New breakthrough thinking in organizational learning, leadership, and
change
Continuous improvement, understanding complex systems, and promoting
innovation are all part of the landscape of learning challenges today's
companies face. Amy Edmondson shows that organizations thrive, or fail
to thrive, based on how well the small groups within those organizations
work. In most organizations, the work that produces value for customers
is carried out by teams, and increasingly, by flexible team-like
entities. The pace of change and the fluidity of most work structures
means that it's not really about creating effective teams anymore, but
instead about leading effective teaming.
Teaming shows that organizations learn when the flexible, fluid
collaborations they encompass are able to learn. The problem is teams,
and other dynamic groups, don't learn naturally. Edmondson outlines the
factors that prevent them from doing so, such as interpersonal fear,
irrational beliefs about failure, groupthink, problematic power
dynamics, and information hoarding. With Teaming, leaders can shape
these factors by encouraging reflection, creating psychological safety,
and overcoming defensive interpersonal dynamics that inhibit the sharing
of ideas. Further, they can use practical management strategies to help
organizations realize the benefits inherent in both success and failure.
- Presents a clear explanation of practical management concepts for
increasing learning capability for business results
- Introduces a framework that clarifies how learning processes must be
altered for different kinds of work
- Explains how Collaborative Learning works, and gives tips for how to
do it well
- Includes case-study research on Intermountain healthcare, Prudential,
GM, Toyota, IDEO, the IRS, and both Cincinnati and Minneapolis
Children's Hospitals, among others
Based on years of research, this book shows how leaders can make
organizational learning happen by building teams that learn.
