logotype

Building and Leading Resilient Teams: Module 7


Module 7: Enhance the organization’s ability to change and compete by supporting organizational learning (part 2).

Module 7: Enhance the organization’s ability to change and compete by supporting organizational learning (part 2).

Organizations that cannot learn are doomed to repeat the same mistakes. Gaining a competitive advantage is hard. Maintaining a competitive advantage is even harder. To survive and compete over time, organizations must be willing and able to learn and change. In fact, without learning, there can be no change. This is true for individuals, teams, and organizations of all types. And just like individuals and teams, when an organization bounces back from adversity, learning is how it adapts and grows. Resilient organizations are learning organizations. In learning organizations, leaders at all levels build and lead resilient teams.

Why build and lead resilient teams?

In any organization, getting the work done can be hard. Resilient teams thrive in challenging environments because they can overcome adversity, and then adapt and grow together. Leaders build resilient teams by creating a positive climate, developing cohesion, and providing purpose. Building resilient teams makes team learning possible. Team learning is the foundation of organizational learning and change.


Learning Objectives for Modules 6 and 7: Enhance the organization’s ability to change and compete by supporting organizational learning (parts 1 and 2).

Assignment 1. Learn the following key terms and ideas. Knowing these key terms and ideas is essential to understanding the concepts that support each leader task in this module. (0.5 hours)

Key Terms and Ideas


Assignment 2. Reflect on your unique leader/follower experience with each of the leader tasks and concepts below. Consider ALL the reflection questions in detail. The articles are provided to prompt critical thinking about the topics. (5.5 hours)

Leader Tasks and Concepts

3. Foster knowledge emergence.

Knowledge emergence is the creation of new knowledge at the individual or team level, followed by recognition and integration of that knowledge into practice. The organization has not fully “learned” until the new knowledge is codified into the organization’s plans, policies, processes, or procedures.

New knowledge is created in organizations as individuals and teams learn from their experience. Knowledge creation produces new ideas for improvement and innovation. The front-line workers and supervisors that interact the most with the organization’s products, services, and customers are often the best source of new ideas.

Leaders at all levels in an organization should encourage and reward creativity. Creativity is the ability to develop original ideas, options, or possibilities. Leaders sometimes dismiss a new idea for improvement and innovation because it still needs work. Instead, leaders should get involved and help develop the idea into something actionable if possible.

Leaders can foster knowledge emergence by challenging the status quo. Status quo is the current or present condition; the way things usually are. Leaders should ask themselves and their teams; “Is this actually working?” and “Is this the best we can do?”. Constructive dialogue is essential for challenging the status quo.

Leaders should identify and encourage knowledge catalysts, especially those in front-line leadership roles. A knowledge catalyst is an intellectually curious person that routinely seeks knowledge from a variety of sources to improve individual and collective understanding.

Reading:

Making Creativity and Innovation Happen

Where Does Your Innovation Live?

Insights Vs. Organizations

5 Reasons Creativity Gets Crushed at Work

Are you Sitting Comfortably with a Culture of Experimentation?

Your Company can Improve Innovation Outcomes by Thinking Bigger

6 Ways to Remove Organisational Barriers to Innovation

How to Get Past Just Telling People to Change Their Behavior


4. Ensure knowledge diffusion.

Knowledge diffusion is the sharing and transfer of knowledge throughout an organization. When new knowledge is integrated into practice in one part of the organization, leaders must ensure that other parts of the organization adopt those same practices.

Knowledge diffusion is difficult when it requires individuals and teams to build new mental models. Even though the new “way of doing things” has proven effective elsewhere in the organization, leaders should expect resistance to change. When leaders personally endorse new practices, diffusion is more likely.

A knowledge network is a system of connected people and tools that enable sharing and transfer of knowledge. Knowledge networks, especially those supported by technology, are essential for knowledge diffusion.

A community of practice is a group of people bound together by what they have learned through mutual interest and experience in a particular activity. In the world of work, communities of practice are everywhere, and we all belong to one or more.

Communities of practice are defined by the knowledge they share, most of which is tacit. Tacit knowledge is subjective knowledge gained from personal experience that is stored in a person’s memory. Communities of practice provide on-the-job training.

Communities of practice are especially effective at transferring knowledge because communities of practice engage in dialogue across traditional organizational boundaries.

Although communities of practice are mostly informal and self-organizing, they are quite effective at managing knowledge in organizations. Organizations can influence the development and effectiveness of these communities by providing people with the time and resources they need to actively participate in them.

Knowledge management in an organization is the process of collecting, analyzing, and organizing explicit knowledge so that it’s accessible to employees. Lessons learned databases are an example of a knowledge management system.

Reading:

Introduction to Communities of Practice

FAQ about Communities of Practice

The Complete Guide to Building Employee Knowledge in the Workplace


Assignment 3: Group Discussion. For students participating in an instructor-led course, the group discussion of leader tasks and supporting concepts is a key element of the learning experience. Group discussion of the factual (what), conceptual (why), and procedural knowledge (how) relevant to each leader task ensures that students are well-prepared for the RBLP, RBLP-C, and RBLP-T leader certification exams. Students participating in an instructor-led course may also want to make use of the Exam Prep Study Tool described below. (3.0 hours)


RBLP® Leadership Certifications


Resilience-Building Leadership Professional® (RBLP) Certification.

People who earn the Resilience-Building Leadership Professional® (RBLP) certification are qualified to build and lead resilient teams in the workplace by creating a positive climate, developing cohesion, and providing purpose.

RBLP is our core leader certification for supervisors and people seeking a supervisory position. Applicants for RBLP leader certification must have at least two years of work and/or college experience.

During the 1.5-hour oral RBLP exam, the applicant is required to show competence in factual (what), conceptual (why), and procedural knowledge (how) in the Create a Positive Climate, Develop Cohesion, and Provide Purpose competency domains (Modules 1-3 only).

Resilience-Building Leadership Professional Coach® (RBLP-C) Certification.

People who earn the Resilience-Building Leadership Professional® Coach (RBLP-C) certification are qualified to build and lead resilient teams in the workplace by creating a positive climate, developing cohesion, and providing purpose. They are also qualified to facilitate team learning.

RBLP-C certified leaders can coach others on these leadership competencies.

RBLP-C is our leader certification for managers and people seeking a management position.

During the 2.5-hour oral RBLP-C exam, the applicant is required to show competence in factual (what), conceptual (why), and procedural knowledge (how) in the Create a Positive Climate, Develop Cohesion, Provide Purpose, and Facilitate Team Learning competency domains (Modules 1-5 only).

Resilience-Building Leadership Professional Trainer (RBLP-T) Certification.

People who earn the Resilience-Building Leadership Professional® Trainer (RBLP-T) certification are qualified to build and lead resilient teams in the workplace by creating a positive climate, developing cohesion, and providing purpose. They are also qualified to facilitate team learning and support organizational learning.

RBLP-T certified leaders can coach others on these leadership competencies and provide training that prepares people to sit for the RBLP, RBLP-C, and RBLP-T certification exams.

RBLP-T is our leader certification for senior managers and people seeking a senior management position.

During the 3.5-hour oral RBLP-T exam, the applicant is required to show competence in factual (what), conceptual (why), and procedural knowledge (how) in the Create a Positive Climate, Develop Cohesion, Provide Purpose, Facilitate Team Learning, and Support Organizational Learning competency domains (Modules 1-7).


© 2019-2024 Resilience-Building Leader Program Inc. | All Rights Reserved

Resilience-Building Leader Program, Inc. owns the copyright to this curriculum and licenses the curriculum to Authorized Education Partners (AEP) and Authorized Training Partners (ATP) on a royalty-free, no-fee basis for their use in providing education and training programs to students and customers. The license permits the AEP or ATP to re-publish and distribute the curriculum materials to students, customers, faculty, and staff, so long as the copyright notices included in the materials are kept intact and not removed or altered. An AEP or ATP may modify and alter the materials within the spirit of the content of the materials. According to this license, an AEP or ATP may not sell the materials. By using, publishing, and/or distributing the curriculum, you agree to this license.

Resilience-Building Leader Program, Inc. also licenses the curriculum to current Resilience-Building Leadership Professional Trainer (RBLP-T) certified leaders on a royalty-free, no-fee basis for their use in providing training at no cost for up to five family, friends, or coworkers per calendar year. This license strictly prohibits the re-publishing, modification, or alteration of the curriculum materials. According to this license, the RBLP-T certified leader may not sell the materials. By using and/or distributing the curriculum, you agree to this license.

“RBLP”, “Resilience-Building Leadership Professional”, “Learn More. Lead Better.”, and the RBLP shield logo are registered trademarks of Resilience-Building Leader Program, Inc.