Publications update 04
7 Theses on learning in teams
by Martin Hagen
Editorial
5. The manager plays a central role in the learning process or: managing teams – a manager's craft
Like parents in a family, management personnel have a special responsibility for their team as regards healthy development. They have a special influence on whether and to what extent the team succeeds in learning. It is probably difficult to overestimate this influence: as regards both the selection of the learning fields (see theses 3 and 4) and the atmosphere in which learning takes place.
It is sad but true that teams can only develop with difficulty if the managers keep the team small. That is why those who come up against their limits with the management of teams must first of all seek support for themselves. Managing teams is a craft in itself. Many can learn this craft – or improve their performance in it. Teams, in which management personnel still have enough time and space to train in this ability, are in an enviable situation.
6. Efficient team learning occurs in one-on-one conversations
In many companies, too much time is still wasted in discussions with too many people. In my opinion, too many (insufficiently-well prepared) subjects are also discussed in teams with too many people. With many problems, managers set themselves the demand to achieve a consensus with everyone together (or at least to have spoken about it with everyone).
This is all the more astonishing when one considers that many people have had the experience that learning is much simpler in one-to-one situation. Many managers report that they can be much more courageous in confrontations in one-to-one conversation than in front of other (without their esteem suffering due to this). Our conversation partner can absorb feedback much better, can ask questions and does not lose face, even in the case of difficult subjects. The larger the group, the greater the social complexity. The subjects that are discussed in large groups should therefore be carefully selected.