"The Fifth Discipline" is called the "The Fifth Discipline" because the first four disciplines are all preparation for the fifth one. But it is not easy to do the first four exercises well, because they are interrelated.  If we want to complete the first exercise of self-transcendence, the team needs to know how to establish a common vision, revise its thinking model in order to identify structural conflicts, and need to solve one difficulty after another through team learning. 

The Fourth Discipline: Team Learning

We all know that individual abilities are limited, and no one can master everything. Therefore, to face different problems, we need to gather our efforts to solve them. Or you may ask, what is the difference between this and general division of labor and cooperation. The concept of this discipline is it can improve the creativity and results of the entire team when team members can effectively learn and share knowledge, making the team's overall wisdom greater than the sum of its individual wisdom. 

The three basic elements of team learning are dialogue, discussion and practice. Conversation is open, honest, and constructive communication between team members. Discussion is based on dialogue, discussing problems, proposing solutions and reaching consensus. Practice is about putting the results of dialogue and discussion into practice, and constantly testing and adjusting to achieve the best results. 

You may ask if this is nonsense, because it is no different from ordinary company meetings. However, the leadership of a meeting is often in the hands of a few people under normal circumstances, and the opinions of all participants cannot be truly integrated. Therefore, just making the meeting effective is already an important management issue. Let me reiterate that the first four practices need to be practiced at the same time in a suitable corporate culture to be established. The effect of team learning can be truly guided only when each member of the team can communicate on the same basis. 

With a shared vision, team members identify with the team's goals, commit to themselves, and work voluntarily to achieve those goals. With a mentality of transcending themselves, members will continue to learn new things to adapt to changing environments and challenges. With these foundations, members can build mutual trust among themselves and be more willing to share their own ideas rather than focusing on expressing their own opinions. Even if the opinions are different, as long as the direction is consistent, everyone will listen to other people's thoughts and opinions. With an open attitude, team members more easily learn to combine their own ideas with those of others to create new solutions and innovations. 

When practicing team learning, organizations need to create an environment that supports learning. This includes encouraging team members to ask questions and creating good communication channels. If members actively listen and speak, it is inevitable that there will be differences of opinion and even conflicts. However, as long as it is about the issue and not the person, it can be regarded as a head-on conflict. Frontal conflict is not terrible. It is a good opportunity to deal with conflicts within the team. As long as a suitable thinking model can be used to reduce personal cognitive biases, correctly assess risks, and then achieve the vision as the greatest premise, the team can finally reach a consensus. 

When team learning can be effectively implemented, personal growth will be significantly projected into the team. As long as sufficient time and resources are provided, the team will slowly become a living entity that can learn and practice. The more such teams in a company, the more down-to-earth improvement strategies can be formulated. Problems can be solved in innovative ways, thereby making the organization more competitive. 

The next article is the last article on learning organizations, and we will talk about the last one of practicing systems thinking. The first four disciplines are basically preparations for cultivating systematic thinking. They may be a bit difficult for some readers, but with personal growth, you may have a different experience when reading again.

Simon So

Chief Experience Officer of Hantec Group