EFFECT OF LEADERSHIP STYLES ON LEARNING ORGANIZATION CULTURE

Effect of Leadership Styles on Learning Organization Culture

Effect of Leadership Styles on Learning Organization Culture

Introduction

The literature on learning organization has been elusive in providing practical guidelines or actions that practicing Leaders can implement to develop a effective culture in learning organizations. Some of the questions raised by Leaders about the concept of a learning organization are as follows: What is a learning organization?

To answer the first and most commonly asked question, "What is a learning organization?” we need a definition. The following definition best reflects the conceptual approach of this paper: A learning organization is an organization skilled at creating, acquiring and transferring knowledge, and at modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights (Garvin, 1993).

Discussion

Strategic Architecture of a Learning Organization

Stata, 1989 suggests that it is time to move away from high aspirations and mystical advice to leaders and move on to clearer guidelines for practices and operational advice (Stata, 1989). He argues that we need to inform leaders how they can build a an effective learning culture at a learning organization. In essence, being a learning organization necessitates an understanding of the strategic internal drivers needed to build a learning capability (Stata, 1989).

Shared Leadership and Involvement

In a highly competitive environment, students are encouraged to take calculated risks, to deal with uncertainty, and to innovate. Such a surrounding requires a shared leadership style in a non hierarchical organization. Leaders are seen as coaches, not controllers; level or rank is not as important as the ability of the individual to contribute to the organization's performance (Senge, 1990). Leaders ought to have the capability to facilitate change. Leaders should also be able to provide useful feedback to students and teams to help them identify problems and opportunities. Leadership in a learning organization means involving students in decision-making (Senge, 1990).

Leaders should also be willing to accept disapproval without being overly defensive and to learn from it (Logan 1993). The leader for the workshop must always be present. These leaders should participate fully in the workshop, interacting with students during activities in the session and soliciting ideas and input from them. It also creates a common practice and the development of shared mental models about problems and issues in the organization (Senge, 1990).

A Culture that Encourages Experimentation

An important if not essential part of a learning organization is its ability to create new knowledge and to use it to capitalize on new opportunities open to the organization. This requires questioning the current status quo and how things are done, which allows students to bring new ideas into the organization (Marion 2002). Leaders should also be willing to encourage individuals and teams to continuously improve work processes and try new ideas (Stata, 1989). Obviously a rewarding system should be in place to reward innovative ideas that work. The notion of "skunk works," where time and resources are set aside for students to connect in creative pet projects are all part of ...