A. Five Disciplines of a Learning Organization

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

Shared vision Personal mastery Team learning Questioning mental models Systems thinking

DESCRIPTION

Shared vision happens when teams develop shared pictures of the future that foster

genuine commitment. Personal mastery happens when team members clarify and deepen their personal visions, focus their energies, see reality objectively, and develop needed skills. Team learning happens when teams start thinking together. They share their experience, insights, knowledge, and skills to learn how to do things better. Questioning mental models happens when people surface deep-seated values, beliefs, and assumptions to consciously decide how to take action.

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.

QUESTIONS A COACH CAN ASK*

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?

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? 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? 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?

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.