A Learning Organization: An organizational culture that embraces a never-ending drive for continuous improvement, as highlighted by people at every level in the organization continually increasing their capacity to produce good results and constantly learning from others as a means to systematically and deliberately realize operational excellence.
What attributes might a learning organization have? Fundamentally, members of the organization must hold the shared assumption that learning is a good thing, worth investing in, and learning to learn is a skill to be mastered. To master that skill, five attributes to consider are as follows:
1. Proactivity assumption - Be proactive problem solvers and learners.
Instead of complaining, do something to offer a solution.
2. A commitment to learning to learn – To get feedback and to take the time to reflect, analyze, and assimilate that feedback.
Communicate within your crew on each members performance and professinalism. Captains provide professinal gudiance to subordinates and subordinates advise Captains on thier areas of possible improvement.
3. Positive assumptions about human nature – Learning leaders must have faith in people and must believe that, ultimately, human nature is basically good.
Look for the things your co-workers do right. Look for their positives and promote those traits, anyone can point out negatives.
4. Commitment to truth through pragmatism and inquiry – There must be a shared assumption that solutions to problems derive from a deep belief in inquiry and a pragmatic search for truth.
Do not be afraid of critisism. To fall short of a task or goal is not to fail, to fail is to cease attempting that task or goal again.
5. Orientation toward the future – One must think far enough ahead to be able to assess the systemic consequences of different courses of action.
The price you pay now will determine your dividends in the future.
Questions for Thought
• Do you value firefighters who report problems?
• Does management recognize and reward the analyzers and problem solvers?
• Do you or your organization second-guess itself?
• Does your station have a strong accountability culture and a bias toward action?
• Is high value placed on trending low-level events to uncover latent organizational problems that add up to bigger problems?
• Is the corrective action program seen as a burden that is to be used only when necessary?
(Information is cited from the INPO OE / CAA Performance Improvement Digest 2008-02)