Welcome
to the new weLEAD In Learning web site and the E-Journal of
Organizational Learning and Leadership!
This entire project began as a dream almost two years ago. Many of the concepts incorporated in this new web site were first envisioned by Greg Thomas (founder and president of weLEAD, Incorporated) and the weLEAD Board of Directors. At the beginning of 2002, I was asked by the Board of weLEAD, Inc. to head a project to develop a web site that focuses on learning organizations and leadership. I formed a project team and a prototype web site was created over a period of several months.
The design of this web site evolved as we learned. Many ideas we tried eventually were recognize as “flops”. The creation of weLEAD In Learning has been a great “learning experience” and represents many hours of work and input by a team of dedicated individuals. The work has been strictly voluntary. No one receives any compensation for working on the web site.
After working with the experimental prototype over a period of time, and receiving many helpful comments from a number of sources, it was decided to build a second-generation prototype web site from scratch. What you are now viewing is that second-generation web site. It is hoped that the entire readership of weLEAD magazine will become an active part of our learning community and contribute suggestions on how we can make this web site and associated E-Journal more valuable.
Prototyping is a well-recognized engineering research methodology using a “design and demonstration” method of investigation. Roger Koble, in his 1990 Ph.D. dissertation entitled “Development of Knowledge and Technology Intensive Software Systems”, has characterized such prototyping as an intense learning experience. In fact, learning is explicitly integrated into the design process.
Peter Senge, in The Fifth Discipline, states: “Prototypes are essential to discovering and solving the key problems that stand between an idea and its full and successful implementation. Significant innovation cannot be achieved by talking about new ideas; you must build and test them.”
Learning organizations, just like this web site, are still “experimental” in nature. Just as we at weLEAD have much to learn about the design of this web site, leaders have much to learn about building and sustaining a learning organization. Today’s “prototype” learning organizations address new and challenging questions and provide us with new and valuable insights.
Peter Senge compares the development of the learning organization to the development of commercial aviation. Although the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk in 1903, it was not until 32 years later that the DC-3 ushered in the modern era of commercial flight. Senge says that between 1903 and 1935 there were many “learningful” prototypes that crashed. Often it is from our failures that we learn the most.
We are still in the “prototyping era” of learning organizations. There is still much learning that needs to be done to know how best to build learning classrooms, learning schools, learning corporations, learning government agencies, learning churches, and learning not-for-profit organizations. In this prototyping era of learning organizations we also seek to understand the disciplines (skills) required to lead learning organizations.
The weLEAD In Learning web site is not the traditional “information only” web site and it is not just an E-Journal web site. It is an attempt to marry a web-based E-Journal with other aspects of a web site—all dedicated to organizational learning and leadership. Our vision is the evolution of a web site that achieves synergy by integrating diverse elements into a single site, and synergy between its creators and readers by building a learning community.
The web contents will be organic, rather than mechanistic, in nature. That is, the web site will grow over time like a garden. A garden grows a little every minute, every hour, every day. Although the E-Journal will be published only twice a year in the fall and spring, other parts of the web site will change monthly. For instance, new bibliographic entries and related links will be added each month. In addition, new sections of the web site will be added as we receive your ideas and bring them on-line! Those who regularly visit and explore the weLEAD In Learning web site will experience continuous learning.
Topics that we plan to cover from an organizational learning perspective are:
Learning Disciplines
Organizational Culture
Servant-Leadership and Principle-Centered Leadership
Stewardship
Change Management
Ethics
We look forward to receiving feedback and suggestions from our readers. We also hope that our E-Journal will encourage college students to research and contribute to the student section. All submissions will be blind reviewed by our editorial board.
Howard Baker
Editor