Smith comments that “Telling the story in this way allows others to be involved and
to help develop a vision that is both individual and shared.”(2001)
- Leader as a Teacher: The whole concept of the learning organization is based on
the strategy of individual and team learning. Leader as a teacher has to teach the staff
about the pros and cons of different actions, about the impact of the situation, about
the merits and demerits of different approaches and about the interconnectedness of
actions, processes and systems etc. Leaders are required to teach different individuals
how to be creative and innovative, how to make use of the reinforcement loops and
how to be patient to see the explicit results. Senge in his discussion on leadership
roles has highlighted leader’s role as:
“Leader as teacher” is not about “teaching” people how to achieve their
vision. It is about fostering learning, for everyone. Such leaders help
people throughout the organization develop systemic understandings.
(1990)2.4. Characteristics of a Learning Organization
- Learning culture
- Creativity and innovation
- Interactive processes with its environment where it exists
- Continuous skill development
- Participatory decision-making
- Two way feedback
- Employee empowerment
- Commitment and motivation of individuals to do their work
- Knowledge management approach
- Team work spirit