Stever Robbins wrote:
> Do you find yourself using these same kinds of motivators could be used in
> a business setting, and to what extent?
>
> >I've fostered an "hands-off" approach that recognizes their right to be
> >intransigent.
> >Our agreement is that we'll replace those who leave with those who want to
> >learn.
>
> This is a graceful way of doing it. It highlights the difference between
> BUILDING a learning organization and BECOMING a learning organization.
> You can build one from the ground up with careful people selection. If
> you start with a different selection of people, though, the task is one of
> transition to a LO. It seems to me that the replace-through-attrition
> solution is really turning it back into the "easy" problem of building
> from the ground up. You could actually change the existing people with
> the boot camp solution, but that might not work in a corporate setting.
Stever--I find that leadership and facilitating learning are situational
skills. They need to be appropriate to the person one is attempting to
influence, as well as the setting (meaning culture, history, perceived
needs, etc).
Aware of the danger of equating people and animals, I certainly find
parallels between the two (as have many fablists). As a young lad, on my
grandfather's small place in Montana, I used to help him train young
horses to work, either for saddle or draft. Each animal's personality
played a great part in determining how we would train it, as well as it's
intelligence in learning the desired skill. I recall very smart horses
who had no desire or intent to learn or accept the discipline of learning.
Lots of love and patience, in addition to perserverance and discipline,
were needed with these horses. Animals love to learn, also. Some of them
just hate to be forced against their nature to learn. When a trainer
finally develops that rapport with the animal, and shows respect for their
nature and temperament, the animal begins to learn. In many animals, this
behavior exemplifies its' love for the trainer.
It seems to me that animal trainers show their love for the animal through
strength, respect, kindness, reward, discipline, patience and time.
Ironically, we too often cannot exhibit these same traits with the people
to whom we are responsible as teachers or facilitators. Those who do
exhibit these traits, though, experience the greatest reward and success
with their training. They are my role models, and I wish we could all of
us have teachers who are like this.
Reward and accounting systems aren't too useful in quantifying the
inexplicable relationships between people that create dynamic learning
environments. Organizations, though, would be well-served to nurture
these relationships when they exist. Finally, I've been thrown by horses
that seemingly loved me (but who took advantage of a momentary weakness).
I've experienced a similar phenomenon with people. My lesson (I'm a
learner, too)--stay alert.
Doc
-- Richard C. "Doc" Holloway, Limen Development Network - olypolys@nwrain.com"I have come to understand organizational vision as a field-a force of unseen connections that influences employees' behavior-rather than as an evocative message about some desired future state."
-Margaret Wheatley
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>