ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Organizational Culture and Leadership, 3rd Edition

406 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND LEADERSHIPAnd finally, the learning culture must assume that the world isintrinsically a complex field of interconnected forces in which multiplecausation and overdetermination are more likely than linearor simple causes.The role of learning-oriented leadership in a turbulent world,then, is to promote these kinds of assumptions. Leaders themselvesmust first hold such assumptions, become learners themselves, andthen be able to recognize and systematically reward behavior basedon those assumptions in others.Programs such as total quality management can be assessed interms of whether or not they operate on the assumptions outlinedabove. The overt and espoused values that are stated for such solutionsoften hide assumptions that are not, in fact, favorable to thekind of learning I have described. If leaders are not aware of the culturalunderpinnings of what they are doing or the assumptions ofthe group on which they are imposing new solutions, they are likelyto fail. Learning leaders must be careful to look inside themselves tolocate their own mental models and assumptions before they leapinto action.The Role of the Learning Leaderin Different Organizational SituationsHaving described the generic characteristics of a learning cultureand the implications in general for the learning leader, I now turnto some additional factors that affect the different stages of organizationalevolution. The learning dilemma will be different at differentcultural stages.Leadership in Culture CreationIn a growing organization, leaders externalize their own assumptionsand embed them gradually and consistently in the mission,goals, structures, and working procedures of the group. Whether wecall these basic assumptions the guiding beliefs, the theories-in-use,