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  • March 2008
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review

Is Yours a Learning Organization?

By: David A. Garvin, Amy C. Edmondson and Francesca Gino
  • Format:Print
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Abstract

This article includes a one-page preview that quickly summarizes the key ideas and provides an overview of how the concepts work in practice along with suggestions for further reading. An organization with a strong learning culture faces the unpredictable deftly. However, a concrete method for understanding precisely how an institution learns and for identifying specific steps to help it learn better has remained elusive. A new survey instrument from professors Garvin and Edmondson of Harvard Business School and assistant professor Gino of Carnegie Mellon University allows you to ground your efforts in becoming a learning organization. The tool's conceptual foundation is what the authors call the three building blocks of a learning organization. The first, a supportive learning environment, comprises psychological safety, appreciation of differences, openness to new ideas, and time for reflection. The second, concrete learning processes and practices, includes experimentation, information collection and analysis, and education and training. These two complementary elements are fortified by the final building block: leadership that reinforces learning. The survey instrument enables a granular examination of all these particulars, scores each of them, and provides a framework for detailed, comparative analysis. You can make comparisons within and among your institution's functional areas, between your organization and others, and against benchmarks that the authors have derived from their surveys of hundreds of executives in many industries. After discussing how to use their tool, the authors share the insights they acquired as they developed it. Above all, they emphasize the importance of dialogue and diagnosis as you nurture your company and its processes with the aim of becoming a learning organization. The authors' goal—and the purpose of their tool—is to help you paint an honest picture of your firm's learning culture and of the leaders who set its tone.

Keywords

Interpersonal Communication; Learning; Surveys; Leading Change; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Organizational Culture

Citation

Garvin, David A., Amy C. Edmondson, and Francesca Gino. "Is Yours a Learning Organization?" Harvard Business Review 86, no. 3 (March 2008): 109–116.
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About The Authors

Amy C. Edmondson

Technology and Operations Management
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Francesca Gino

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
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More from the Authors

    • March–April 2023
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    Authentic First Impressions Relate to Interpersonal, Social, and Entrepreneurial Success

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    Mellody Hobson at Ariel Investments

    By: Lakshmi Ramarajan and Francesca Gino
More from the Authors
  • You Need Two Leadership Gears: Know When to Take Charge and When to Get Out of the Way By: Lindy Greer, Francesca Gino and Robert Sutton
  • Authentic First Impressions Relate to Interpersonal, Social, and Entrepreneurial Success By: David M. Markowitz, Maryam Kouchaki, Francesca Gino, Jeffrey T. Hancock and Ryan L. Boyd
  • Mellody Hobson at Ariel Investments By: Lakshmi Ramarajan and Francesca Gino
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