Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

COLLAGES OF BETTERMENT 201adaptation and improvement. According to him:“Real learning gets to the heart of what it means tobe human. Through learning we re-create ourselves.Through learning we become able to do somethingwe were never able to do. Through learning were-perceive the world and our relationship to it.Through learning we extend our capacity to create,to be part of the generative process of life. Thereis within each of us a deep hunger for this type oflearning” (Senge, 2006).For Senge, a learning organization or communityof practice is a place where people are committed topracticing collective cultivation or collective being. Heuses the term “cultivation” in this context to mean deepdevelopment, becoming a human being. Furthermore,for Senge there is no genuine cultivation withoutdiscipline (McLeod 2001). He emphasized the matter ofthe mastery of five basic disciplines to achieve the resultsparticipants want to see. They are: 1) system thinking;2) personal mastery; 3) mental models; 4) building ashared vision; and 5) team learning (Senge, 2006).System thinking is the conceptual cornerstone of thelearning organization approach. It is the discipline thatintegrates the others, fusing them into a coherent bodyof the theory and practice. System thinking is basedupon a growing body of theory about the behavior offeedback and complexity—the innate tendencies ofa system that lead to growth and stability over time.System theory’s ability to comprehend and address thewhole and to examine the interrelationship between theparts provides, for Senge, both the incentive and themeans to integrate the disciplines (Smith 2001).Personal mastery is the discipline that emphasizes thatorganizations learn only through individuals who learn.Individual learning does not guarantee organizationallearning, but without it no organizational learningoccurs. It goes beyond competence and skills, althoughit involves them. It goes beyond spiritual opening,although it involves spiritual growth. Personal masteryis the discipline of aspiration and involves formulatinga coherent picture of the results people most desire togain as individuals (their personal vision), of focusingour energies, of developing patience and seeing theircurrent reality objectively. Learning to cultivate thetension between vision and reality can expand people’scapacity to make better choices and to achieve more ofthe results that they have chosen (Smith 2001).The discipline of mental models starts with turning themirror inward: learning to unearth our internal picturesof the world, to bring them to the surface and holdthem rigorously to scrutiny. It also includes the abilityto carry on contemplative conversations that balanceinquiry and advocacy, where people expose their ownthinking effectively and make that thinking open tothe influence of others. If organizations are to developa capacity to work with mental models, then it will benecessary for people to learn new skills and develop neworientations, and for there to be institutional changesthat foster such change (Smith 2007).Building a shared vision is a collective discipline thatestablishes a focus on mutual purpose. Moreover, it isan important task of leadership to inspire and nourisha sense of commitment in organization by developingpictures of the future they seek to create. Such avision has the power to be uplifting and to encourageexperimentation and innovation (Smith 2007).Team learning is a discipline of group interaction.Through techniques like dialogue and skillful discussion,teams transform their collective thinking, learning tomobilize their energies and abilities that are greaterthan the sum of the individual member’s talents. Whendialogue is joined with system thinking, Senge (2006)argues, there is the possibility of creating language moresuited for dealing with complexity.All these disciplines are concerned with a shift of mindfrom seeing parts to seeing wholes, from seeing peopleas helpless reactors to seeing them as active participantsin shaping their reality, from reacting to the present tocreating the future.Furthermore, each discipline provides a vital dimension.Each is necessary to the others if organizations arelearning to connect people’s energies. In 2006, I usedthese five disciplines to create common core values fortwo business companies in Bangkok. We saw someshifts in people’s thinking and interacting that led toteam learning. I really do believe that these practices inthe work place can lead to the building of a “communityof commitment” because, without commitment, thechanges required will never take place.Implications: Self-cultivation and skilful facilitationfor the co-creation of the field of energyAn effective leader will have the capacity to use his or her“Self” as the vehicle—the blank canvas—for sensing,tuning into and bringing into presence that which s/he wants to emerge. William O’Brien, the former CEOof the Hannover Insurance Company, summarized hisexperiences in leading change as follows, “The successAsian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows