Learning for a Change Article written by Alan M. Weber Pg. 178, May 1999 Fast Company

Summary by Todd Mehrkens

Almost ten years ago the book and concept of "The Fifth Discipline" was conceived by Peter Senge. Although I had heard the term "The Fifth Discipline" before, I honestly had no idea what it referred to. A quick internet search revealed the five disciplines:

TEAM LEARNING BUILDING SHARED VISION MENTAL MODELS PERSONAL MASTERY SYSTEMS THINKING - (the "fifth discipline")

While each of the items listed above could certainly be an area of study in themselves, it is the "SYSTEMS THINKING" that is the focus of the Fast Company article.

SYSTEMS THINKING is defined as "the ability and practice of consistently examining the whole system, rather than just trying to fix isolated problems. Using the conceptual framework and tools of systems thinking to clarify the full patterns and to understand how to change them most effectively."

The article indicates how the "fifth discipline" (that a learning organization should undergo a "system wide" change) suffered many challenges and failures. In retrospect, Peter Senge now offers the wisdom that has been gained from ten years of working with bringing about change in an organization.

He says that the key concept to learn is that learning and change will be much more successful if it starts among the people of an organization (as opposed to the leadership of an organization). In addition, it is important to recognize that to change an organization will take time and nurturing, rather than a bold vision statement from the head of the organization.

The article had many great points, but one paragraph seemed to speak volumes of relevant truth: " ... what we've observed again and again is that personal enthusiasm is the initial energizer of any change process. And that enthusiasm feeds on itself. People don't necessarily want to "have a vision" at work or to "conduct dialogue." They want to be part of a team that's fun to work with and that produces results they are proud of."

As I shared the thoughts of this with a couple of coworkers in Extension, they were definitely in agreement. One person shared his frustration over all the time and dollars that are spent on developing the exact wording of mission and vision statements, only to find out that they need to be overhauled in a few years. On the other hand, Extension generally does a good job of supporting the good work that is being done on the county level.

The other person I talked with is a 4-H Educator in another county. One tendency within 4-H is to have lots of rules, regulations and deadlines, which can often be a barrier and a discourager to the 4-H members that don't perfectly fit the mold of a "model 4-H member". They are experimenting with removing one of those "barriers" this year at their county fair. Many counties, (mine included) have very strict rules regarding fair registration forms due dates. It is easy to justify the strictness, and yet this county is totally eliminating the fair registration forms. In discussions with this Educator, they are a bit nervous, and yet excited at the possibility of doing away with potentially unnecessary rules and paper workload.

There is no question that change can happen most effectively when it "grows" from within an organization. The challenge, and key, to making it happen is to provide the resources (usually this translates into "time") to allow it to happen.

-- Anonymous, May 14, 1999

Answers

Todd Mehrkens,

Senge does make us think. Sometimes we all get caught in the latest buzzwords and philosophies.

Well written and organized. Good comments on your discussion with colleagues.

-- Anonymous, October 01, 1999