THE LEARNING ORGANISATION ROLE OF LEADERSHIP SYNOPSIS OF DR. PETER SENGE’S RECENT SEMINAR IN DUBAI PRODUCED BY: Adnan CiteHR Member Pakistan Contact:

THE LEARNING ORGANISATION LEARNING IN LIVING ORGANISATIONSLEARNING IN LIVING ORGANISATIONS  We live today in a world undergoing major transition  The industrial age focused on material progress  The emerging age is forming – hence yet un-named  How societies go about discovering & articulating their desires will shape our future institutions  Leadership is the energy that enables such changes to happen

THE LEARNING ORGANISATION OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD ‘LEADER’OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD ‘LEADER’  In everyday corporate usage, ‘leader’ is a synonym for ‘top manager’. This assumption is disrespectful & disempowering for those who are not ‘top managers’  Corporations spend profusely on ‘leadership development’. This reinforces the notion that the future of the enterprise lies in the hands of a chosen few  The term ‘leadership development’ should therefore be replaced with ‘executive development’.

THE LEARNING ORGANISATION  WHAT DO LEADERS DO?  Leaders drive change: they are supposed to effect change but in the corporate context, this leads to the ‘HERO-CEO’ concept. The ‘HERO-CEO’ is supposed to ‘energize’ change- resistant employees and he is not afraid to take ‘tough decisions’.  Faced with the need to change, we opt for the HERO-CEO concept instead of developing leadership capacity throughout the organization.

THE LEARNING ORGANISATION ………(CONT’D)  The improvements brought about by the HERO-CEO i.e. Cost reduction, reduced work force & higher productivity etc invariably fizzle out over a short period.  The myth of HERO-CEO creates a self-reinforcing, vicious spiral of changes imposed from the top, increasing fear among the employees, diminishing leadership across the organization, reducing performance & eventually resulting in a new crisis calling for another top level intervention.  This cycle reinforces the false notion that common employees are incapable & powerless to bring about change.

THE LEARNING ORGANISATION NEED TO SHIFT OUR VIEW OF LEADERSHIPNEED TO SHIFT OUR VIEW OF LEADERSHIP  Everything alive is continuously changing, whereas we treat organizations as if they are lifeless machines.  We ‘drive’ change & use other mechanical words such as ‘measures’, ‘plans’, ‘programs’ and ‘controls’ while talking about organizations. We have ‘designers’ & ‘builders’ who create ‘systems’ & ‘procedures’ for the organization.  Thinking of ‘leadership’ as applicable to a ‘living’ entity requires fundamental shift in perception. It needs a new language.

THE LEARNING ORGANISATION ………(CONT’D)  An alternate definition of leadership could be: “It is the capacity of a human community to bring forth new realities” In other words leadership ‘energizes’ & ‘breathes life’ into an enterprise:  If we think about numerous great leaders of history, we will discover that most of them were not at the top of any organizational hierarchy  Leadership is all about tapping the energy to create. Where this energy already exists, we become more productive – we become more ‘alive’

THE LEARNING ORGANISATION  CREATIVE TENSION  Effective leaders create change energy through ‘creative tension’.  It is hard to think what shape future would take without having a ‘vision’. Ultimately, people in all settings, all practitioners, all professionals are deeply interested in what they can make happen.  The ‘creative tension’ which is necessary for positive action, comes from combining the vision with the current reality i.E. By dramatizing the present situation.

THE LEARNING ORGANISATION ………(CONT’D)  Tension always seeks ‘release’. Creative tension can be released only when current reality moves towards the vision.  Leaders energize their communities through generating and sustaining creative tension.  Conversely, where creative tension is undermined, leadership is diminished.

THE LEARNING ORGANISATION  SELF-REINFORCING PROCESS OF GROWTH  Leaders work between the boundaries of ‘current reality’ and ‘future vision’.  They work like gardeners; they understand that the seed has the potential to grow. They also realize that for growth to occur there should be interaction between the seed & the environment.  Therefore, the first principle of leadership is that people with potential need an environment conducive to their growth.

THE LEARNING ORGANISATION ………(CONT’D)  Thus the whole process should be self-reinforcing, just like the seed & its environment. The seed initially sends out small shoots & draws in water & nutrients from the soil. This causes the roots to extend further, drawing in more water & nutrients. The cycle continues till the seed realizes its maximum potential & turns into a full-grown tree.  Effective leaders do not ‘drive’ the change. They simply participate in & nurture the growth processes and remove the obstacles that hinder these processes.

THE LEARNING ORGANISATION  CONCLUSION  Today we are faced with complex, multi-faceted issues that require imagination, perseverance, dialogue, deep understanding and above-all a willingness to bring significant change on the part of all the people that work in an enterprise.  The numerous challenges to bringing systematic change cannot be met by isolated heroic leaders. They require a unique mix of different people, in different positions, who lead in different ways.  This scenario which is still tentative & evolving would require leadership which will have to be significantly different from our traditional leadership model.