Appendix A. Five Disciplines of a Learning Organization Chapter 1, Guiding Principles
This chart details Peter Senge’s five disciplines of a learning organization and suggests questions coaches can ask to help build a learning organization (Senge, 2006). DISCIPLINE
DESCRIPTION
QUESTIONS A COACH CAN ASK*
Shared vision
Shared vision happens when teams develop shared pictures of the future that foster genuine commitment.
What do we want to create together? Have we involved key stakeholders in developing this vision? How can we align program mission and vision with any requirements from funders, school districts, or others?
Personal mastery
Personal mastery happens when team members clarify and deepen their personal visions, focus their energies, see reality objectively, and develop needed skills.
How can we support self-awareness and discovery? Do we allow time for reflection? Do we allow for mistakes as part of the learning process? Do all staff have professional development plans to help them reach individual career goals and program goals?
Team learning Team learning happens when teams start thinking together. They share their experience, insights, knowledge, and skills to learn how to do things better.
Is there an established climate of dialogue? Do people feel free to share their ideas and concerns? Are new patterns of thinking encouraged? Do people listen carefully to others so that they begin to think together and agree on action steps toward common goals?
Questioning mental models
Questioning mental models happens when people surface deep-seated values, beliefs, and assumptions to consciously decide how to take action.
Is there freedom to challenge team assumptions? What do the data say is true? Does everyone agree with the analysis? What do we sense is true but cannot support with data? Can we think out of the box to come up with innovations?
Systems thinking
Systems thinking happens when teams take time to see the inter-relationships that underlie complex situations and interactions. They see the whole and know that one change can affect other parts of the program.
As we create our action plan, are we considering how proposed changes may affect other aspects of the organization, such as the staff, budget, program quality, and youth outcomes? Has our action plan led to the results we intended? Are there unintended consequences we need to address? Are there external trends or opportunities to consider? For example, has staff turnover increased because low unemployment rates mean employees can get jobs with better salary or benefits? What strategies do we need to address this trend?
*Some from Senge’s Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, 1994. Senge, P. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Doubleday.
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Coaching for Quality in Out-of-School Time: A How To Guide
