The game . We’ve just experienced the creation of an organization – albeit it a somewhat trivial and transient one. What, if anything, can we take away from this experience? About learning? About organizations? About one another? About life?

OTL Hypotheses . As a group reflect on the game, the subsequent class discussion and your own reflections on past learning and organizations. Based on this discussion be prepared to report back to the class several hypotheses or assumptions about organizations that learn (or don’t)

Team

Open communication

MH

Flexibility in reassessment of goals

MH

Safe and comfortable environment

MH

Freedom to make mistakes (it is how we learn)

MH

Sense of accomplishment, significance & enjoyment

MH

Shared understanding

Have a common desired to achieve shared goals

Juicy

Have a willingness and flexibility for change

Juicy

Structure has a place but may also inhibit learning

Juicy

Often result in an enjoyable experience free of anxiety and stress

Juicy

Steering is necessary … to a degree

• Not always by appointed leader, sometimes from experience or environment or relationships

AG

Relationships matter

• Must consider others beliefs and ideas
• Collaborate by being open-minded and using effective communication
• Willingness to compromise & agree to disagree

AG

Emotions happen

• Remove
• Don’t take it personally

AG

Learning issues

• Put out there – vulnerability
• Overcome fear of embarrassment
• Mistakes as an opportunity

AG

Decisions / actions

• Who is affected

AG

Building relationships

RG

Importance that personal inhibitions may/may not play

RG

Individual attitudes & affect on whole

RG

Novelty of experience (anxious)

RG

Chaos spurring ideas

RG

Awareness of individuals’ comfort zones
--Does maximum learning occur in comfort zones?

RG

Creativity opens door to learning (game)

RG

Common interests among group/members

RG

Motivations (pay, non-profit or school environment)

RG

Learning orgs – not a short term venture

RG

Rules (what’s good for goose is good for gander)

RG

Change can be … uncomfortable/inconvenient

RG

Stress can aid learning – “optimum stress for optimum learning”

RG

ASSUMPTIONS

TYPICAL ROLES: leaders and followers
FOREGROUND: leaderships steer
BACKGROUND: followers either willingly participate, or observe what was going on before deciding on a course of action, or even “lay low” and “under the radar

NOTIONS

EXTROVERTS (learning style): DO because they learn best by doing
INTROVERTS (learning style): stay in the “background” because that maybe is how they learn best. Regardless, they still contribute to the learning process. In several situations, introverts actually steer extroverts.
PROCESS OF LEARNING: individual learn styles vary. However, people learn in an environment where there is true, respect, and positive relationships between participants, leaders, followers, extroverts, and introverts

HYPOTHESIS

COMMUNITY: is formed when a group is organized, whether it is a complex professional (corporate or public org.) management team, or as simple as a class. The group is better able to learn, change, and become dynamic when there is trust, respect, and mutual stake within the group. Therefore, the type of relationships between group members within an organization determines whether the group is dynamic or static toward learning.