Three levels of learning interact to make up organizational learning: individual learning, small-group learning, and whole-organization learning.
This integration of individual, small-group, and whole-organization learning can be likened to the learning that takes place within a flock of geese: in the spring, each newborn chick learns quickly how to survive through a combination of instinct, imprinting, modeling, and reinforcement. Soon the brood of chicks is walking in single file behind their mother under the protective gaze of their father. This family group is constantly together, searching for food and interacting with their surroundings. By late spring, each family of fully grown geese has joined other families, flying together in perfect formation, sharing leadership, and cooperating as a community for the safety and benefit of all. The results of individual, small-group, and whole-organization learning can be seen within the span of a few short months.
1. Individual Learning
Individual learning occurs as each employee acquires the knowledge, develops the skills, and adopts the attitudes and beliefs that will help the organization succeed (however success is defined). It prepares employees for the inevitable changes that will occur in the goals and work processes of the organization, and creates greater self-awareness. Peter Senge calls this the discipline of personal mastery. Daniel Goleman believes that this is how we develop emotional intelligence: the self-awareness and sense of competence that allows one to take risks, accept feedback, learn from successes and mistakes, relate effectively to others, and stay focused on personal goals.
2. Small-Group Learning
Small-group learning occurs as the members of a group discover together how best to contribute to the performance of the group as a whole. They learn from and about each other, they learn how to work effectively as a group, and they learn how to apply that knowledge in order to achieve the purposes of the group. Not all groups in the workplace are teams Katzenbach and Smith contend, but all groups can achieve some group learning. Teams share goals and place a value on member interaction; this is why they achieve more “group learning” than other types of groups in the workplace.
Team learning has been referred to as “… a continuous process by which team members acquire knowledge about the larger organization, the team, and the individual team members” (Russ-Eft et al). This knowledge resides with the team as a whole, but not with any single individual, and it is why the team is so effective: it works toward shared goals and shared processes for achieving those goals.
3. Whole-Organization Learning
Whole-organization learning refers to the “… ongoing processes and integrated systems that facilitate individuals’ and teams’ ability to learn, grow, and change as a result of organizational experiences” (Russ-Eft et al). This occurs when managers eliminate boundaries that prevent the free flow of information across the organization—something Ashkenas and others refer to as “the boundary less organization.” Managers should ask themselves: What can I do to help this organization learn about itself? What can I do to help this organization learn what will result in new knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs? What can I do to help this organization learn how to create a culture of learning? How can I be a “merchant of light” that illuminates a challenge so that others can see?
Whole-organization learning is achieving a shared understanding throughout the organization, and then creating the capacity throughout the organization to improve processes and achieve strategic goals. As Marquardt explains it in Building the Learning Organization:
… organizational learning occurs through the shared insights, knowledge, and mental models of members of the organization … organizational learning builds on past knowledge and experience—that is, on organizational memory, which depends on institutional mechanisms (e.g., policies, strategies, and explicit models) used to retain knowledge.