An organization has made the shift from "single-loop" to "double-loop" learning when it moves from simply performing to improving "how we do things." In this way, it increases its capacity to learn, innovate, and adapt to change. What does this shift look like on the job? Normally, rules tell workers what to do in defined situations, for example, if the customer wants A, then do X, Y, and Z. In double-loop learning, people not only reference these rules, they constructively challenge such rote responses; they construct alternative scenarios to play out likely outcomes, test promising new ideas, and replace old rules if new approaches produce more successful outcomes in practice.

In second-generation KM, the role of KM is to enhance an organization's capacity to learn and adapt by pursuing interventions that strengthen its learning and innovation processes. From this perspective, KM has more to do with "learning process management" than with the capture and codification of work products or rules.

This article appears in The Systems Thinker®, Vol. 10, No. 8 (October 1999). Read a newly updated version of the article.

Readers who wish to discuss this topic are invited to the Knowledge Cafe forum.

In the second of a series of articles/models applying system dynamics and systems thinking to everyday issues, Chris and Bill help readers explore the question "Can We Prevent the Next Round of Layoffs?" Read the article and test the model.

John Leggate, BP's vice president of digital technology, stressed the importance of collaborating within complex organizations to share knowledge as fast as the rate of change. One way BP does so is by strengthening horizontal power structures so that information can be shared more effectively, for example, by networking employees worldwide and designing office layouts that encourage informal conversations among business units.

Barry Richmond, managing director and founder of High Performance Systems, Inc., discussed how to improve performance by simplifying complexity. He asserted that complexity is not the source of organizational power; rather, it obscures power because it multiplies a company's options for generating power. Systems thinking provides the framework needed to harness an organization's power because it helps leaders simplify their business reality so they can think about it and act upon it. (Barry's PowerPoint presentation and models are available at www.hps-inc.com.)

According to Wendy Luhabe, one of the world's leading women entrepreneurs, we need to move from complexity to community. This shift requires understanding how we each contribute to the world's complexity and finding the courage to ask ourselves what stand we would have to take to create a different world. She illustrated this process using the example of South Africa's historic Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which provided a forum for oppressor and oppressed to share their experiences of apartheid with each other, articulate a new vision for a democratic South Africa, and begin to build a participative political process.

Aikido expert Thomas Crum explored one way of harnessing the power of complexity by demonstrating how to perceive conflict as positive, elegant, and even fun. Through a series of exercises, he showed participants how to center themselves in order to use their attacker's energy in ways that create value for both parties.

Highlighting the learnings from the other keynote sessions, Peter Senge posited that humans have an immense capacity to deal with complexity, the vast majority of which lies untapped. Since most situations we deal with are complex—if we define complexity as situations in which cause and effect are not close in time and space—we need to focus on cultivating this capacity. To illustrate this point, he described the growing gap between our scientific and technical prowess, which has improved the quality of our lives, and our wisdom to use that prowess in ways that develop our human capacity to grow and connect with each other. He suggested that, if we can learn to perceive reality at its deepest level, we can effect profound change in the world.

Readers who wish to hear the complete keynote presentations can purchase audiotapes of the sessions.

In their book Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace: Building Effective Relationships in Your Organization (Berrett-Koehler, 1999), Dennis S. Reina and Michelle L. Reina observe that managers often lack the skills to establish "transactional" trust: involving others in decision-making; managing expectations and delegating appropriately; and telling the truth, sharing information, and speaking with integrity. Even "unintentional minor betrayals," such as gossip and backbiting, weaken transactional trust and undermine workers' initiative, commitment, and willingness to share knowledge.

If distrust is the norm in your organization, the first step is to promote individual and collective healing. For people to move on, they need more than acknowledgement of the perceived betrayal; they must surface feelings, reframe the experience to learn from it, take responsibility for their role in what happened, and forgive themselves and others. Then, the business needs to build what the authors call "transformational" trust through relationship-based management practices. Through such practices, people learn to collaborate in ways that ultimately lead to superior organizational performance.

Source: Beata Lewis, "Trust and Betrayal," Mediate.com

Readers who wish to discuss this topic are invited to The New Workplace forum.