Organizational Learning, Collaboration and more : HBR

by Anol on February 12, 2009

[ Reposted from SoulSoup ]
David A. Garvin, Amy C. Edmondson, and Francesca Gino from HBR discusses the building blocks of a ‘Learning Organization’ in the article (and video), “Is Yours a Learning Organization?”


Building Blocks of the Learning Organization.  

  • A supportive learning environment:  An environment that supports learning has four distinguishing characteristics, which includes – Psychological safety, appreciation of differences, openness to new ideas, and time for reflection.
  • Concrete learning processes and practices.
  • Leadership that reinforces learning.

Another awesome video from HBR (pointed out by Luis) is an interview of Cisco CEO John Chambers, where he explains how abandoning command-and-control leadership has enabled the company to innovate more quickly, using collaboration and teamwork.


To quote :

“Stepping down from command and control formal authority and instead overseeing a web of relationships and inter dependencies requires you to be able to build an inclusive collaborative approach, more of a leading from behind perspective, to be an effective leader. To allow leadership as collective genius requires you to subjugate your own ego in order to allow others to thrive”

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