“Leadership” is a multifaceted term. A leader can be a political leader, a leader of a company or a social leader. However, every leader poses certain characteristics, which makes them exceptional. The above-mentioned phrase explains the wisdom of leadership and learning. The aim of the paper is to substantiate the understanding of leadership by using the organizational learning theories and focusing on the three key issues “knowing, showing and going”.
In the changing world order, there is a focused need for learning. Organizations need to learn and adopt new learnings depending on the need of the time. All the successful companies of the world have one thing in common, that is their learning ability. However, it is the role the leader that is a more important discussion here. The leader cannot lead the employee unless he/she has a clear vision of the future goals and objectives. Due to the changing times and circumstances, situations will change, however the vision should remain intact. Secondly, it is equally important for the leader to set a precedent for his/her employees and walking through the way. This shows that the leader has the courage and knowledge to lead the employees into the right direction. Learning is nothing but adopting knowledge and applying them into specific context to derive desired actions (Calisir et al. 2016). The role of the leader becomes extremely important here because it is he or she who has the duty and responsibility to learn and lead the company towards acquiring new knowledge. Organizational learning is the process by which the organizational learn from different experiences based on the organization’s performance (Argyris et al.1997). The organizational learning theory is propounded by two prominent personalities, namely, Chris Argyris and Donald Schon. According to them, organizational learning is all about learning from mistakes. The organization develops through learning from the mistakes and error and apply the knowledge gained out of it into the new context. They cite an example, when an individual commits a mistake, he or she always learn something from that mistake and learn to develop mechanism to solve the issue next time. Hence is it very important to learn from the errors.
The theory has two parts, namely, the “espoused theory” and the “theory is use” (Argyris et al.1997). This is an interaction between two sets of behavior. The first part of the theory talks about the organization’s rules, policies and procedures which works as a guideline as to how a work is to be done. For example, if a computer is having errors while working, the machines has to be restarted by reading the manual guideline. However, the theory is use is the practical part of it. This describes the actual knowledge of how one problem is to be solved within one particular context. The role of a leader is to guide the people about the application of the new learnings and channelizing them to have a positive outcome. According to Dixon (2017), to learn collectively, the leader has a greater role, which help the employees to learn. However, he emphasizes the importance of developing infrastructure to have proper learning outcome. The leader shows the way to the employees by setting an example of himself. This not only ensure motivation among the employees, it also pushes the employees towards active participation in the process of learning. However, Chadwick et al., (2015) argues that it is not only the role of a leader in an organizational context that helps to adopt and learn new knowledge’s; it is also the individual achievement goals, which helps them to individually and collectively participate into the organizational learning outcome. Nonetheless, this theory provides an opportunity to learn exponentially.
The role of the leader is very crucial in determining collaboration with the other employees of the organization (Chadwick et al. 2015). For example, the leader has the responsibility to communicate, provide proper training for personal development of the employees and manage the entire process. The leader shows the way to the employees in every situation and let the employees find the solution on their way. This is beneficial due to two reasons. One is the personal growth of the employees; the employees tend to learn more when they find the solution on their own. However, the leader shows them the right path to search for the solution. This also helps them to develop a kind of positive mindset and problem solving approach and more importantly a sense of the reality. The application of the organizational learning leads the organization towards a changed attitude, which is reflected in the future performance of the organization. Some examples could be taken to understand the situation better. The examples of business magnate and investor Warren Buffet, the CEO of the Berkshire Hathaway, have been highly successful in the leading the company by setting an example of a successful leader. This self-made billionaire is known for his exceptional mastery of communication skills and inspiring others to perform (CNBC, 2018). He has been successful in setting an example of the for other leader on how to have a positive attitude even in the time of adversities. This attitude has helped him to guide the employees during the 2008 financial breakdown (CNBC, 2018). He shared his leadership style, which includes the following steps. The first step to ensue effective organizational learning is “turning the crises situation into a situation of opportunity”. He mentioned that at the time of adversity it is very important to experiences in mind and apply them to avoid any future consequences. The leader has to adopt the knowledge of the situation, retain it so that it could be transferred to the employees, and make them choose between rationally taken decisions. This knowledge is broad and it requires the guidance of a leader. It helps in both individual and group learning and provides positive benefit.
This organizational learning has certain benefits, for example, it helps to develop competitiveness and enhance the company’s adaptability to new challenges. It also develops a new learning culture in the organization. However according to the author, there is a need to have an experienced leadership in practice to develop the organizational learning culture (Froehlich et al. 2014). According to Vargas (2015), the organizational learning culture also helps in developing tendency towards the market opportunities. However, the leadership style for that effect has to be transactional and strategic. However, Hasson et al. (2016) argues that individuals have to sustain in an organization by constantly changing their cognition by interacting in a group dynamics at a regular and constant basis. Calisir et al. (2016) argue that organizational learning dos not have any substantial impact of the organization’s performance; even the transformational leadership also does not hold that much importance in an organizational set up. Rather it is organizational innovation and market orientation of an organization, which drives the organization’s growth. However, scholars have also argued that the two key component of the organizational functioning is organizational learning and organizational innovation. It is leadership, which works as a bridge between the organizational learning and organizational innovation. They are the constant learners. According to the Global Human capital trends 2015, 85% of the total respondent in the business environment argue that learning in an organization is very important. However, organizations often complaint that they are not enough prepared to meet this challenges (Harvard Business Review, 2018). There is a slight difference between the learning organization and the organizational learning, which are being confused sometimes. It is very important to understand the difference between the two. While learning organization is an organization, which is constantly working to develop and enhance the organization’s success by adopting new knowledge and experience, organizational learning is the culture along with leadership, which are studied under the academic research (Jaafar et al. 2014).
To cite a personal example in this context, I experienced one such leader in my own life who not only motivated me in all my endeavors; but also encouraged me and inspired me like no one else. He was the leader of the local party in my locality who was elected based on people’s vote, who set an example for all other future leaders to look up to. He not only listened to the people’s demand, he also ensured that the entire party activists should acquire a firsthand knowledge of solving each issues at the ground level. This will help the people working at the ground level to assist the leader, learn, and experience a lot. He encouraged all the activists to take positive outlook to every problem and always encouraged them to learn from the mistakes. This not only made him a successful leaders, it also gave him the chance to be elected for the second term at popular demand.
Conclusion:
Every leader has their unique style of functioning and different strategies. This leadership style is often shaped by the personal experiences and life challenges. In fulfilling their leadership roles, the leader oversee the team, their management and proper functioning. However, in doing so, some leader often follow a path where they not only perform their duties, they also control and influence the functioning of others. They find the potential among all employees of the organization and tries to develop them according. Maxwell mentions about such leaders who not only knows the way but they also show the way to the employees and guide them to achieve their desired goals. While some leaders develop an autocratic style, others develop a more pragmatic and practical approach towards their employees. However, the learning happens when the leader has a participatory approach towards because that help to engage employees of the organization and gain first hand knowledge about the situation.
References
Argyris, C. and Schön, D.A., 1997. Organizational learning: A theory of action perspective. Reis, (77/78), pp.345-348.
Calisir, F., Gumussoy, C.A., Basak, E. and Gurel, G., 2016. Effect of Organizational Learning, Transformational Leadership, and Market Orientation on Firm Performance. International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management, 13(03), p.1640001.
Chadwick, I.C. and Raver, J.L., 2015. Motivating organizations to learn: Goal orientation and its influence on organizational learning. Journal of management, 41(3), pp.957-986.
CNBC (2018). Why Warren Buffett is such an influential leader, according to 40 years of data. [online] CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/23/why-warren-buffett-is-such-an-influential-leader-according-to-data.html [Accessed 29 Dec. 2018].
Dixon, N.M., 2017. The organizational learning cycle: How we can learn collectively. Routledge.
Forbes.com 2018. The Most Successful Leaders Do 15 Things Automatically, Every Day. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2013/02/18/the-most-successful-leaders-do-15-things-automatically-every-day/#2dddcaf69d7d [Accessed 31 Dec. 2018].
Froehlich, D., Segers, M. and Van den Bossche, P., 2014. Informal workplace learning in Austrian banks: The influence of learning approach, leadership style, and organizational learning culture on managers’ learning outcomes. Human resource development quarterly, 25(1), pp.29-57.
Harvard Business Review 2018. The Best Leaders Are Constant Learners. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2015/10/the-best-leaders-are-constant-learners [Accessed 31 Dec. 2018].
Hasson, H., von Thiele Schwarz, U., Holmstrom, S., Karanika-Murray, M. and Tafvelin, S., 2016. Improving organizational learning through leadership training. Journal of Workplace Learning, 28(3), pp.115-129.
Jaafar, M.N., Kassim, N.A., Ghazali, M.F.I.M., Idris, M.A. and Khalib, M.L.H., 2014. Assessing Organizational Learning Culture, Leadership and Dialog in a Learning Organization. Full Paper Proceeding ETAR, 1, pp.1-13.
Liao, S.H., Chen, C.C., Hu, D.C., Chung, Y.C. and Liu, C.L., 2017. Assessing the influence of leadership style, organizational learning and organizational innovation. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 38(5), pp.590-609.
Vargas, M.I.R., 2015. Determinant factors for small business to achieve innovation, high performance and competitiveness: organizational learning and leadership style. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 169, pp.43-52.
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