Leadership and Learning: Theories, Skills, and Application

This essay delves into the critical relationship between leadership and learning within organizations, emphasizing the qualities of effective leaders who 'know, show, and go all the way.' It highlights the necessity for leaders to adapt to market changes and possess a clear vision. The essay defines organizational learning, drawing from cognitive and behavioral schools of thought, and underscores its importance in achieving competitive advantages. Furthermore, it assesses organizational learning through three classical theories: adaptive and generative learning, experiential learning, and assimilation theory. Adaptive and generative learning, derived from Senge's work, focuses on mental models and the ability to build shared visions. Experiential learning, based on Kolb's model, emphasizes learning through experience and reflection. Lastly, assimilation theory highlights the importance of action-based changes and knowledge utilization. The essay concludes by providing insights into how leaders can develop their skills by applying the principles of these theories to lead their teams effectively.

Running Head: LEADERSHIP AND LEARNING
Leadership and learning
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Author Note

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A true leader is one who possess the qualities of knowing, showing and going all the way
(Maxwell, 2018). For the purpose of being a good leader one must have a clear vision about the
goals of an organization. Such leader must know the objectives of the organizations. It can be
said that a leader who does not know his goals cannot lead others. Knowing the destination is of
primary importance for leading any team (Antonakis & Day, 2017). However, due to the change
in the market conditions and the change in the policies of the organizations leaders are required
to have the ability and skill to adapt to the changes and shift their visions. Adjustments and
changes in the visions of leaders do not pose any problems to the leaders as long as the leader
knows the way to achieve the visions. Such changes and adjustments in the visions must not
occur frequently as it might make a good leader feel distracted and lose confidence.
A good and efficient leader must go all the way while demonstrating his leadership skills.
In most instances leaders just show the way to their subordinates to achieve the visions he has for
the organizations (Shanafelt & Noseworthy, 2017). However, the leaders themselves are
unwilling to go all the way and provide a demonstration to the subordinates about how to achieve
the goals. A good and efficient leader is one sets an example for others to follow.
A true leader always shows the right path to his subordinates to follow. A leader must not
show the way to his team but also keep the members of the close so they not feel lost and
confused about how to reach the goal (Senge, Hamilton & Kania, 2015). A good leader shares
his vision with the rest of the team and motivates them to achieve the vision shared by them. A
good leader as opined by Senge must act like the designer of a ship rather than its captain. The
leader must create a common vision for the team. He must determine and formulate policies,
structures and strategies and transform business ideas into decisions to be followed by the team.

2LEADERSHIP AND LEARNING
For the purpose of assessing the leadership qualities which include (knowing, showing and
going) the importance of organizational learning must be discussed.
Organizational learning can be defined can be defined as the body of work which takes into
account many disciplines of both social and natural sciences (Shafritz, Ott, & Jang, 2015). The
disciplines of anthropology, sociology and psychology are important contributors to the process
of organizational learning. The process of organizational learning is intricately related to many
other major fields such as organizational communication, leading change, individual motivation
and accountability, creativity and innovation and management and leadership development (Li,
et al., 2014). The phenomenon of organizational learning can be defined by two different
schools of thoughts. They are:
 Cognitive school
 Behavioral school
According to the cognitive school it can be said that organizational learning takes place through
mental models, schemas and structures that help us understand situation and events and also
allow us to interpret and respond to our environment (O'Donnell & King, 2014).
However the Behavioral school suggests that the process of organizational learning s
done by having a good understanding and gaining insights from experience. Such insights and
experience can be gained through observation, experimentation, analysis and examination of the
results of the actions undertaken by the business leaders (Sessa & London, 2015). It can be said
that the need for organizational learning has become necessary now more than ever before as
businesses are tend to move from stable to unstable conditions in the global marketplace.
Companies have realized the need to rejuvenate themselves and re formulate their policies for

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ensuring short and long term success as competitions, market conditions, technology, customer
demands are evolving. Encouraging a culture of learning is of topmost priority to the leading
businesses because organizational learning contributes to creation of competitive advantage by
enhancing the organizational effectiveness and performance.
After having discussed the meaning and importance of organizational learning, it can be said that
organizational learning can be assessed and evaluated by the application of three classical
theories (Kolb, 2014). They are:
 Adaptive and generative learning theory from the cognitive school
 Experimental earning theory from the cognitive school
 Assimilation theory from the behavioral school
Adaptive and Generative learning theory
The theory of adaptive and generative learning had been devised by Peter Senge. It is
based on the theory of Kolb’s ELT model (Chiva & Habib, 2015). The Adaptive and Generative
learning theory has identified mental models which involve generalizations, deeply ingrained
assumptions or images and pictures that help us to have a good understanding of the world and
understanding of how actions are taken. It can be said in accordance with this theory that some
of the skills and abilities required by individuals at the organizational level include: building a
shared vision, personal mastery team learning and systematic thinking. This theory differentiates
between generative and adaptive learning. Adaptive learning can be characterized by paying
attention to the foundation of existing knowledge. Existing knowledge is amended with new
thinking to achieve an objective. Adaptive learning is particular importance to organizations as
organizations seek continuous improvement. The generative learning theory however is different

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from the Adaptive learning theory as it seeks to generate new information from the foundation of
existing knowledge. Generative learning becomes useful to an organization when new strategies,
product lines and other assets are required urgently (Sessa & London, 2015). Generative
learning is effective in producing radical ne changes in the organization. Thus it can be said that
leaders in an organization can develop their leadership skills by the application of principles as
enumerated in the aforementioned theory. Leaders are required to know their vision for the
purpose of leading their teams. By the application of principles of this theory, leaders can access
the information which is required to make innovative strategies to lead their respective teams.
For the purpose of leading their teams leaders are required to formulate strategies for their team
members so that they can achieve their shared vision. Formulation of such strategies requires
leaders to have in depth knowledge about adaptive and Generative information.
Experiential Learning theory-
The experiential learning theory had been devised by Kolb and the same is based on
psychology, physiology and philosophy (Kolb, 2014). The Experimental theory has influenced
organization and leadership significantly and has significantly contributed to the learning
organization principles. The basic premise of this theory is that the process of learning occurs
through grasping and transforming experience. The experiential learning theory is constituted of
a learning cycle with a four stage model. Concrete experience and abstract conceptualization
makes up the grasping component while reflective observation and active experimentation
constitutes the component of transforming experience (Sessa & London, 2015). It can be said
that in this learning process a learner moves though a cycle of experiencing, thinking, reflecting
and acting in a repeating progression which is unique to each learning experience. In this
learning process the specific experiences generate observation and reflection. Such concrete

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concepts are integrated and internalized and into abstract concepts, which in turn generates
behavioral experimentation. Thus after being provided with a detailed analysis of the theory of
Experiential learning, it can be said that leaders are required to create an atmosphere of learning
within the organizations.
Assimilation theory
This theory is comparatively different from the other cognitive theories. According to this
theory, organizational learning is primarily focused on changes, which are based on action. Such
changes take place in an organization as the individuals learn through their performance
(Engeström, 2014). According to the Assimilation theory, organizational learning can be
characterized as rational, observable and quantifiable. This theory has put forward a learning
process comprised of three unique stages. These stages are:
 Knowledge acquisition which consists of creation and development insights, skills and
relationships
 Knowledge sharing which consists of disseminating what has been learned
 Knowledge utilization, which is comprised, of implementation of the knowledge
through policies that can be applied in general situations.
The aforementioned three stages are behavior linked and focuses on practical application rather
than cognition. Seven learning orientation have been proposed for the purpose of defining this
method of organizational learning. The seven orientations are:
 Identifying the source of the knowledge
 Focus on what is produced by the organization versus how the organization aims to
deliver its services and products

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 Documentation of the knowledge- Assessing public availability vs individual possession
of knowledge
 Mode of Dissemination- How the knowledge acquired is to be disseminated among
various departments of the organization
 Focusing on the learning process- Assessing the benefits of transformative versus
incremental learning
 Focusing on value chain- Assessing whether investing in ‘market and deliver’ or ‘design
and make’ functions would be beneficial
 Focusing on development of skill- Assessing the benefits of development of skills by
individuals vs development of team skills.
Thus after analyzing the principles of this theory it can be said that leaders are first required
to identify the source of the knowledge required for building the vision. He is then required to
share the knowledge gathered by him with other team members so that they can share the vision
of the leader. Finally he is required to focus on the learning process and assess the benefits of
transformative learning versus incremental learning and assess the development of skills of the
team members.

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Antonakis, J., & Day, D. V. (Eds.). (2017). The nature of leadership. Sage publications.
Shafritz, J. M., Ott, J. S., & Jang, Y. S. (2015). Classics of organization theory. Cengage
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generative learning. Journal of Management & Organization, 21(3), 350-368.
Kolb, D. A. (2014). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and
development. FT press.
Engeström, Y. (2014). Activity theory and learning at work. In Tätigkeit-Aneignung-Bildung (pp.
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