I have been a lurker on this list for nearly a year and have thoroughly
enjoyed the many threads and diverse opinions I have encountered. I've
been pondering a question for some time but haven't seen a discussion
thread to latch it onto. Here it is:
It seems fairly straightforward (not easy or simple, mind you--just more
obvious, perhaps) to promote organizational learning as an outside
consultant or as a manager with broad authority. There must be, however,
other "leverage points" for being a "midwife" to the learning
organization. For example, what if you are (as I am) a professional
staffer in a large organization? Where can you find a point of influence?
I'm interested in hearing what others have to say about practicing the 5
disciplines of the learning organization in situations where you are not
the designated change agent (or where the organization does not perceive
the need for change yet thrashes around trying to cure systemic problems
with purely technical solutions.)
About me: I'm a staff analyst for a large MIS organization within a
manufacturing firm. I'm the resident soft systems "weirdo," coming not
from a technical computer science background but equipped with a degree in
geography and experience as a regional land use planner, technical writer,
and, in my manufacturing incarnation, quality assurance specialist. I more
or less stumbled into information systems after getting interested in
groupware, workflow, and software engineering and now see my role as
teaching technical people how to think about their process in addition to
the technological aspects of their work.
Many thanks to Rick Karash for facilitating this remarkable list!
Jeff Bennett
Networks and Technology Analyst
Sony Disc Manufacturing - Springfield, Oregon
[Host's Note: Welcome Jeff, and thanks for the kind words! ...Rick]
--Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>