Team Learning
Team learning.
Hackman (1983) defines team as a social system that consists of at least two members who share responsibility for a team product or service, recognize themselves as a group and are recognized as such by others as well. According to Senge (1990, p.220), “Team learning is the process of aligning and developing the capacity of a team to create the results its members, truly desire. It builds on the discipline of developing shared vision. It also builds on personal mastery, for talented teams are made up of talented individuals. But shared vision and talent are not enough. The world is full of teams of talented individuals who share a vision for a while, yet fail to learn. The great jazz ensemble has talent and a shared vision (even if they don't discuss it), but what really matters is that the musicians know how to play together.”
But why should we focus on team learning instead of emphasising on individual professionalism, experience and personal values? The fact is that many of today's decisions that made in the companies, and often the most important ones, created by the groups or designed to be implemented by the groups of employees. As Senge (1990, p.220) continues, “Individual learning, at some level, is irrelevant for organizational learning. Individuals learn all the time and yet there is no organizational learning. But if teams learn, they become a microcosm for learning throughout the organization. Insights gained are put into action. Skills developed can propagate to other individuals and to other teams (although there is no guarantee that they will propagate). The team's accomplishments can set the tone and establish a standard for learning together for the larger organization.”
Many other authors support and define Senge’s approach to the team learning “social phenomenon” (Kilgore, 2001). Luthans (1995) refers Katzenback and Smith (1993) to differentiate between teams and traditional work groups by pointing out that teams go beyond
Hackman (1983) defines team as a social system that consists of at least two members who share responsibility for a team product or service, recognize themselves as a group and are recognized as such by others as well. According to Senge (1990, p.220), “Team learning is the process of aligning and developing the capacity of a team to create the results its members, truly desire. It builds on the discipline of developing shared vision. It also builds on personal mastery, for talented teams are made up of talented individuals. But shared vision and talent are not enough. The world is full of teams of talented individuals who share a vision for a while, yet fail to learn. The great jazz ensemble has talent and a shared vision (even if they don't discuss it), but what really matters is that the musicians know how to play together.”
But why should we focus on team learning instead of emphasising on individual professionalism, experience and personal values? The fact is that many of today's decisions that made in the companies, and often the most important ones, created by the groups or designed to be implemented by the groups of employees. As Senge (1990, p.220) continues, “Individual learning, at some level, is irrelevant for organizational learning. Individuals learn all the time and yet there is no organizational learning. But if teams learn, they become a microcosm for learning throughout the organization. Insights gained are put into action. Skills developed can propagate to other individuals and to other teams (although there is no guarantee that they will propagate). The team's accomplishments can set the tone and establish a standard for learning together for the larger organization.”
Many other authors support and define Senge’s approach to the team learning “social phenomenon” (Kilgore, 2001). Luthans (1995) refers Katzenback and Smith (1993) to differentiate between teams and traditional work groups by pointing out that teams go beyond