Elements of Visionary

Leadership
The Objective is to increase workplace efficiency by controlling elementary problems
with workplace education tools. Workplace learning opportunity finds efficient ways
to get jobs done.
The Goal - The goal in any task is to get the job done. Leadership style controls
efficiency, which controls competitive value of product or service, which determines
the winner.
Leadership Innovation Today, fast growing organizations are built on leadership
innovation, that is, they are not built by product visionaries but by social visionaries
those who invent entirely new ways of organizing human effort. Southwest
Airlines, Inc. is an example.
Definition of Terms
Visionary Leadership increases efficiency by moving decision-making responsibility
to the frontline. Efficiency is achieved with limited supervision. To make frontline
responsibility effective, leadership must give workers opportunity to develop
decision-making skills and learn to trust them. Wal-Mart stores use visionary
leadership.
Standard leadership assumes employees to be robots and do as they are told. This is
based on mans natural instinct that only management is capable of making quality
decisions. This is known as command-and-control leadership. Low efficiency is
caused by the disconnect between management and the frontline. Management is busy
dealing with problems that affect them while ignoring problems that affect the
frontline. Front line problems are only dealt with when they explode into a major
problem. K-Mart stores use standard leadership.
Workplace learning opportunity creates a workforce of decision makers. Employees
at all levels have the opportunity to discover and develop their unique skills, thereby,
inspiring them to become quality decision-makers. The key word is opportunity.

Not everyone will embrace this opportunity, but the few that do will inspire others
with positive attitudes. This can only be achieved with visionary leadership.
Primary Elements
Leadership structure controls decision-making responsibility. Visionary
leadership allows responsibility all the way down to the frontline. Standard leadership
limits decision making to management.
Priorities Organization priorities control leadership style.
When responsibility at the frontline has priority, leadership will seek talent,
people he can depend on to complete tasks with limited supervision. The policy
will be do it. The frontline develops quality decision-making skills that are
also found in layers of management.
When the priority is control, leadership will be organized in a way that all
decisions must have approval. The policy will be do not do anything until
being told. Layers of management slow the final decision, while lowering
efficiency.
Policies - Leadership style is controlled by workplace policies. Leaders will adapt
their style to the organization priorities and its goals.
High efficiency workplaces are based on visionary leadership, where workplace
policies authorize decision-making responsibility at the frontline. Limited
supervision is needed with worker responsibility.
Standard leadership is based on mans instinctive desire for control, which is
leadership by default. A leaders changing mood controls policy of the moment
and no one knows what the priorities are mood-changing priorities reduce
efficiency. Standard leadership requires a high level of supervision.
Elementary problems - Leadership style controls the level of elementary problems,
which controls workplace efficiency. Level of elementary problems is controlled, in
part, by learning opportunities and leaders personal priority.
Decision-making responsibility, at all levels, allows minor problems to be
solved by those who are first aware of them. Management can stay focused on
problems related to the organization goals. As a bonus, employee motivation is
high when they feel what they are doing makes a difference.

 A leaders desire for control prevents minor problems from being solved,
because no one can make a decision without approval. Leaders priorities are
based on high visibility events. As employees adjust work habits to minor
problems, they become accepted as normal. The volume of these problems
slowly grows and the workforce slowly becomes less efficient. Management
blames workers for their lack of ability to get the job done. Assigning blame
without responsibility solves nothing.
Learning opportunity - Quality of worker decisions is controlled by workplace
learning opportunities.
Learning to make quality decisions is the result of worker responsibility,
resulting in the development of personal skills. An experienced workforce
prevents elementary problems. Continuous learning opportunity is highly
motivatingit controls employee inspiration, skill level and quality.
People, who only follow orders, do not have learning opportunity, do not
develop personal skills and do not learn quality decision making. A workforce
that is indifferent to the needs of the organization increases elementary
problems. Workers learn no more than necessary to their job.
Achievers Everyone wants to be an achiever in and out of the workplace. With
workplace ambitions, leadership promotes or kills this desire.
People, who have a burning drive to be an achiever, seek opportunity in
organizations that have a reputation of supporting personal ambitions. Their
presents inspire coworkers to do the same or simply be proud of their
surroundings. Leadership welcomes subordinates more capable than
themselves, because their first priority is to get the job done with limited
supervision.
Command-and-control leadership drives away visionary achievers. Should they
become employed, they will soon quit or be fired. Leaders do not want their
status threatened by ambitious subordinates or someone more capable than
themselves, because their first priority is control. As a result, the workforce
waits for official decisions and waits for things to happen. A high level of
supervision in needed to keep things moving.
Natural talent - Leadership style controls the ability to recognize natural talent. No
one knows what their true capabilities are until they are given opportunity and
responsibility.

 Where workers have decision-making responsibility, unique skills and natural

talent are soon recognized by coworkers and leadership. An employee may
discover talent he did not know he had. With discovery, he can search for ways
to develop it. Efficiency increases when natural talent is in harmony with
assigned tasks.
Where workers only follow ordersunique skills, natural talent and discovery
of capabilities are lost to the company and its employees.
Skill level The ability and desire to share knowledge with coworkers influences the
continuing education level of the workforce, thereby, increasing skill level and the
value of their services. Workplace education is dead for people who only follow
orders.
Technology Todays technology is reducing the time it takes to get jobs done.
Workplace learning opportunity is the only way to stay on technologys leading
edge. Visionary leadership, not standard, is the only way for the organization to be a
leader in its field.
Getting the job done Projects only have value when the job is completed, until
then, it is garbage. Competitive value depends on the efficiency of getting the job
done, which is based on keeping elementary problems to a minimum. Efficiency is
also a byproduct of employees attitude towards their job. Leadership, opportunity and
responsibility influence attitude.
Elements to Consider
Ethical policies Ethical policies at the organizations top filter down to the frontline.
It is not possible to have unethical policies at the top and enforce ethical policies at the
bottom. Leaders ethical policies become the mindset of the organization. A person
with high ethical standards will not stay long in an organization with low ethical
standards, they will quit or be fired. A potential whistle blower becomes a threat, yet,
this type of person makes an organization efficient. Success of workplace
responsibility requires high ethical policies from top to bottom.
Exception to the rule - The military uses command-and-control leadership, yet the
troops are highly skilled, motivated and morale is high. This is opposite the statements
stated above. The difference - military organizations are team orientated with
continuous training. Troops expanding their skills and experiencing capabilities they
never dreamed possible, produces a highly motivated and efficient organization.
Learning opportunity and responsibility is the key.

Hiring a visionary leader Very often, an organization realizes it needs to upgrade

its leadership. Management can recognize quality in an applicant, but they do not
know how to manage them, should they be hired. The first thing current leadership
does is tell new leadership how to manage, using their policies. They are in the habit
of giving orders and expect them to do as they say while getting desired results.
Current leadership does not want to change, they want the new leader to change
subordinates attitudes. Attitudes are reflections of leadership. If leadership wants
subordinates to change their attitudes, current leaders must first change their attitudes
and develop quality leadership skills. Then they can adapt and benefit from the
experiences of visionary leadership.
Self-education Man has the ability to educate himself without instructors
commonly known as self-education. Employees, of organizations that stay on the
leading edge of technology, know how to educate themselves. This is the only way to
adapt new technology as it comes on the market. The education system waits for
market demand before it is offered in classrooms. Organizations that wait for
classroom instruction are on the trailing edge of technology.
Resources - Efficiency is as effective as available resourcestools, supplies, work
environmentto complete tasks. Employees will work hard to get jobs done, but they
need quality resources to be efficient. Resources influence pride, which affects
efficiency.
Self-fulfilling prophecy - If leaders want to control workers, they will lead in such a
way that self-fulfilling prophecy will condition workers to do nothing unless closely
supervised. If leaders want workers to assume responsibility, they must lead in such a
way that self-fulfilling prophecy will condition workers to assume responsibility.
Employee turnover sorts personalities, attracting people who fit the leaders image
and rejecting those who do not, thus fulfilling the self-fulfilling prophecy.
Social prejudice believes other people are less capable than we are. If we are
managers and we think other people are less capable, then we will establish a
management policy that reflects that belief. Through employee turnover and selffulfilling prophecy, our opinion will be proven right.

Personal learning environments (PLE) are systems

that help learnerstake control of and manage their
own learning. This includes providing support
for learners to: set their own learning goals.
manage theirlearning, both content and process.

Individual learning is the smallest unit at which

learning can occur. An individual learns new skills or
ideas, and his productivity at work may increase as he
gains expertise. The individual can decide whether or not
to share his knowledge with the rest of the group. If the
individual leaves the group and doesnt share his
knowledge before leaving, the group loses this
knowledge.[11] In their study of software development, Boh,
Slaughter and Espinosa (2007) found that individuals
were more productive the more specialized experience
they had with a certain system.[12]

Tips for Creating a Personal Learning Plan

1. Reflect on successes, challenges, etc., from the previous year.
Also reflect on trends in your industry and/or occupation.

What strengths do you want to further develop?

What weaknesses do you want to mitigate?

What specific skills do you want to work on?

2. Brainstorm some learning goals for the next 6 months. Try using
the BHAG approachto goal-setting.
3. Ask yourself if these goals make you feel excited and
energized. If they don't, keep working on them until they do.
4. Look at your list and ask yourself, "If I could only accomplish two
things on this list, what would they be?" Put the rest on a "some day"
list.
5. What mini goals do you want to set for yourself? Where do you want
to be a week from now, a month from now, two months from now, at the end
of your learning experience?
6. How do you want to learn? What resources are available to you? Can
you connect with other people who are want to learn the same thing? Come
up with a preliminary plan for pursuing your learning. Also give yourself
permission to change that plan as you go through your project.
7. Set specific concrete tasks for yourself to accomplish every day.
8. Be sure to set aside time to accomplish those tasks. Consider your
energy levels and use times of day where you're more alert and engaged.
Learning shouldn't be relegated to when you're exhausted.
9. At least once a week review and reflect upon both what you've
been learning and your learning plan. Document your reflections
somehow--written in a blog post, record audio or video.
10. Use your reflections on your learning plan to change course if
necessary. Have you found another topic you want to pursue? Are you
finding that you're interest in your topic is waning? Do you need to change
tactics? Refine your plan as you go.
It's critical to pursue learning that gets you really excited and energized,
particularly when you won't have the "stick" of your boss or someone else
requiring you to learn. That, to me, is one of the most important elements of
a personal learning plan.
I also think it's important to try to be purposeful in learning. This is
something I'm personally struggling with right now as I've fallen into a bit of

a "let the learning wash over me" kind of pattern. I'm reading, I'm writing, I'm
observing, I'm doing, but I can't say it's to any particular purpose. That isn't
to say that you always need a purpose. Sometimes your learning purpose
evolves, rather than being too set at the beginning. But at a minimum I need
to be thinking about more questions that I want answers to. Right now I'm
letting what I'm reading set the agenda. I need to be clearer about my own
questions and how what I'm experiencing leads me to new questions. That's
ultimately what a learning plan is--defining for yourself the questions you
want answers to and then pursuing learning that helps you both answer
those questions and find new ones.

Organizational learning is the process of creating,

retaining, and transferring knowledge within an organization.
An organization improves over time as it gains experience.
From this experience, it is able to create knowledge. This
knowledge is broad, covering any topic that could better an
organization. Examples may include ways to increase
production efficiency or to develop beneficial investor
relations. Knowledge is created at four different units:
individual, group, organizational, and inter organizational.
The most common way to measure organizational learning
is a learning curve. Learning curves are a relationship
showing how as an organization produces more of a product
or service, it increases its productivity, efficiency, reliability
and/or quality of production with diminishing
returns. Learning curves vary due to organizational learning
rates. Organizational learning rates are affected by
individual proficiency, improvements in an organization's
technology, and improvements in the structures, routines
and methods of coordination.

Five Learning Disciplines...

by Bill Cropper, Director - The Change Forum

Download extended PDF version: FactFile-2

In 1990, Peter Senge published "The Fifth Discipline" (later followed by "The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook:
Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization" in 1994). His books pulled together his
extensive research into what different organisations do to build learning capacity and why some
organisations use learning better than others.
Senge codified these practices into what he called 'The 5 Learning Disciplines' as well as coming up
with the concept-label of 'learning organisations'.
"A learning organisation discovers how to tap
people's commitment and capacity to learn at all
levelswhere people continually expand their
capacity to create the results they truly desire, where
new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured,
where collective aspiration is set free and where
people are continually learning how to learn
together. Peter Senge

More than merely a business best-seller, The Fifth Discipline propelled Senge into the front row of
management thinkers, created a language about change all kinds of companies could embrace, and
offered a vision of workplaces that were humane and built around a culture of learning.
Like any ideal, the perfect learning organisation is not an attainable goal, but rather a desirable and
useful set of guiding ideas and principles for people and organisations to aspire towards. Theres more
to being a learning organisation than just amassing knowledge. Every organisation creates and uses
knowledge. The challenge is that few seem to actually learn how to manage it, apply it, grow through it
and use it effectively.
Theres no one correct formula -- different organisations try different processes, strategies and systems
to share learning, acquire knowledge and turn it into the capacity to learn for change, re-learn and
continually improve. There are, however, some key elements that all learning organisations have in
common. Senge sorted many of these into 5 key learning areas or themes, he called 'The Five
Disciplines'.

Five Learning Disciplines

The 5 Learning Disciplines Shared Vision, Mental Models, Personal Mastery, Team
Learning and Systems Thinking are each made up of a set of tools and practices for building and
sustaining learning leadership capability in organisations. Each Discipline consists of:

Principles, propositions or concepts (Senge calls these guiding ideas)

Tools or techniques that, once learned and practised, assist in making the Disciplines come to life

Practices or precepts to follow in your own leadership behaviour and approaches

According to Senge, leaders in learning organisations learn to thrive on change and constantly
innovate by methodically cultivating these 5 Disciplines. They may never be fully mastered, but
learning-centred leaders, teams and organisations practise them continuously.
Our approach to workplace improvement and learning-centred leadership is based firmly in the values,
concepts, principles and language of learning organisations.

The 5 Leadership Learning Disciplines in brief are:

Shared Vision: The key vision question is What do we want to create together?. Taking time early in
the change process to have the conversations needed to shape a truly shared vision is crucial to build
common understandings and commitments, unleash peoples aspirations and hopes and unearth
reservations and resistances. Leaders learn to use tools such as Positive Visioning, 'Conceptshifting and Values Alignment to create a shared vision, forge common meaning/focus and mutually
agree what the learning targets, improvement strategies and challenge-goals should be to get there.

Mental Models: One key to change success is in surfacing deep-seated mental models - beliefs,
values, mind-sets and assumptions that determine the way people think and act. Getting in touch with
the thinking going on about change in your workplace, challenging or clarifying assumptions and
encouraging people to reframe is essential. Leaders learn to use tools like the 'Ladder of
Inference' and 'Reflective Inquiry' to practise making their mental models clearer for each other and
challenging each others' assumptions in order to build shared understanding.

Personal Mastery is centrally to do with self-awareness how much we know about ourselves and
the impact our behaviour has on others. Personal mastery is the human face of change to manage
change relationships sensitively, to be willing to have our own beliefs and values challenged and to
ensure our change interactions and behaviours are authentic, congruent and principled. Leaders learn
to use tools like 'Perceptual Positions' and 'Reframing' to enhance the quality of interaction and
relationship in and outside their teams.

Team Learning happens when teams start thinking together sharing their experience, insights,
knowledge and skills with each other about how to do things better. Teams develop reflection, inquiry
and discussion skills to conduct more skillful change conversations with each other which form the
basis for creating a shared vision of change and deciding on common commitments to action. Its also
about teams developing the discipline to use the action learning cycle rigorously in change-work.

Leaders learn to use tools like the 'Action-Learning Cycle' and 'Dialogue' to develop critical reflection
skills and conduct more robust, skillful discussions with their teams and each other.

Systems Thinking is a framework for seeing inter-relationships that underlie complex situations and
interactions rather than simplistic (and mostly inaccurate) linear cause-effect chains. It enables teams to
unravel the often hidden subtleties, influences, leverage points and intended/unintended consequences
of change plans and programs and leads to deeper, more complete awareness of the interconnections
behind changing any system. Leaders learn to use 'Systems Thinking Maps' and 'Archetypes'to map
and analyse situations, events, problems and possible causes/courses of action to find better (and often
not obvious) change options/solutions.

Working with the 5 Disciplines

Sometimes its difficult to work out where to start work on the 5 Disciplines. Some say they just want to
do Systems Thinking or work on a Shared Vision and leave Personal Mastery or Team Learning out
of the picture. Trouble is they cant, because as you may have realised, all the Disciplines are interlinked.
Do I need to build a Shared Vision first with my team? But hold on I cant really do that until we start
having better conversations (Team Learning). Can I start by using Systems Thinking to map out with
my team a few problems that keep repeating themselves at work? But wait theyll need to understand
assumptions and Mental Models if thats going to be worthwhile
Because of their inter-connected nature, it doesnt matter where you start. The Disciplines are like 5
fingers of the same hand. This doesnt mean trying to work with all 5 Disciplines at the same time.
Theres nothing wrong with concentrating on one (and we say no more than 2 at a time) of the
Disciplines first and working your way onto the others serial fashion.