Peter, the author of “The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization” believes that the most successful teams in the future will be learning organizations. As in the face of the rapidly changing situation, enterprises may be eliminated as long as they are slow to respond. The only advantage you can count on in the long run is learning faster than your competition. 

This time, we will discuss two disciplines in the article. 

Mental Models

The mental model has been introduced in detail in the previous two articles, and I will only give a brief explanation here. A mental model is a systematic way of thinking that makes us used to thinking in a specific way, which can reduce our cognitive biases caused by intuition and emotion. To train a team's thinking model, of course, it starts with individuals, but it is not necessary for every member of the team to learn all the models. However, members can improve their own thinking models according to their individual abilities and needs, and play a complementary role in the team, so that the whole team can think in a more realistic way.  

There are two main purposes of using the mental model. One is to reduce the cognitive bias of the team and detect facts that are not easy to be discovered. The second is to continuously identify, reflect and challenge our existing assumptions. The biases that are prone to occur in a team are slightly different from those of individuals. There are less biases caused by emotions, but more due to factors such as power, position, and competition. For example, we will think that "if we are not in the position, we will not find the work", because we think that we can handle the work in any position, but this is also a kind of bias for team development.  

Therefore, even if a team has a different mental model, if it does not enable team learning, it will be limited in its effectiveness. Regardless of individuals or teams, mental models can change the way we see the world, broaden our vision infinitely, and make the conclusions we think closer to reality. 

Shared Vision

There is a vision in companies, but I don’t think there is a shared vision. A simple explanation of the common vision is that we are united, and everyone is moving towards the same goal. However, in order for every colleague to truly understand the vision and think spontaneously and in their own position on how to achieve the vision together with the company, this requires a team of self-transcendence. 

The common vision is a goal jointly formulated by the whole company, not from top to bottom, nor from bottom to top. Although the colleagues are aware of the difficulty of achieving the goal, they are willing to strive for the goal because they are convinced by the colleague and have the heart of self-transcendence. 

The biggest advantage of using a common vision is that it enables each colleague to have a basic judgment in choosing a job. Depending on the job position, employees can reflect on how they can contribute to the vision and use the vision to prioritize work rather than dictate from the top down. If the company's employees, regardless of whether they are on the front line or in the back office, can use similar standards to review their work, then even if individual personnel go in the wrong direction, they can correct themselves at the work level. This greatly reduces management costs. 

On the contrary, if the visions of the company and employees are inconsistent, employees can only make work judgments according to their own ideas. Even if its judgment is good for the company, it may develop in a different direction from the company. Even if its judgment is good for the company, it may develop in a different direction from the company.

Simon So

Chief Experience Officer of Hantec Group