Editorial

Citation

Gimson, A. (2015), "Editorial", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 29 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/DLO-03-2015-0021

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, Volume 29, Issue 3

What is organizational learning? Some will say the question is futile, as only individuals learn – others will differ. One thing is for sure – there is little agreement on an accepted theory of organizational learning. In our first article (pages 3-6), Nobin Thomas provides a useful summary of three of the key debates that have fuelled the discussion: cognitive versus behavioural: levels of learning and measuring learning.

But what about how this is translated into action? Jay Cohen teases out what it is that line managers can do to facilitate and support formal and informal learning and shares five practices that can impact individual and team learning (pages 7-10). As he so rightly points out, many managers already engage in these types of activities, but perhaps without seeing them as “learning”. We need to help managers separate “learning” from the “training room” and see the crucial role they can and should play in developing those in their teams.

This message is reinforced in “Winning the talent war – How learning impacts on retention” (pages 21-23). Two factors are highlighted as particularly significant as to whether talented employees choose to stay in or leave an organization, and line managers often have a high level of influence on both. Whether there is a proactive learning climate and whether people enjoy high levels of autonomy.

In “Engagement in the workplace: identifying its key drivers”, a further layer is added that points to the importance of the line managers’ role (pages 24-26). When companies increase opportunities for social support, autonomy, performance feedback and development, engagement levels become higher. Add in organizational change, and the need for employee commitment increases, as captured in “Hopes and Fears: Factors which shape response to organizational change” (pages 27-29), which looks at how levels of stress and commitment influence employee response to changing situations. Again, you could argue that the line manager is at the centre of these elements.

Looking at learning from a slighter harder edge (pages 11-14), we hear from Arunprasad Purushothaman about a learning outcome questionnaire that was tested in the information technology industry amongst large, medium and small organizations. Interestingly, among other things, the results seem to indicate a possible different orientation or focus in large (organizational learning), medium (team learning) and small (individual learning) organizations, which loops us right back to my first question.

If line managers are so influential, how do we help them truly engage in their role to promote and assist learning? Perhaps we need to change the paradigm in which we are all working? Well, we have three frames from which any one of us, as leaders, can consider our position.

First, in “Mind how you go towards leadership” (pages 30-32), we hear about a development programme in the USA where the focus is on a mindful approach to mentoring. At its core “mindfulness” is the art of being present and, as neuroscience is now demonstrating, (but meditators have known for centuries) practising true mindfulness can have a profound effect on anyone who engages with it.

Second, Mark McKergow offers an intriguing frame of “host” leadership (pages 15-17) – think about the differences in how you approach “leading a team” to “hosting a weekend”? Using Mandela as an archetype in an unusual situation, he paints a compelling picture and by flagging what he calls “wicked” problems, it is pretty obvious that the old “hero” model will not survive.

Third, Joan Marques, calls for “Wakeful” leadership that requires all of us to recognize that we are personal leaders, whether anyone is “following” us or not (pages 18-20). She calls us to deeply reflect in three dimensions:

1. Personal: The relationship we have with ourselves.

2. Rational: Exploring the quality of our connection to others.

3. Professional: Considering whether we are constructively connecting to our passion (those things that deeply matter to us) through our work.

Big questions that can, surely, only be answered by each of us individually and personally.

Anne Gimson

Anne Gimson is CEO of Strategic Developments International, UK and Editor of DLO. E-mail: anne@stratdevint.com