have concluded that leadership can come in many forms and position as well as from multiple sources of roles and job titles both with and without power. Based on the definition of leadership, anyone can be considered a leader as long as they have the ability to influence people to achieve a particular result or goal which benefits the organization or group as a whole. Individuals with a secure sense of self and understanding, acceptance of diversity within an organization tend to be the strongest leaders that not only make others want to follow, but they also encourage other leaders to gravitate to their
The organisational learning involves the process of creating, acquiring, and transferring of knowledge and reformulates it in a structural manner (Sailer, 2013). It often involves training, learning, and development, and the notion of the learning organisation is becoming more important. The process helps to close up the gap between the university knowledge and the skills needed in the corporate (Christofil, et al., 2015). Furthermore, the knowledge and learning could form the basic cornerstone for innovation which later can be turned into competitive advantage (Soliman, 2015); organisations need to learn faster than their competitors to stay ahead of the competition (Garvin, et al., 2008). A well-trained labour forces also contribute to the productivity and capable of adapting changes and uncertainty within the organisation (Graham & Bennett, 1995). Organisational learning also linked closely to organisational sustainability as well as the Triple Bottom Line sustainability context (Smith, 2012).