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Chris Argyris
The professional who reasons productively casts a critical eye on her own role in a company’s problem.
Until senior managers become aware of how they reason defensively and the counterproductive consequences that result, there will be little real progress. Any change activity is likely to be just a fad.
Teaching people how to reason about their behavior in new and more effective ways breaks down the defenses that block learning.
But effective double-loop learning is not simply a function of how people feel. It is a reflection of how they think, that is, the cognitive rules or reasoning they use to design and implement their actions.
In short, their ability to learn shuts down precisely at the moment they need it the most.
If learning is to persist, managers and employees must also look inward.
Every company faces a learning dilemma: the smartest people find it the hardest to learn.
Learning can be defined as occurring under two conditions.
But today's dilemmas are even harder to deal with: autonomy vs. control; innovation vs. no surprises; participation and ownership vs. meeting deadlines; and job security vs. excess employees through job design.