What is Team Learning?

"Team learning is vital because teams, not individuals, are the fundamental learning unit in an organization. This is where the rubber meets the road; unless teams can learn, the organization cannot learn."

-Peter Senge

According to Peter Senge, one of the pioneers for team learning, team learning is defined as “a process of aligning and developing the capacity of a team to create the results its members truly desire” (2006, p. 218).  A shared vision and talent are foundational to team learning but they do not guarantee that a team knows how to “play together” when needed to accomplish the complex tasks required in organizations today.  Senge discussed how 3 critical dimensions need to be present for team learning to be critical to organizational success.  The interdependence created through the 3 key dimensions below is becoming more and more prevalent on teams throughout an organization, making it a capability most leaders should not ignore.   

Senge’s 3 Key Dimensions of Team Learning: 

• Need to Think Insightfully about Complex Issues: Your team must have the need to tap many minds that create a higher collective intelligence than any one team member individually 

• Need for Innovative, Coordinated Action: Each team member relies on the other members to act in a way that supports their actions and helps them accomplish the overall team mission 

• Role of Team Members on Other Teams: You are members of multiple teams and take the learning from one team and engage in team learning with your other team (ex: leadership team engages in team learning and then takes their new collective knowledge and engages in team learning with the team they lead) 

Team Learning is a complex concept and a collaborative discipline. It must be designed for the team's specific context to maximize your organization's ROI. Teams can have different learning routines (an after action review is one example), but to impact team performance, they have to learn from their performance, apply that learning to future action, and embrace the embedded aspects of team learning. 

10 Aspects of Team Learning: 

1. A collective process: Team learning is the combined effort of individuals to expand their knowledge and skills. 

2. Knowledge sharing: It involves the exchange of information and expertise among team members. 

3. Problem-solving: Teams learn by collaboratively tackling challenges and finding solutions. 

4. Continuous improvement: Team learning is an ongoing process of refining practices and processes. 

5. Adaptive capacity: It's the ability of a team to learn and adapt to changing circumstances. 

6. Shared mental models: Team learning involves developing a common understanding of the team's goals and processes. 

7. Cross-fertilization of ideas: It's the process of combining different perspectives to generate new ideas. 

8. Learning from mistakes: Teams learn by analyzing failures and identifying lessons learned. 

9. Building trust and collaboration: Team learning fosters a supportive environment for open communication and cooperation. 

10. Creating a learning culture: It's a collective commitment to continuous growth and development. 

A "Yes" response to any of the above questions means your team could most likely benefit from implementing team learning practices.

By prioritizing team learning, organizations can cultivate high-performing teams, drive innovation, and achieve sustainable success. 

Would you like to learn more about specific team learning strategies or how to implement team learning in your organization?

 Reach out to us today to learn more about how we can help your teams become better.

Check out Peter Senge’s work:  

Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. This seminal work introduced the concept of the learning organization and its implications for teams. 

New Manager Training and Team Leadership Development

Our answer to the question “How to Train a New Manager?” is to upskill the new leader in Team Learning. 

In our Team Learning course your managers and new leaders will learn: 

• Team Psychological Safety, 

• Collaboration. 

• Designing effective Team Learning Routines and spark innovation. 

• How to integrate Team Learning into the daily and weekly flow of work. 

• How to adapt team leadership styles for different teams and contexts. 

• How to increase and maintain team energy and team effectiveness for sustained, elevated performance. 

You can learn more about our team learning courses here. 

Thriving Teams Institute is a learning institute and organizational development company that upskills leaders to lead their own team learning in the flow of work.  

With deep experience in both research and practice, we have come to know that when teams learn together, they can thrive together. We help you utilize team learning to ensure every facet of an organization can learn and grow in ways that support their best work and improve organizational success.

Through team learning, we believe that organizations can create cultures that support innovation, better navigate the human elements of teaming, and build team capability to realize new levels of success.