Senge's Five Disciplines

1 LOOKING BOTH WAYS THROUGH THE WINDOWS OF Senge's five Disciplines SUMMARY story, then the natural richness and complexity of life shows up allowing a more considered approach to issues that are interdependent and The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, edited by Peter nested within systems. We'd have a better senge et al. provides a simple, coherent chance of deeply satisfying our natural curiosity structure and a wealth of material for coaching about how things work while also enabling leaders in five Disciplines that build a learning better solutions for solving problems.

2 Organization. Each of the five Disciplines is like a strategically located window that peers outward Four years after the publication of his book, a and inward, surfacing vital data for the coaching follow-up collection of stories appeared called and leadership development process. Attending The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, edited by senge , to issues leaders finds most pressing, coaches Kleiner, Ross, Smith, and Roberts. The identify the relevant discipline and eventually Fieldbook chronicled applications of the five explore all five Disciplines from that point of Disciplines by practitioners from the field.

3 Entry. One discipline naturally opens to others, Leaders and employees from different levels in Looking Both Ways through the Windows of Senge's five Disciplines and the coherence of the process shows up organizations wrote of their experiences, and through the obvious interdependence of the shared their innovations and insights so others Disciplines . In addition to Fieldbook could benefit from their efforts. Depending on information, tools, and exercises, coaches can our learning styles and stamina, each book easily integrate complementary materials from contributes theoretical and applied approaches other coaching models and frameworks.

4 To transforming the ways we learn as individuals, teams, and organizations. In particular, the INTRODUCTION Fieldbook's practitioners offer many variations on how to learn in a more whole way and why it In 1990 Peter Senge's book The Fifth Discipline matters. landed in bookstores and began its steady march into the hearts and minds of leaders and Senge's framework invokes a sense of synergy students of organizational behavior around the even when seeing the names of the Disciplines : world. In this breakthrough study of learning shared vision, mental models, systems thinking, organizations, senge pointed out a simple set of personal mastery, and team learning.

5 We casn dynamics that we tend to forget that as sense how they reinforce each other. humans we want to learn, and we want to Collectively, these Disciplines map out the rich understand why things are the way they are in and comprehensive terrain of leadership and a more whole way. Much of our knowledge has coaching. And the Disciplines are versatile . been fragmented by the assumptions and each a window or doorway to enter into a larger structures of formal education (split into room that houses the others.)

6 A leader or coach Disciplines and departments with their own can explore any of the five Disciplines first. Each jargon), its teachers, and later, supervisors and discipline is whole unto itself and part of a more leaders of organizations. If we could find a way complex and larger whole. of connecting the fragmented ways we experience life and work into more of a holistic 2009, Lloyd Raines, MCC, Lloyd@integral , 301 933 8280 1 A leader's immediate needs determine the 5) Leaders ensure an atmosphere where relevant discipline to engage first, with others people feel safe to express their ideas being introduced at an appropriate time.

7 And feedback across functions and Coaching this way helps expand leaders' levels, to harness the deeper synergy awareness of their learning capacities as well as from team learning. what provides learning organizations with a competitive edge in the marketplace. By We'll look at them one at a time. experiencing the personal synergies of the five Disciplines , leaders see the organizational SHARED VISION implications of synergies operating at a systems level with a multiplier effect. That insight is a Shared vision is a discipline for bringing into motivational driver for pursuing a strategic alignment the vision and efforts of people cultural transformation process.

8 It also keeps organization-wide. The principle of shared our comprehensive vision as coaches engaged so vision leverages the most productive usage of that we leverage the most learning for our capital, technology, and human capital since clients' benefit as well as for the benefit of their resources are coordinated toward the same ends. organizations. Our value-added, then, takes Processes, job functions, system-wide problem form in those personal changes in leaders that solving, and so forth, flow in a common result in organizational changes and outcomes.

9 Direction. In articulating a vision, leaders can proceed in LEADING FOR A LEARNING various ways. Telling: this is the vision of what ORGANIZATION: THE five Disciplines the organization is going to look like two years Looking Both Ways through the Windows of Senge's five Disciplines from now We've got to do this. It's our vision. From the authority vested in their roles, leaders Be excited about it, or reconsider your vision for are instrumental in facilitating the rise of a your career here.' Selling: The leader attempts learning organization.

10 A fundamental shift in to enroll people in the vision, enlisting as much their own assumptions and behaviors may be commitment as possible We have the best needed. What follows are the five Disciplines as answer, let's see if we can get you to buy in.'. they relate to helping leaders in developing Testing: The leader lays out the vision for learning organizations. testing, not just to find out whether the members support the vision, but how 1) Leaders cultivate a shared vision among enthusiastically they will accept it, and what people throughout the organization, as aspects of it matter to them.