02: Organizational Learning

Learn or Die with Learning Science

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There is a technology tidal wave on its way and it is going to hit organizations with massive disruptive force. If organizations want to survive, they need to use learning science.

Author and professor Edward D. Hess has stated that organizations of the future will either “learn or die.”

This dramatic statement is the title of his new research-based book on organizational learning. He believes that close to 70% of all American jobs will be displaced by technology in the next 20 years. If technology is going to replace that many workers what can/should HR do to address this issue?

HR needs to help employees develop new skills that technology will not be able to replicate or render obsolete. Dr. Hess believes the following skill sets will stand the test of time:

  • High level critical thinking
  • Innovation
  • Creativity
  • High emotional engagement with others

The problem is our current learning strategies may not be sufficient to truly develop or enhance these skills.

Humans are naturally defensive learners and organizations tend to embody the characteristics of the individuals that comprise them. Organizations are their own worst enemies when it comes to learning; they need to develop new learning strategies. Dr. Hess claims that learning better and faster than the competition is the only truly sustainable competitive advantage.

Click here to watch a short video clip introducing Dr. Hess’ ideas.

So, what will be the purpose of HR in the future, when 70% of the jobs we know today don’t exist? Perhaps it will be to make humans better learners and thinkers.

Discussion Questions:

After watching the video clip, what role do you see HR playing in training the workplace of the future?

Once you determine the future direction of HR, create a 3-minute presentation to convince your VP of HR that this new direction is the way to go if your HR department and organization are to survive.

The Direction of Organizational Learning

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In the 1990s, Peter Senge’s book, The Fifth Discipline, the Art and Practice of the Learning was ground breaking, and was instrumental in changing the world of organizational behaviour and development.

However, there is a new concept on the block that is taking organizational learning theory to new heights. It is called Deliberate Developmental Organization (DDO). This has been created by a team of authors and researchers who comprise an organization called Way to Grow Inc.* This team, which includes faculty members from Harvard and a doctoral student from Stanford-PGSP, has produced a book called, An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization.

According to the research behind the book, the organizations that do well are ones that are deeply aligned with an individual’s greatest motivation, which is to develop within an organizational culture that supports growth. This concept expands on Dan Pink’s motivational theory that an individual’s greatest motivator is to develop.

The authors of An Everyone Culture posit that most employees devote a significant amount of energy to a second, unpaid, job – i.e., the work of covering their weaknesses and managing others’ impressions of them. They believe this is the biggest cause of wasted resources in most companies.

Their solution is the creation of an organizational culture that doesn’t waste energy, but focuses it on developing people. According to the DDO concept, employee weakness is a strength, and errors represent opportunities to develop.

Click here to read an extended whitepaper on this approach by Robert Kegan et al.

Imagine working for an organization where you could truly be your authentic self and continuously improve on your weakness. Would that be a dream job or a nightmare? Something to think about!

Discussion Questions:

— Having reviewed the extended whitepaper by Kegan et al., do you think you would like to work in a company with a well-developed DDO culture? Explain why/why not.

— Have you had an experience where you feel you had a weakness at school or work? What was the weakness? Were you allowed to expose it? Did you have support in overcoming it? If yes, what was the outcome? If no, what was the outcome?

* To learn more about Way to Grow Inc, visit www.waytogrowinc.com.

 

Employee Training Matters

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Here is a great little lesson on workplace improvement. If you want to improve your workplace, train your employees.

Employee training matters. Paying for employee training also matters.

Organizations should be committed to the ongoing upgrading of employees’ skills, and part of that commitment is paying employees while they learn new skills. This training will make the organization more successful.

It seems that many Canadian employers are not committed to helping their employees learn. According to a recent Robert Half survey of financial officers, only 24% of employers allow professional development during a work day.

Click here to read about this report in more detail.

Daniel Pink, a leader in workplace motivation, believes mastery is a key factor in improving workplace performance. The fact is, people want to have a continued sense of progress at work. This is a desire for mastery.

Click here to watch Dan Pink talk about Mastery.

Let’s think about Pink’s organization performance equation. Organizations want motivated workers; workers want to feel a continued sense of forward momentum. Therefore, organizations who support workers’ learning get more motivated employees.

The logic of Dan Pink’s equation seems simple enough, and it’s worth noting that there is empirical research from Harvard that supports his thesis. The question that must be asked, then, is why do 75% of Canadian employers not support paying for employees to learn?

To improve workplace motivation, productivity, and retention organizations need to start committing to employee development by supporting training. It is time to join the minority.

 

Discussion Questions:

Investigate and find research that illustrates a positive Return of Investment (ROI) on employee training.

Develop a 3-minute presentation on the added employment benefits of continual employee professional development.

 

Pink Ops — Self-Leadership Gaining Traction

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When you see the words “Pink Ops” you might think of some covert military operation that has a cute name to distract you from its real mission objectives. However, “Pink Ops” is what the Brenda Rigney, Vice President of Nurse Next Door Inc., a provider of home health care services, calls her department. It is an interesting term that includes people, marketing, operations, care services, and IT.

What is interesting about Brenda Rigney and her Pink Ops department is her philosophy on leadership, training, and employee engagement.

Click here to read about the Nurse Next Door Inc. self-leadership training.

To get a deeper understanding of Brenda Rigney’s philosophy we first have to look into her thoughts about active questions. It is that philosophy that leads into her company goal of self-leadership and employee engagement. Nurse Next Door believes in “intentional conversations”. According to Rigney, that means staff being trained to communicate with customers more effectively, and to listen to and connect with people better, rather than depending on managers to do it for them.

The above is really their core training outcome for their frontline employees’ self-leadership development and it seems to be working.

Rigney expands this concept of intentional conversation from her reading of Marshall Goldsmith’s book, Triggers, which advocates moving from passive questions to active questions. According to Goldsmith, organizations can achieve intentional conversations, which will create better employee engagement.

Click here to read Brenda Rigney’s summary on Marshall Goldsmiths’ active question technique.

Every year organizations spend millions of dollars on employee training — maybe it is time to consider moving from passive conversations to active conversations to get better employee engagement results.

 

Discussion Questions:

    1. In order to deepen your understanding of the power of active questions click on this link, watch the video, and try to answer Marshall Goldsmith’s daily questions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWpUqXFe4Fw
    2. You have been asked by your VP of HR to create a short presentation about how to improve employee engagement using active questions. Create a five-minute executive summary on this topic.

 

Written vs. the Unwritten

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What truly motivates employee behaviour?

Business people joining hands
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Steve Simpson, an executive coach from Down Under, wants you to know what truly drives employee’s behaviour. It’s not the mission statement, and it is definitely not the HR policy or procedure manual. It is what Steve Simpson calls “UGRs,” or Unwritten Ground Rules.

Click here to read an article on UGRs.

A key feature about UGRs, according to Steve Simpson, is the way they drive the employee’s behaviour but despite being never written down, nor are they ever talked about.

UGRs develop out of people being together in groups in the workplace; they really are just the norms the groups observe and follow. Many organizations attempt to create a culture with words which is known as a mission statement, but it is actions that create workplace norms and culture. Organizations continually fail to understand their own culture, therefore, fail to manageme their workplace culture, according to Steve Simpson.

Click here to see Steve Simpson’s interview on UGR’s.

So how can organizations begin to pull back the veil on UGRs, and shine a 200 watt bulb on the behaviours? Well, one effective way is to ask questions. Many UGRs can be uncovered when you hear the words “around here” which is usually followed by something the organization does or doesn’t do.

Most organizations may spend too much time trying to audit their organizations with sophisticated and overly complex culture surveys. However, if you follow Steve Simpson UGRs concept, the best way to figure out your true corporate culture is to ask employees leading questions and ask them to finish the sentence that explains their day-to-day behaviour.

Questions

  1. From your past experience, identify three UGRs from a workplace, a class you took or a team you were on.
  2. How did the UGRs affect your performance? How did the UGRs affect the culture?
  3. How would you use your knowledge of HR to address the above UGRs?
  4. After watching the short video clip, think about questions you could ask in the workplace that would uncover the true norms of the organizations.