The Leader’s New Work Peter Senge

Our traditional view of leaders — as special people who set the direction, make the key decisions, and energize the troops — is deeply rooted in an individualistic and non-systemic world-view.

In a learning organization, the leaders’ role differs dramatically from that of the charismatic decision maker. Leaders are designers, teachers, and stewards.

These roles require new skills: the ability to build shared vision, to bring to the surface and challenge prevailing mental models, and to foster more systemic patterns of thinking.

In short, leaders in learning organizations are responsible for building organizations where people are continually expanding their capabilities to shape their future — that is, leaders are responsible for learning.

Credit: Peter Senge