Organizational Learning and Leadership

This article explores the role of leadership in organizational learning and the impact on company performance. It discusses key theories such as the espoused theory and theory in use, and provides examples of successful leaders. The importance of developing a learning culture and the benefits of organizational learning are also discussed.

Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AND LEADERSHIP
Organizational Learning and Leadership
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Author Note

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Introduction:
“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”.
Discussion:
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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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