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In his new book Clear
Leadership, Gervase Bushe argues that “mush” in communications and
relationships costs organizations a fortune. Counter-productive subgroups form.
Distrust and cynicism take root. Leaders can’t see the consequences of their
actions. An unhealthy “organizational unconscious” creates and acts upon a
“truth” that is at odds with expressed organizational values. The enterprise
suffers from poor implementation and follow-through. People stop learning from
each other.
Dr. Bushe is a professor of
business administration and a consultant who practices what he preaches. He
explains how we get into the mush and how to get out of it, with clear prose,
plenty of examples, and straightforward solutions. Consider the “mush”
surrounding the subject of organizational learning. One chapter is devoted to
organizational learning because Bushe is “convinced that in business the only
sustainable competitive advantage is the capacity to learn faster than your
competitors.” Earlier he establishes some thought-provoking definitions for
learning organizations (our emphasis in italics): “I define learning as the
outcome of an inquiry that produces knowledge and leads to change. All three
components (inquiry, knowledge, and change) have to be present for an episode of
organizational learning to take place. Knowledge that doesn’t come from
inquiry is revelation, not learning. Knowledge that does not lead to change
might be called conceptual learning, but without practical results it’s
not organizational learning. Organizational learning takes place within the
relationships that make up an organization. From this point of view, learning
is social, not an individual phenomenon.”
Does your organization:
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Suffer from “mush”?
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Value organizational learning as
a strategic competitive advantage?
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Go beyond conceptual learning,
to learning-driven change?
How CultureConnects can help.
CultureConnects facilitates
culture assessments to help organizations identify gaps between intentions and
actions. Through planning and marketing initiatives we help maximize your
strategic capabilities. Clearly.
For client case studies, click
here.
Find our how we can help your
organization. Contact
us.
To view other leadership tools, click here.
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