Building a Learning Organization Kelly Papa, MSN, RN Corporate Director of Learning Masonicare

Learning Objectives Recognize the role of the leader in building trusting relationships and bringing a clarity to an organization’s vision. Discuss how a culture of learning and collaboration can make an organization more adaptable to change. Explore ways to develop the potential for learning and growing in every team member.

LeadingAge Leadership Academy Action Learning Project (ALP) Change the World!!!

The 5th Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization Learning Disciplines Five disciplines: theories and techniques Combine to “expand its capacity to create its future”

Learning Organizations Continual expansion to create desired results New patterns of thinking are nurtured Collective aspiration is set free People learn to learn together New knowledge and capabilities remain even if individuals leave

The Need As leaders in aging services we are challenged by creating systems to engage staff as learners in order to enhance our organization’s ability to adapt to change, innovate and meet the changing needs of those we serve.

High-Impact Learning Culture HILOs that have the strong learning foundation in place tend to significant out perform their peers in several areas: 37% greater employee productivity 34% better response to customer needs 26 % greater ability to deliver quality 58 % more likely to have skills to meet future demands

What is a Corporate University? How does it act as a catalyst for building a culture of learning? Traditional Inservice Based Approach vs. Learning Organization Model

The 5th Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization Learning Disciplines Five disciplines: theories and techniques Combine to “expand its capacity to create its future”

The 5 Disciplines Shared Vision Personal Mastery Mental Models Team Learning Systems Thinking Systems Thinking Seeing wholes, perceiving the structures that underlie dynamically complex systems, and identifying high-leverage change opportunities Personal Mastery Individual learning, without which organizational learning cannot occur Mental Models Constantly surfacing, testing, and improving our assumptions Shared Vision Generating a common answer to the question, “What do we want to create?” Team Learning Creating alignment Team members think insightfully about complex problems, synergize their knowledge and skills, and produce coordinated action

1) Shared Vision By far the biggest struggle of a learning organization is to get the vision off the wall and into the hearts and actions of the employees. Traditional organizations lead by fear, policy and manipulation. Learning organizations lead by shared vision, shared values and inspiration.

Tools for Shared Vision Values Audit Appreciative Inquiry Golden Circle: WHY Visual Exploration

2018 Report (A 2015 Visual Exploration of the Future)

2) Personal Mastery How well do we build capacity for each employee to pursue and develop? Mastery is continuous learning of a skill or craft. Couple that sense of mastery with, personal why and organizations mission…now you have personal mastery! Without it you have hard working competent people, stuck in compliance and job description purgatory. A commitment to personal mastery ensures that people are motivated, inspired and empowered.

Tools for Personal Mastery Learning Needs Assessments My University and Academic Partnerships Academy style team learning over time “Bright Spots and Knowledge Gaps” Creative Tension

What do we need to do to get there? Creative Tension Current Reality 2015 Creative Tension What do we need to do to get there? Vision of the Future 2020

4) Mental Models Learning organizations seek to identify and smash mental models. Mental models are assumptions, beliefs and attitudes that have been embedded for years and go unchallenged because they lie so deep at the heart of the organization. They are hard to see and harder to get at, thus the best planned out change efforts can fail. Smashing mental models gets the unlearning done in order to create space for the new learning.

Tools for breaking down Mental Models Coaching The L.I.D. Template for Meetings Rule of 6 Rule of 9 Headline News Ladder of Inference Left Handed Column

The Left Handed Column What I was thinking and feeling : What was actually said: Kelly – James- Kelly- .

3) Team Learning One of the most basic mental models is that learning is centered on the individual. Learning organizations try to find ways to build continuous learning into teams in order to maximize knowledge management and promote faster learning. Fostering trust through vulnerability as a path to trusting relationships. Appreciating the unique perspectives and talents of all team members.

Tools for Team Learning MIT’s Check in and Check out The Stand-Up Academy style learning “Traditions” and Club 332

5) Systems Thinking The shift from seeing organizations and problems as a series of pieces in a puzzle, to seeing the whole puzzle at once. The shift from fixing the crisis driven problems and start fixing the systems that inadvertently cause the problem in the first place. Go deeper and find the root cause.

Tools for Systems Thinking Iceberg Analogy The Five Whys The Process Map Job Shadows

The Iceberg Analogy

Action Learning Project---9 years later! The Fifth Discipline flourished in the 1990s Ideal visions of skilled employees, transferring knowledge and adapting nimbly to change. It is a beautiful vision!

Is Yours a Learning Organization? Researchers David Garvin, Amy Edmondson and Francesca Gino Harvard Business Review Tool Kit Los.hbs.edu Diagnostic Survey Self Assessment to asses the depth of learning in your organization

Why is this so hard? Early discussions about Learning Organizations where tributes to a better word, lacking the navigation to get there. Concepts are aimed at high level leaders rather than those in roles where the most important work is carried out. Standards and tool for assessment and measurement were lacking to measure changes, to compare and/or to set benchmarks.

Building Blocks of the Learning Organization A supportive learning environment Concrete learning processes and practices Leadership that reinforces learning

Supportive Learning Environment Psychological safety Appreciative of differences Openness to new ideas Time for reflection

Concrete Learning Processes and Practices Experimentation Information Collection Analysis Education and Training Information Transfer

Leadership That Reinforces Learning Appreciative Inquiry/behaviors Where the leader places their time How the leader inspires innovation Open minded questions Actions in times of “failure”

My ALP----Moving Forward Leadership alone is insufficient. Comparative performance is essential. Learning is multidimensional. We need to create a dialogue, not a critique. This tool offers us a reflective process, a tool to foster more learning. Yet we need the “space between the logs” to create thoughtful approaches to learning.

Kelly Papa, RN, MSN kpapa@masonicare.org