Learning organizations: A primer for group facilitators

According to WordNet4, a vision is a vivid mental image that is graphic, lifelike and very important to us. It is held within our hearts. The vision is most often a long-term goal, something that can be a leading star for the individual. The shared vision of an organization must be built of the individual visions of its members. What this means for the leader in the learning organization is that the organizational vision must not be created by the leader, rather, the vision must be created through interaction with the individuals in the organization. Only by combining the individual visions and the development of these visions in a common direction can the shared vision be created. The leader's role in creating a shared vision is to share the vision with the employees. This should not be done to force that vision on others but rather to encourage others to share their vision too. Based on these visions, the organization's vision should evolve.

It would be naive to expect that the organization can change overnight from having a vision that is communicated from the top to one where the vision evolves from the visions of all the people in the organization. The organization will have to go through major change for this to happen, and this is where group facilitation can play an important role. Facilitators can help groups and organizations deal with organizational change or transformation. They can help mold organizational leadership, by mentoring high level managers and CEOs. They can facilitate group processes and discussions leading to a shared vision. Bryson's Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations (1995) is an excellent example of the resources facilitators bring to the table when dealing with issues and challenges involved in pursuing a shared organizational vision.

Reflections on shared vision bring up the question of whether each individual in the organization must share the rest of the organization's vision. The answer is no, but the individuals who do not share the vision might not contribute as much to the organization. How can someone start to share the rest of the organization's vision? Senge (1990a) stresses that visions cannot be sold. For a shared vision to develop, members of the organization must enroll in the vision. The difference between selling the vision and enrolling in the vision is that through enrollment the members of the organization choose to participate.

John Brown had a vision of freeing the slaves. Clearly, if the slaves had truly preferred to stay enslaved, John Brown's vision of liberation could not exist. The slaves' sense of shared vision made it possible for them to die by Brown's side, but they did not die for Brown; they died for a shared vision.

Systems Thinking

In the October 17, 1994 issue of Fortune magazine, Brian Dumaine named Peter M. Senge: "Mr. Learning Organization." Why is it that in a field with so many distinguished contributors, Senge was referred to as the "intellectual and spiritual champion" (p. 147)? The reason is probably because Senge injected into this field an original and powerful paradigm called "systems thinking", a paradigm premised upon the primacy of the whole.