We assume that there are many organizations that have developed increasingly complex ways of working but that, however, our way of thinking about work remains the same as before and generally responds to almost non-existent models.
One way to change these long-standing anchors is to create a space for reflection that allows us to think about work, undock it from old paradigms, and build the necessary tools. At VG & Asociados we call these spaces Organizational Devices (OD) and they consist of meetings that take place regularly on the same days and times previously scheduled and agreed upon by the participants. These experiences facilitate the joint construction of knowledge using the underlying resources in the organization itself. We could summarize by saying that there are at least two ways to build knowledge at work: A) Single Loop Learning and B) Double Loop Learning
Simple Circuit Learning
It is very common that at work the construction of knowledge occurs through simple circuits, which involves correcting the action when the expected result does not occur. If it went wrong, we do it again (Gore 2021). In an organizational context, single-loop learning occurs through the interaction of individuals occupying different locations. Single-loop learning relies on rules and norms that are assumed to be okay, or at least unquestioned. In other words, it does not question the basic assumptions on which that knowledge rests.
Double Loop Learning
However, it may happen that what is wrong is not the action itself, but the assumption on which the action rests, so the more I correct, the worse the situation becomes. In this case it is necessary to correct the theory that governs the action, to then correct the action. For example, a leader asks a member of his team to analyze a certain database. He does not do it. The leader corrects the action. He tells her again. Unsuccessfully. The leader is applying a single-loop strategy when he could try to challenge the assumption. A person performs and does when he understands his context, when he manages to create meaning and does not necessarily act and perform just for the sake of receiving a request. Doing and solving involves understanding the context that gives meaning to that task. This innovation depends on a second type of learning that we call Double Loop Learning which, unlike Single Loop Learning, challenges us to review the assumptions that govern the action that guides them (Gore, 2021).
As a closing
All this, that is, reflection in action or on practice, is usually done in silence. Learning to work implies being able to verbalize not only the errors and the way to correct them but also being able to think about whether the correction should be made on the action or on the theoretical assumptions that govern that action.
The place we give to learning at work will have a great influence on results and team building. Knowledge is not individual and must be thought of as a social phenomenon. In the workplace, the most difficult knowledge comes from Double Loop Learning because it challenges us to question assumptions and ideas that we take for granted and to take interaction with others as a way to build the key cognitive tools for our position.
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by CEDOC