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“There are two types of learning . . . informative learning allows people to learn more about the
things that fit their mental models, while transformative learning is the process of changing
mental models.”
What do Organizations
Need to Learn to Become a
Learning Organization?
By Alla Heorhiadi,
Kelly La Venture,
and John P. Conbere
We have found that many people talk about
learning organizations without realizing
the underlying assumptions that are
required to develop a learning organiza-
tion. Once we facilitated a group training
and did a blitz survey about how many
people believed they work in a learning
organization. All but two out of 18 people
believed they worked for a learning orga-
nization. They associated the concept of
learning organization with the learning
opportunities their organizations offered
to employees. By the end of the training, in
which we explored the concept of learning
organizations, we asked the same ques-
tion again and only two out of 16 said they
worked for a learning organization. Why?
They realized that there is much more
to the concept of organizational learning
than the amount of training people
can take.
Two Types of Learning
To explore this concept, we will begin with
the word “learning.” There are two types
of learning—informative and transforma-
tive (Kegan, 2000). Simplistically speak-
ing, informative learning allows people
to learn more about the things that fit
their mental models, while transformative
learning is the process of changing mental
models. To be consistent, we will use the
term mental model across the article to
describe a set of beliefs that generates
people’s assumptions and values and
informs their motivations. The terms
mental model and belief system will be
used interchangeably.
A simplistic metaphor for the two
kinds of learning may help. Imagine you
made a swimming hole in the backyard:
you dug a hole, added water, and had a
place to swim. You could embellish it by
adding a diving board perhaps, or a rope
swing, but in essence, it is a swimming
hole. In this metaphor, the additions and
changes are informative learning — taking
in only the new information which fits
with one’s preconceived mental model of
a swimming hole. But what if you saw that
some people grew fish in their ponds, and
the idea comes that you could expand the
swimming hole to make it a fish farm too.
You could reject this idea right away; you
could understand that different people have
different needs but you choose not to have
fish; or you could become a fish farm fan.
Converting your swimming hole into a fish
farm/swimming hole is transformative
learning, at least in this simplistic meta-
phor. Your mental model changed.
Transformative learning happens
in stages, which we will illustrate with
an example of intercultural interaction,
because individuals from different cultures
have absolutely different mental models of
life. In the first stage, rejection, the person
rejects, (or ignores, denies, dismisses—
pick a word) any new information that
does not fit in the current mental model.
Often, during this stage, the carrier of the
other mental model is viewed as being, at
best ridiculous, or wrong, or at worst evil.
The readers perhaps can relate to their
own experience when they faced a culture
that was extremely different from their
own, and thus can recreate the plethora of
5What do Organizations Need to Learn to Become a Learning Organization?
assumptions (often inaccurate), feelings,
and emotions that came with this.
In the second stage, understanding,
the person gets used to the idea that there
are other ideas, assumptions, or values,
which have the right to exist, and this is
fine, as long as the person does not have to
use or accept them. The readers perhaps
have often heard a phrase, “we agree to
disagree.” This reflects that the parties
understand that the other has a different
opinion but are adamant about their own
positions and reluctant to even try some-
thing different. Using the intercultural
example, this would be a situation when
one has to live in a different culture for
a short time, perhaps during travel. The
person very much sticks to her own mental
model, eats only foods she is used to, does
only things she is used to, and does not
venture off the beaten track. The person
may find the other mental model amusing,
but does not have to fight it, and does not
certainly accept it for herself.
In the third stage, using, the person
tries out new behaviors from a different
mental model, either by choice, or because
this is the only way to adapt to a new envi-
ronment. In our intercultural example, that
would be a person who has to live in a dif-
ferent culture for a longer time and finds
some customs of this new culture accept-
able. The person tries different foods,
experiences new activities and new ways of
thinking as part of being in the new culture
but does not feel that this is something to
embrace permanently.
The fourth stage, integration, is char-
acterized by a creation of a mental model
that incorporates the best elements of the
old and new mental models and rejects
elements that do not work. In our example,
the person becomes bi-cultural. The per-
son’s mental model becomes an amalgam
of beliefs and assumptions that work in
a new environment. Some new ideas are
accepted, and some old ideas are rejected.
In Figure 1, the cylinder represents
one’s mental model and the arrows depict
ideas that are taken in. The darker arrow is
information that fits the mental model, and
the faded line represents ideas for a differ-
ent mental model. The difference between
the last two stages is the relationship
between behaviors and belief system that
drives the behaviors. In the third stage,
people may behave differently, but because
the belief system did not change, the
behavior may be temporary. In the fourth
stage, the behavior change is permanent
as it is governed by a new mental model or
new governing beliefs.
Double-Loop Learning
The governing beliefs language brings us
to the concept of double-loop learning.
Much of the foundational work in the field
of double-loop learning can be attributed
to Chris Argyris. Argyris began his career
with an interest in reducing unfairness. As
Argyris (Argyris & Schön, 1996) studied
unfairness, he found that human beings
were skillful at non-learning due to their
inabilities to learn, detect, and correct their
mistakes. To further explain why human
beings were skillful at non-learning,
Argyris distinguished between single-loop
and double-loop learning (Figure 2).
We find that many people miss the
essential difference between single and
double-loop learning. In single-loop learn-
ing, if one tries to do something and it does
not work, then one changes something.
For example, if one cooks and the dish is
too salty, the next time one adds less salt.
In Argyris’ language, single-loop learn-
ing occurs when a mismatch in a person’s
behavior and intention is detected and cor-
rected without changing his/her underly-
ing values and assumptions.
Double-loop learning is needed when
Governing
Variables
Single-loop
Mismatch
Match
Double-loop
Actions Consequences
Figure 2. Single-Loop and Double-Loop Learning
Figure 1. In 1, the old mental model is kept and all else is rejected. In 2, the old and
new are accepted but only the old is used. In 3, some new behaviors are tried out,
but nothing of the old is rejected. In 4, the mental model has a new mix, some of the
old and new are kept and some are rejected.
1
rejection
using integration
understanding
3
2
4
OD PRACTITIONER Vol. 46 No. 2 20146
the problem originates in how people think
or believe, and thus correcting this prob-
lem requires a change in the governing
beliefs. For instance, if a manager tries to
get her work team to work more efficiently
by micromanaging the work and finds that
this tactic does not succeed, the change
that is needed is in the manager’s belief
about the effectiveness of micromanage-
ment. The difficulty is that it can be hard
to identify and then change certain beliefs,
as it takes not only a significant amount
of self-knowledge, but courage and skill to
change old beliefs. In Argyris’ language,
double-loop learning occurs when a mis-
match in a person’s behavior and intention
is detected and corrected by first changing
one’s underlying values.
With double-loop learning, when
individuals face a problem, they have to
reflect on their behavior and identify and
challenge the underlying assumptions that
drive this behavior. Through this process,
the individuals’ underlying assumptions,
which previously remained implicit or
unchallenged, are now exposed. While it
may feel unsafe at first, the individuals
then learn by reflecting on the entire belief
system that led to the problem, and this
learning opens the door to changes in their
thoughts and behaviors, or to a new mental
model. Changing underlying beliefs or
assumptions is not easy, the process can
raise anxiety, but the change is possible.
Argyris and Schön (1996) described
the threefold governing variables needed
for double-loop learning and for a learning
organization: (a) belief in the importance
of using valid information; (b) belief in
the necessity of free and informed choice;
and (c) belief in the importance of internal
commitment to the decisions that are made
and the constant monitoring (i.e., use of
feedback loops) to make sure decisions
actually lead to the desired outcomes.
What do Individuals Need to be able to
Engage in Double-Loop Learning?
While Agyris used the notion of double-
loop learning in the context of organiza-
tions, the concept can pertain to individual
learning as well. For individual double-loop
learning to occur, some pre-requisites have
to be in place. The individual has to be will-
ing to engage in transformative learning
and be reasonably comfortable with anxiety.
These two always go together. Mezirow
(2000) warned:
Transformative learning, especially
when it involves subjective refram-
ing, is often an intensely threatening
emotional experience in which we
have to become aware of both the
assumptions undergirding our ideas
and those supporting our emotional
responses to the need to change.
(p. 6-7)
Then, the individual has to go through
the four essential steps:
1. Critical reflection of self-behavior;
2. Identification of values or assump-
tions underlying the behavior;
3. Changes in underlying values or
assumptions; and
4. Change in the behavior (La Ven-
ture, 2013).
To demonstrate the application of these
steps on an individual level, we will use a
situation of Eve, who does not get along
with her co-worker Mike. She sees him as
arrogant, believes that he constantly ques-
tions her work, and experiences him acting
like he always knows best.
Critical reflection of self-behavior—Eve
took time, after she had a run-in with
Mike, to figure out what happened and
analyze the situation. She was working on
a spreadsheet for a project for which she
and Mike were both responsible, when he
walked into her office and said, “Did you
complete the spreadsheet for the meeting
this afternoon? I want to verify that you
did everything right.” Eve’s face got hot
and she could feel her body clench as she
grew angry. She told him she would look at
the spreadsheet again to make sure it was
right, and he left saying he would be back
in an hour to see her work. She realized
that she had acquiesced to his implication
that her work needed monitoring, as well
as that Mike was more able than she.
Identification of values or assumptions
underlying the behavior—Eve tried to
identify what values and assumptions were
being stimulated when she became angry.
She realized she did not tell Mike about her
conviction that her work had been done
correctly in the first place. As Eve became
more purposeful in critical reflection of
self-behavior, she discovered that it is
important to her to do good work and have
her education and work ethic be valued by
others. In addition, she realized that it is
important that others listen to her. Upon
further reflection, she realized two things.
One is that in the conversations with Mike
on this project, she did not believe that he
valued her work or her expertise on the
topic, and this made her angry. Looking
into her past she saw this as a pattern;
when being challenged, she tended to
defer, fearing that the other person would
somehow hurt her if she stood up for
herself. She also realized that she assumed
that he finds her incompetent. She got
upset with herself because she did not have
the courage to stand up for herself and
for her work. This too was an old pattern,
becoming angry at the other person first
and later becoming angry with herself.
Changes in underlying values or assump-
tions—What values or assumptions might
Eve have to change? One is to recognize
that she deferred to Mike rather than
defend her work. Eve’s task was to explore
what beliefs about herself led her to defer,
and then to choose whether or not to
keep these beliefs. Another was that she
assumed Mike thought she was incompe-
tent. But why did she assume rather than
ask him about what he meant? What belief
prevented her from finding out more about
Mike’s concerns? Wrestling with questions
like this can be anxiety producing.
Change in the behavior—Eve decided to
change the beliefs that led her to defer to
Mike and to become angry as the result of
his demands. She had some choices about
how to proceed with her behavior. She
chose to accept that she deferred out of
fear, and to change her behavior by testing
whether her old assumptions were correct.
She chose to speak up for herself, and
if and when this led the other person to
7What do Organizations Need to Learn to Become a Learning Organization?
become angry or difficult, she would seek
to explore the interaction by examining
the mutual assumptions she and the other
person had.
Individual double-loop learning works
when a person tries to be self-reflective, by
which we mean to be in touch with one’s
feelings. The person has to analyze root
causes of his/her own feelings and behav-
iors, and be courageous enough to accept
the premise that he/she is not perfect.
However the easy part is that it depends
only on one person. In an organization, to
have double-loop learning, it would take
more parts of the equation. Let us show
how double-loop learning would work in an
organization.
Organizational Double-Loop Learning
We worked with a transportation depart-
ment of a large school district. One of the
on-going and expensive problems was that
drivers did not report minor accidents with
the busses. The risk of not reporting these
minor problems sooner, rather than later,
was more costly repairs in the long run and
risk to children’s safety.
Critical reflection of self-behavior—
Drivers knew that reporting minor damage
and problems would be valuable for the
transportation department. Problems could
be fixed more quickly and less expensively
when identified early on, and there would
be less safety risks. But drivers simply
would not report damage and problems if
they thought they would not get caught.
Normally these were honest people, who
cared about the children they transported,
but acted out of character when it came to
damage and problems.
Identification of values or assumptions
underlying the behavior—It turned out
that the district-wide culture was punitive,
and drivers believed they would be pun-
ished if they had even a minor mistake.
If a driver were identified as having an
accident, then HR became involved and
required that an insulting warning letter
be sent to the driver. The intent of HR was
to begin the firing process, if the driver
did not shape up. The organizational value
was to protect the district, even though this
meant disrespecting the driver.
Changes in underlying values or
assumptions—How does an organization
change its values and assumptions? The
transformative learning had to come at the
leadership level first. Actually, the depart-
ment director disliked the way the district
reprimanded people, but he reluctantly
went along with the system. For him, the
new transformative learning was about
refusing to engage in destructive organiza-
tional practices and sharing his reasoning
with the people above him in the hierarchy.
So while the goal was to change the drivers’
behavior, the transformation began with
the change in the leader’s assumptions and
behavior, and then communicating this to
the drivers through designing new proce-
dures that would support new behaviors.
Change in the behavior—It took a while,
but through new procedures, the drivers
changed their assumptions about the dis-
trict, and there is much more self-reporting
about minor accidents and problems. In
fact, the number of accidents dropped
significantly within a year (Conbere, Heo-
rhiadi, & Oestreich, 2014).
To engage in double-loop learning, the
members of an organization have to be
able to work at the 4th stage of transforma-
tive learning, discussed earlier. This is the
level, on which the organizational culture
change actually happens. The organiza-
tion that makes people behave differently
without changing the mental model that
govern employees’ behaviors, really does
not change its culture. Moreover, the orga-
nization has to be open to explore, safely
for all, the existing mental model. This is
very difficult work, at least at first. Schein
(2004) explained this difficulty well. He
noted that:
Basic assumptions, like theories-in-
use, tend to be nonconfrontable and
nondebatable, and hence are extremely
difficult to change. To learn some-
thing new in this realm requires us
to resurrect, reexamine, and possibly
change some of the more stable por-
tions of our cognitive structure—
a process that Argyris and others
have called “double-loop learning”
or “frame breaking” (Argyris et al.,
1985; Bartunek, 1984). Such learning
is intrinsically difficult because the
reexamination of basic assumptions
temporarily destabilizes our cogni-
tive and interpersonal world, which
releases large quantities of basic
anxiety. (p.31)
So, in order to be truly learning, an
organization has to create an environ-
ment in which people examine their
basic assumptions safely, which in turn,
calls for developing the intellectual and
emotional muscles that will allow people
to release large quantities of basic anxi-
ety from time to time. How do we create
such an organization? The work has to be
done by an organization on individual and
organizational levels, with the help of OD
practitioners.
On the individual level, organizational
leaders can begin to help employees to
become more self-reflective. Because this
will raise anxiety for some if not most
employees, leaders have to create a climate
in which employees believe that they will
not be hurt by others if they verbalize their
In a way, developing a learning organization is a simple
task. This task calls for creating a climate that rewards
openness about ideas, with a bent for examining data
and assumptions; and helping people become more self-
reflective. What is not simple is getting there.
OD PRACTITIONER Vol. 46 No. 2 20148
reflections. Argyris’ (2003) model for the
development of organizational learning
began with having the leader modeling the
openness and non-judgmental approach
that are essential for double-loop learn-
ing. People who take the risk of exposing
their beliefs need to feel safe, and this
safety begins with the leader.
On the organization level, the culture
has to transform to one that supports
double-loop learning. To sustain this
transformation, three pieces have to be in
place: (a) leaders’ involvement and model-
ing; (b) a system that supports the new
mental model; and (c) feedback loops to
collect valid information. Any organization
can create reinforcement for engaging in
transformative learning on the individual
level, and double-loop learning on the col-
lective level.
And how does the leader learn to
do all this? That is the consultant’s role,
modeling new behaviors and/or coaching
the leader. That is why consultants need
to be able to engage in transformative or
double-loop learning themselves. If the
practitioner is not self-aware, reflective, and
courageous enough to explore within, then
there is little likelihood this person can
help others to do the same.
Formula for Creating a
Learning Organization
In a way, developing a learning organiza-
tion is a simple task. This task calls for
creating a climate that rewards openness
about ideas, with a bent for examining
data and assumptions; and helping people
become more self-reflective. What is not
simple is getting there. Why? Because to
get there means to go through all four
stages of transformative learning in a safe
manner and get to the place in which new
behaviors are governed by the new mental
model of being a learning organization.
We predict that very often organizations
in pursuit of the goal to become a learn-
ing organization get only to the second
or third stage of transformative learning.
They may have introduced new artifacts,
perhaps even changed some behaviors, but
they still retained the old mental model, in
which learning remains single-loop. Being
self-reflective, individually and organi-
zationally, as well as willing to share on
this level with others, especially in times
of stress or crisis, is not normative in our
workplaces. Organizations tend not to like
those who “rock the boat.”
However, for those who desire to
create a learning organization, is there
a formula? We offer the following as
tasks that are essential for developing a
learning organization:
1. Foster a culture that supports trans-
formative learning on the individual
level and double-loop learning on
the collective level.
2. Develop and promote leaders who
support the new culture and trans-
formation process.
3. Develop and promote leaders who
are truly receptive to the feedback
and risk-taking associated with deep
level self-reflection and change.
This may require coaching for top
leaders. During transformation,
and as employees develop critical
thinking skills, they may become
more likely to challenge the leader,
thus, the leader has to be open to
being challenged.
4. Encourage and provide opportuni-
ties for employees to engage in
critical reflection of self-behav-
iors and apply the double-loop
learning framework.
Conclusion
Our goal has been to describe transforma-
tive learning and double-loop learning and
their relationship to the learning organi-
zation. We suggest that both transforma-
tive learning and double-loop learning
are attainable, but only with sustained
effort that takes into account the changes
that must be made on the individual and
corporate levels, and the courage to accept
resistance and anxiety generated by the
very effort.
References
Argyris, C. (2003). Flawed advice and the
management trap. New York, NY: Oxford
University Press.
Argyris, C., & Schön, D. A. (1996). Orga-
nizational learning II. Reading, MA:
Addison-Wesley.
Conbere, J. P., Heorhiadi, A., & Oestreich,
T. (2014). SEAM’s role in a sustainable
change of organizational culture: A
case study of a transportation center.
Unpublished manuscript.
Kegan, R. (2000). What “form” trans-
forms? A constructive-developmental
approach to transformative learning. In
J. Mezirow (Ed.), Learning as transfor-
mation (pp. 35–70). San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
La Venture (2013). How the discipline of
energetics fosters double-loop learning:
Lessons from multiple positivistic case
studies (Doctoral dissertation). Avail-
able from ProQuest Dissertations and
Theses database.
Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning to think like
an adult. In J. Mezirow (Ed.), Learning
as transformation (pp. 3–34). San Fran-
cisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Schein, E. H. (2004). Organizational culture
and leadership. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Alla Heorhiadi, PhD, EdD, is Co-
director of the SEAM International
Institute at the University of
St. Thomas, Minnesota, and has
taught in the OD doctoral program
since 2005. She can be reached
at aheorhiadi@stthomas.edu.
Kelly La Venture, EdD, is Assistant
Professor of Management at
Northland College, Wisconsin,
and has taught in the fields of
business and management since
2006. She can be reached at
klaventure@northland.edu.
John P. Conbere, EdD, is Co-
director of the SEAM International
Institute at the University of
St. Thomas, Minnesota, and has
taught in the OD doctoral program
since 2002. He can be reached
at jpconbere@stthomas.edu.
9What do Organizations Need to Learn to Become a Learning Organization?
