Team LearningTeam Learning

Based on Peter Senge et.al. The Fifth Discipline FieldBook, pp.59-65; 351-441

“The only relevant learningin an organization is thelearning done by thosepeople who have the powerto take action.”

ContentsContents

• Definitions• Dialogue• Skillful Discussion• Teams• The Wheel of Learning• Team Learning among Senior

Managers of an organization

Team LearningTeam Learning

• Is not the same as team building

• Not a discipline of improving team members’ skills or communication skills.

The essence of Team Learning The essence of Team Learning is Alignmentis Alignment

• “Functioning as a whole”• Is not agreement• Is about enhancing a team’s capacity to

think and act in new synergistic ways, with full coordination and a sense of unity, because team members know each other’s hearts and minds.

• As alignment develops, people don’t have to hide or overlook their disagreements; they use their disagreements to make their collective understanding richer.

Improved ConversationImproved Conversation• The primary medium with

which teams build all of team learning capabilities.

• Two conversational forms: dialogue and skillful discussion.

DialogueDialogue• From two Greek roots, dia (“meaning

through” or “each other”) and logos(meaning “the word”.

• “A stream of meaning flowing among and through us and between us.”

• A sustained collective inquiry into everyday experience and what we take for granted.

• Create conditions in which people experience the primacy of the whole.

DialogueDialogue• Not merely a set of techniques for

improving organizations, enhancing communications, building consensus or solving problems.

• Based on the principle that conception and implementation are intimately linked, with a core of common meaning.

• People learn how to think together.• Start to act in an aligned way.

• A flock of birds taking flight do not require planning.

• Each member simply knows what it is “supposed” to do (or rather, what’s best to do), because they all fit into a larger whole.

Breakdowns in effectiveness of teams and organizations are refleBreakdowns in effectiveness of teams and organizations are reflective ctive of a broader crisis in the nature of how human beings perceive tof a broader crisis in the nature of how human beings perceive the he

world.world.

• To develop meaning, people learn to divide the world into categories and distinctions in our thoughts and these become realities.

• Fragmentation of thought has infected every field of human endeavour.

• Specialist in most fields cannot talk across specialties.

• If fragmentation is prevalent, dialogue is one proven strategy for stepping back from the way of thinking which fragmentation produces.

Evolution of DialogueEvolution of Dialogue

PHASE 1Instability of thecontainer

PHASE 2Instability in thecontainer

PHASE 3Inquiry in thecontainer

PHASE 4Creativity in thecontainer

Invitation

Conversation(to turn together)

Deliberation(to weigh out)

INITIATORY CRISIS

Discussion(to shake out)

Suspension(to hang in front)

CRISIS OF SUSPENSION

Skillful Discussion(the flow of speech; logical analysis)

Dialogue(the flow of meaning)

CRISIS OF COLLECTIVE PAIN

Metalogue(meaning moving with, among)

Debate(To beat down)

Phase 1: Instability Phase 1: Instability ofof the Containerthe Container• When any group of individuals comes together, the bring with them

a wide range of tacit, unexpressed differences in perspectives.• At this moment, dialogue confronts its first crisis.• They need to look at the group as an entity, instead of merely

“trying to understand each other” or “reach a decision that everyone can live with”.

• INITIATORY CRISIS - You intend to have dialogue, but you cannot force it to happen.

• They have choice.• They can suspend their views, loosening the grip of their certainty

about all views, including their own; observe the ways they havemade and acted upon assumptions; question the total process of thought and feelings - that will move them toward dialogue.

• Or, they can move to converge and dissect or defend previously held positions.

• If they begin to defend themselves, avoiding evidence that wouldweaken their view they are moving towards unproductive discussion.

• If they begin to surface the data that leads them to conflict, and the reasoning they use to support their positions, they are moving into skillful discussions.

A container is the sum of the collectiveassumptions, sharedintentions, andbeliefs of a group.

A container is the sum of the collectiveassumptions, sharedintentions, andbeliefs of a group.

Phase 2: Instability Phase 2: Instability inin the Containerthe Container

• Groups begin to oscillate between suspending views and “discussing” them. They feel frustrated, disoriented, marginalized or constrained by others.

• CRISIS OF SUSPENSION – Extreme views are stated and defended; the fragmentation that has been hidden is appearing.

• People need to be aware of what is happening. They do not need to panic, to fight or to categorize one viewpoint as “right” and another as “wrong”. The need to listen and inquire.

• At this crisis, skilled facilitation is most critical.

Phase 3: Inquiry in the ContainerPhase 3: Inquiry in the Container

• If a critical mass of people stay with the process beyond this point, the conversation begins to flow in a new way.

• People begin to inquire together was a whole.• People become sensitive to the way in which the

conversation is affecting all the participants.• New insights emerge.• It also leads to another crisis – CRISIS OF COLLECTIVE

PAIN. People begin to sense their separateness. They realize that they have created their own fragmentation and isolation.

• This crisis is deep and challenging, and moving through this is by no means a given or necessary for “success” in dialogue.

• Groups may need a lot of time to move to the final level.

Phase 4: Creativity in the ContainerPhase 4: Creativity in the Container

• If this crisis is navigated, the distinction between memory and thinking becomes apparent.

• Thinking takes on an entirely different rhythm and pace.

• Words may not be fine enough to capture the subtle and delicate understandings that begin to emerge; people may fall silent. Yet the silence is not an empty void, but one replete with richness.

• The group does not “have” meanings in its conversations, the group is its meaning.

• This kind of exchange allows for breakthroughs in levels of intelligence and creativity.

The Paradoxes of DialogueThe Paradoxes of Dialogue

• Techniques that leave techniques behindYou need techniques of dialogue to help with collective inquiry but technique in itself cannot get you to your goal. Dialogue is like some form of Eastern Meditation which is a discipline that can be taught, and yet the ability it generates has little to do with the techniques that people teach you.

• “Don’t just do something, stand there” When faced with difficult problems, it is argued, don’t think about action, nor talk, but act. However, in dialogue, we don’t think about what we’re doing; we do something about what we’re thinking. This may have more power than any other step you can take, even if it looks to the outsider that not much is going on.

The Paradoxes of Dialogue (cont’d)The Paradoxes of Dialogue (cont’d)

• Intention but no decisionDialogue encourages people to develop a shared intention for inquiry. If the intent is on making a decision, this will cut off the free flow of inquiry. It is best to approach dialogue with no result in mind, but with the intention of developing a deeper inquiry, wherever it leads you.

• A safely dangerous place The safety of dialogue comes directly from the willingness to touch the dangerous. The spirit of dialogue is: Education is a process of endangering the soul in a spirit of enlightened discourse.

The word decision comes from the Latin decidere, which means to “murder alternatives.”

The Paradoxes of Dialogue (cont’d)The Paradoxes of Dialogue (cont’d)

• Being individual and collectiveSome of the most powerful contributions to a collective conversation can come from people who are learning to listen, not to the group, but to themselves. The voice in their heart, mind and body is saying something because the collective dialogue is taking place around them.

Basic Components of a Basic Components of a Dialogue SessionDialogue Session

• Invitation: People must be given the choice to participate. Dialogue cannot be shoved down their throats. The goal is to evoke higher-level response.

• Generative listening: Art of developing deeper silence in yourself, and hear beneath the words to their meaning.You pay close attention to what is being said beneath the words. You listen not only for what someone knows but for who he or she is.

• Observing the observer: Developing an environment this is quite enough so that people can observe their thoughts and the team’s thoughts.

• Suspending assumptions: To refrain from imposing your views on others and to avoid suppressing or holding back what you think. It means exploring your assumptions from new angles.

Disagreement as an opportunityDisagreement as an opportunity

• Use potential disagreements to find out where to dig deeper.

• The moment of disagreement is cause for celebrations.

• In fact, if there is no disagreement, it means that the group is moving too quickly.

• Often, an affection develops between members of the group with the most opposing views, as if the affection is fueled by diversity.

DiscussionDiscussion• Stems from the Latin discutere,

which means “to smash to pieces.”• A conversational form that promotes

fragmentation.• People discuss” to win; they heave

ideas against each other to see whose ideas will be the strongest.

• It undermines learning and ideas and “solutions” rarely get the consideration the deserve.

Skillful DiscussionSkillful Discussion

• Involves collaborative reflection and inquiry skills to see how things fit together ands a more penetrating understanding of the forces at play among the tea members themselves.

• Incorporates some of the techniques and devices of dialogue and action learning but always focused on tasks.

Meetings Meetings • Have agendas• People leave with priorities and work

assignments in hand.• The team also learns to make their

thought processes visible, to surface and challenge assumptions, and to look more closely at sources of disagreements.

• Improve the the quality of their collective thinking and interacting.

Five Basic Protocols For Five Basic Protocols For Skillful DiscussionSkillful Discussion

1. Pay attention to your intentions: Be clear of what you want, and do not mislead others as to your intention.

2. Balance advocacy with inquiry: The pendulum has swung far over on the advocacy side. Teams are not challenging each other in a meaningful way and it is merely “in-your-face” one-upmanship. Others just sit there and listen, in turn, to each other’s statements. Assumptions are not even surfaced, much less challenged. What they are really thinking will be heard only after the meeting – in the corridors or in the bathrooms.

Five Basic Protocols For Five Basic Protocols For Skillful Discussion (cont’d)Skillful Discussion (cont’d)

3. Build shared meaning: Be precise. Routinely check the meanings behind the words being spoken. Take care to make evident the meaning – or lack of meaning – in a word. Do not make assumptions that everyone understand what you are saying.

4. Use self-awareness as a resource: Ask yourself, at moments you are confused, angry, frustrated, concerned or troubled:

o What am I thinking? (pause)o What am I feeling? (pause)o What do I want to do at this moment? o You will often end up with insights about the team’s

assumptions or your own concerns, which you raise before the group, without casting blame.

Five Basic Protocols For Five Basic Protocols For Skillful Discussion (cont’d)Skillful Discussion (cont’d)

5. Explore Impasses: Ask yourself: What do we agree on and what do we disagree on? Can we pinpoint the source of disagreement or impasse? Often the source of disagreement fall into four categories:Facts – What exactly happened? What was the “data”?Methods – How should we do what we need to do?Goals – What is our objective?Values – Why do we think it must be done in a particular way? What do we believe in?Simply agreeing on the source of disagreement often allows people to learn more about the situation and clarifying assumptions.

Preparing the ground for Preparing the ground for skillful discussionskillful discussion

• Create a safe haven for participants

• Make openness and trust the rule rather than the exception.

• Encourage and reward the injection of new perspectives.

• Plan the agenda, time and context for concentrated deliberation.

How to listen in skillful discussion How to listen in skillful discussion (or any time)(or any time)

1. Stop talking2. Imagine the other person’s viewpoint3. Look, act, and be interested4. Observe non-verbal behaviour5. Don’t interrupt6. Listen between the lines for implicit and explicit

meanings7. Speak only affirmatively while listening8. Rephrase what the other person has just told you9. Stop talking (The first and the last because all

other techniques of listening depend on it. Take a vow of silence once in a while.)

In skillful discussion, you make a choice; In skillful discussion, you make a choice; in a dialogue, you discover the nature of the in a dialogue, you discover the nature of the

choice.choice.

Skillful discussion is like chamber music

Dialogue is like jazz.

A ContinuumA Continuum

More conventional

More attuned to the sources of groupthought & bringing them to thesurface

RawDebate

PoliteDiscussion

SkillfulDiscussion

Dialogue

The primary difference between dialogue and skillfuldiscussion is intention. In skillful discussion, the team intends to come to some sort of closure – either to make a decision, reach agreement, or identify priorities.In dialogue, the intention is exploration, discovery and insight.

The primary difference between dialogue and skillfuldiscussion is intention. In skillful discussion, the team intends to come to some sort of closure – either to make a decision, reach agreement, or identify priorities.In dialogue, the intention is exploration, discovery and insight.

TeamsTeams• are recognized as a critical

component of every organization – the predominant unit for decision-making and getting things done.

The word “team” can be traced back to the Indo-European word deuk (to pull); it has alwaysincluded a meaning of “pulling together.”The modern sense of team, “a group of peopleacting together,” emerged in the 16th century.

The word “team” can be traced back to the Indo-European word deuk (to pull); it has alwaysincluded a meaning of “pulling together.”The modern sense of team, “a group of peopleacting together,” emerged in the 16th century.

What You Can Expect from What You Can Expect from Team LearningTeam Learning

• Goes beyond Team Building.• Inspires more fundamental changes which

effects the entire organization.• Challenging – intellectually, emotionally,

socially and spiritually• Nothing to do with “school-learning”• Starts with self-mastery and self knowledge,

but involves looking outward to develop knowledge of, and alignment with, others in your team.

Characteristics of a Characteristics of a Learning TeamLearning Team

• Have a reason to talk and learn – a situation that compels deliberation, a need to solve a problem, the collective desire to create something new, or a drive to foster new relationships with other parts of the organization.

Team FacilitatorTeam Facilitator

• An outside facilitator trained in techniques for building reflection and inquiry skills as well as dialogue facilitation can develop skills faster.

• Team members often unknowingly misrepresent reality and cover up.

• Only an outsider can see these learning disabilities clearly.

Ground Rules for Team LearningGround Rules for Team Learning

• Agree to tell the truth as each person knows it

• Bring relevant information immediately

• Limit the time each person can speak

• Clarify how decisions will be made and by whom

• Establish ways to safely check and challenge each other

• How to deal with violations of the ground rules

The Wheel of Learning

How Do We Learn?

PredatorsPredators• Operate in cycles.• Most of the time they display barely any movement,

projecting a sense of calm focus, waiting for the right moment.

• Then it comes!• Their muscles are charged with intensity as they as they

sneak with up on their prey and strike.• When it’s over, they return to their original calm.• The cycle is back to its beginning.

People learn in similarly People learn in similarly cyclical fashioncyclical fashion

• They pass between action and reflection, between activity and repose.

• Managers need to tap into this rhythm – to create not only time to think, but time for different types of thought and collective discussion.

• Remember the “Wheel of Learning.”

Different Phases of the Different Phases of the Learning CycleLearning Cycle

CONNECTINGDECIDING

DOING

More Action More Reflection

More concrete

More abstract

REFLECTING(thinking & feeling)

1

23

4

ReflectingReflecting• Observing your own thinking and acting• Start with review of a previous action.• How well did it go?• What were we thinking & feeling during

the process?• What underlying beliefs (what theories in

use”) seemed to affect the way we handled it?

• Do we see our goals different now?

ConnectingConnecting• Creating ideas and possibilities for action, and

rearranging them into new forms.• Looking for links between your potential

actions and other patterns of behaviour in the system around you.

• What did our last action suggest might be a fruitful path to follow?

• What new understandings do we have about the world?

• Where should we be looking next?

DecidingDeciding

• Settling on a method for action• From alternatives and options generated in

the connecting stages, you choose and refine your approach

• Incorporates an element of choice• “Here is the alternatives we choose to take,

and here are the reasons why.”

DoingDoing• Performing a task, with as much of an

experimental frame of mind as possible.• What you do might be hurried, but it will

be supported by the three reflective stages which cam before.

• When you finish the deed, you move immediately back to the reflecting stages, with a review: How well did it work out?

The Learning WheelThe Learning Wheel• Sets aside time for reflection and

creativity• Work done in rhythm with the wheel

is reassuringly cyclical. • Time for reflection is built in, and yet

when it’s time to act, you can move instantly.

• People recognize that they learn faster when they move slowly –when they are more thoughtful and take time not just to react momentarily, but try to understand more deeply what is going on at the moment.

Team Learning WheelTeam Learning Wheel

SHAREDMEANING

JOINTPLANNING

More Action More Reflection

More concrete

More abstract

PUBLICREFLECTION

COORDINATEDACTION

Each Point on the Individual Wheel has a Each Point on the Individual Wheel has a Team EquivalentTeam Equivalent

• “Reflecting” stage is public because it takes place over a common table. People talk about their mental models and beliefs and challenge each other gently but relentlessly.

• “Shared Meaning” is mutual understanding or shared insight.

• Then, comes joint planning or joint design of an action step.

• Finally, there is coordinated action -which need not be joint action.

• Public reflection and shared meaning are the most important stages.

• The key role of leaders is to keep the “wheel” moving.

Individual Learning StylesIndividual Learning Styles

SHAREDMEANING

JOINTPLANNING

More Action More Reflection

More concrete

More abstract

PUBLICREFLECTION

COORDINATEDACTION

B

Team

CD

A

Most people ‘take”naturally to one ortwo phases of thecycle.

Style B: Divergent ThinkersStyle B: Divergent Thinkers

• Excel at problem analysis• The “brainstormers”• See things from different

perspectives• They say, “Well there is another

way to look at it.”• Have to shut them up.

Style C: ConnectionStyle C: Connection--MakersMakers

• Draw hypotheses and suggest reasons why something happened.

• The most natural thinkers on the team.

• Have to be “drawn out.”

Style D: SolutionStyle D: Solution--FindersFinders• Convergent thinkers• A facility for abstraction but also drawn to

experiment.• Intuitively feel that things should move to

a point.• Great at solution analysis.• Action begins under their aegis.

Style A: AccommodatersStyle A: Accommodaters• Manage the process of

accommodating the group’s theory to reality; implementing the solution, and judging the hypotheses of the experiment against the facts.

• Most willing to dump the theory if the theory doesn’t fit, which makes them essential.

The most powerful teams have representatives The most powerful teams have representatives from all four styles. from all four styles.

And, these teams drive their members crazy.And, these teams drive their members crazy.

• While A is trying to bring things to a point, B’s got seventeen different ideas about how to look at it. D wants to do something –“anything for God’s sake!” and C has just notice a new set of connections.

• The challenge is learning to value that diversity.

Team Learning among senior Team Learning among senior managers of an organizationmanagers of an organization

• Shared Vision: While any team must developed shared intent within self, you must master a process that appropriately involves a whole organization in what amounts to a collective action.

• Organizational Assessment: To know with high accuracy what is going on within the organization; bad news is as likely to come to your attention as good.

• Strategy as a Learning Activity: “Strategy as a team learning activity” stands in sharp contrast to “strategy developed by experts.” Beyond the formulation of strategy, the bulk of learning may occur in strategy verification –probing and testing the strategy.

• Organization Strategy: “What characteristics of our organization must change to accomplish our strategy?”

• Organization Change: You must master managing organization change – design, structure, and implementation.

Unique learning problems of Unique learning problems of the executive teamthe executive team

• For the executive team member, life is more a “zero-sum game” than before. One person getting ahead often means another getting left behind.

• The executive team leader, who may or may not be impartial makes the final decision, and there is no appellate court.

• The makeup of the executive team, in and of itself, is a challenge, populated by aggressive :movers” who are used to getting what they want and getting things done.

• They operate in an environment that is particularly unforgiving. Mistakes are not tolerated.

A daunting challenge that many teams cannot

meet.

A daunting challenge that many teams cannot

meet.

Developing the Executive Team Developing the Executive Team Learning AgendaLearning Agenda

• Have a heart-to-heart talk within the team about what you sincerely want, both in terms of results and how you want to work together.

• Have an open and honest discussion about the current reality you now face relative to the above aspirations. Pay careful attention to what you can and cannot discuss.

• Identify those areas in which there is a significant team knowledge or capacity deficit and create methods for learning in these areas.

• Determine whether the team has an appetite and commitment for learning. Look for ways to reconstruct things that you are already doing to make them learning activities

Executive team learningmust be invented by theteam itself.

Executive team learningmust be invented by theteam itself.