Senge: Discipline 5 - Team Learning

14th January 2014
This section is extremely relevant to AMBIT and readers are encouraged to read this section of the book (The Fifth Discipline pages 223-254)

Key themes

  • The difference between discussion and dialogue. Discussion (like 'concussion' and 'percussion') is characterised as being a process of passing things back and forth between people in order to see which idea will prevail i.e. 'win'. Dialogue is different and means to 'a free flow of meaning between people'. People are no longer primarily in opposition but are participating in developing common meaning. One feature of dialogue is that people become observers of their own thinking i.e. mentalize.
  • Dialogue needs three conditions.
    • All participants must suspend their assumptions
    • All participants must view each other as 'colleagues'.
    • There must be a facilitator who 'holds the context' of dialogue.
  • Dialogue may not necessarily lead to action. Focusing back on action and decisions may need discussion. Teams need both dialogue and discussion.
  • Learning organisations are characterised by 'productive conflict' i.e. they are not conflict free. Non-learning teams tend to be characterised as either 'conflict free' (on the surface) or being 'highly polarised'.
  • Defensive processes which block dialogue are common and pervasive. Hierarchical structures may present particular challenges for overcoming defensive positions e.g. I don't want to show my boss that I don't feel confident of what to do. Learning teams are not free of defensive processes but aim to recognise and address them when they can be observed.
  • Teams need structures or processes that enable them to practice team learning.

Implications for AMBIT

  1. AMBIT is a team approach and team learning is central to the effective delivery of such an approach.
  2. In AMBIT, manualization has been an operational technique to promote team learning. It may be helpful to conceptualise manualising within a broader process of team learning i.e. the purpose of the manual is to support team learning.
  3. Further development and clarification of the role of the facilitator in team learning processes may be useful, particularly taking into account hierarchical structures and ways of addressing likely defensive processes which will occur in all teams.