A fifth discipline resource: A practitioner's guide using team learning within mentoring programs

Collaboration, self-directed, and experiential learning are ways for employees to develop so that organizations will remain competitive through knowledge-sharing and increased productivity. The role of the organization in the learning relationship: Identify capabilities that best serve the business now and in the future; provide resources for employee development; and opportunities to apply learning. The role of the employee: Identify where they need to develop; determine how they can develop, and build capabilities for their present job and to ensure future employability. This contextual essay provides resources for individual and organizational learning which were used in experiments conducted in a global power generation business and a global airline.; The essay examines adult learning, organizational learning, and a phenomenological study. The result is a cadre of resources for organizations to develop employees through the use of mentoring and team learning as it transitions to a learning organization. Materials within this essay were used by team members to accelerate learning. The materials are intended to: Be used to increase capabilities which have been identified by the organization as being critical for success within managerial roles of the business; to help employees identify what they need to develop in, and ways in which that development could occur in collaboration with other members of the organization.; The phenomenological study focused on what worked in these collaborative learning relationships: Putting egos aside, applying learning outside of the work environment, and formulating bonding relationships were some of the results people valued. For the managers who led the teams, development of real time coaching applications and shared leadership with team members were identified as valued experiences.; When members of the organization align their knowledge and capabilities, although individual development needs may be different, the organization not only manages its knowledge, it also derives value from the individual learning. Herein lies the benefit to both the individual and the business: To facilitate the identification of organizational needs and help individuals achieve meaningful learning outcomes while working with one another toward becoming a learning organization.