Continuous Learning in Organizations: A Book Review

Preface and Preliminary Material

Reading the introductory material of a book before diving into the main content offers a useful hint of the authors' personal thinking, motivations, and broader insights. In their preface, Sessa and London explain how the book was assembled — drawing on input from individuals as well as corporate involvement, including focus groups and discussion sessions addressing the central question: "Continuous learning: what does it mean?"

One statement in the preface proved particularly thought-provoking: "These changes raise the potential of rewards for those with insight" (Sessa & London, 2006, p. ix). The authors define learning for each of their three categories — individual, group, and organization — and discuss its importance throughout. They also state that their purpose is "to communicate the meaning and value of learning." The significance and impact of continuous learning upon the individual, the group, and the organization were each addressed, analyzed, and evaluated in the course of preparing the textbook.

The preface notes that Chapter 1 describes the authors' concept of continuous learning at all three levels and presents a systems model of "adaptive, generative, and transformative learning" (Sessa & London, 2006, p. xi). The chapter begins somewhat unusually — something the authors themselves acknowledge — by asserting that "learning is risky." From a personal standpoint, learning tends to feel positive and even enjoyable, but the corporate perspective on the riskiness of learning is genuinely interesting. The concern, essentially, is that employees who ask questions and think for themselves may become harder to manage, which can feel threatening to an organization — particularly one that operates along old-fashioned, hierarchical lines. On the other hand, such an organization would presumably resist continuous learning altogether unless at least some members of upper management were genuinely on board with the concept.

The authors also address learning from a group perspective, noting that people are generally not accustomed to "group-think." In this context, the most important dimension seems to be the capacity to work as a team — thinking and learning together about how to better serve the organization, or how best to accomplish a given task.

Individual Continuous Learning

As part of their multi-level contingency theory of continuous learning, Sessa and London (2006, p. 4) divide learning into three categories — adaptive, generative, and transformative — and identify both barriers to continuous learning and solutions ("interventions") for overcoming those barriers. Using a systems approach, they demonstrate that the individual affects the group, the group affects the organization, and all three are mutually influenced by one another. As I understand it, the systems approach requires that continuous learning be perceived both in its individual parts and as a whole, simultaneously from each perspective, in order to grasp both the dynamics and the reality of what continuous learning is and how it functions.

What Sessa and London present is an analysis of the complete picture of learning within an organization: breaking that structure into its component groups, and breaking each group into its component individuals. This is not a discussion of solitary personal learning, but rather an exploration of how one individual's continuous learning affects both the organization and the surrounding group of colleagues — and, simultaneously, how the group affects individual learning, and how the group in turn affects the organization. Two final points round out the chapter: the importance of feedback and assessment, and the authors' presentation of "expert opinions" (Sessa & London, 2006, p. 14). One expert, Cindy McCauley, noted with some humor that all learning is by its nature "continuous" — making the phrase "continuous learning" something of a misnomer or redundancy.

The introduction to this chapter clarifies that the book remains focused on organizations; accordingly, even this chapter about the individual centers on learning within an organizational context. The emphasis is on a supportive environment for learning, with ongoing assessment, as the learner evolves throughout the process. The authors stress that learning results in a change grounded in newly acquired knowledge, and that this "deepening and broadening" affects both the group and the organization. A key distinction is drawn between learning "about" something — purely academic or theoretical knowledge — and learning "how" — more applicable and technically useful knowledge (Sessa & London, 2006, p. 20).

The three types of learning are revisited: adaptive, generative, and transformative. Adaptive learning for the individual is described as "a reaction to a stimulus in the external environment" (Sessa & London, 2006, p. 20). A straightforward example might be a penalty for habitual lateness — the employee learns that such behavior is not tolerated. By contrast, generative learning is described as "purposeful" (Sessa & London, 2006, p. 24), encompassing training programs and workshops, with the authors again emphasizing that learning should be monitored and evaluated.

Transformative learning for the individual literally transforms the learner. A useful illustration compares a person with an entirely rural background to someone who has moved frequently throughout life; the latter's varied experiences "transform" their perspective and worldview. The authors state that transformative learning encompasses both reflection and experience. However, it seems that reflection and experience are also integral to adaptive and generative learning: one cannot truly learn anything without some degree of reflection, and it is experience that provides the material for that reflection. For instance, the chronically late employee cannot adaptively learn punctuality without reflecting on the experience of being penalized or recognizing the risk of job loss. On this point, I disagree with the authors' characterization of adaptive learning as being mostly or wholly an unconscious process. Similarly, generative learning in a training program would be largely ineffective if the individual failed to reflect on it.

Individual Characteristics and Facilitating Learning

The final topic of Chapter 2 is feedback, with examples illustrating how individual-level feedback can be harmful — especially in one-on-one situations, or when no guidance is offered on how to actually use the feedback. Sessa and London (2006, p. 33) identify "feedback orientation" as a significant individual-level variable.

This chapter opens with a discussion of how personal traits affect learning, particularly in the workplace. High-level corporate executives, the authors note, actively look for the ability to learn on the job when evaluating candidates for promotion. Those who can learn from their own errors and remain open-minded tend to fare well in terms of upward mobility. If this is generally true, it stands in some tension with earlier material suggesting that corporations might resist continuous learning as a threat to the status quo. Perhaps the expectation of learning applies more specifically to managerial or leadership roles, while ordinary employees are held to a different standard.

Factors contributing to successful learning include psychological development, personality, motivation and readiness to learn, and learning styles and tactics (Sessa & London, 2006, p. 38). An individual's stage of development is an important factor in how they learn, whether personally or within an organization. The authors discuss life stages and show correlations between age, life circumstances, and an individual's perspective on social, work, and personal goals. Development in terms of consciousness is also presented (Sessa & London, 2006, p. 46).

Describing development as "a progression of increasing complexity," the authors identify five levels, with the first two corresponding to young children and adult development beginning at the third level. At this third stage, the authors claim there is "no 'self' independent of other people" — a generalization that seems unfounded and does not align with common experience. No supporting data or statistics are offered. The model then proceeds to levels four and five, where development appears increasingly tied to work and organizational identity. The authors further characterize most adults in the United States as functioning at the third level, "waiting to be told what to learn" (Sessa & London, 2006, p. 51) — a contrast to organizational needs for adults at or beyond the fourth level, who are capable of independent thought. This sweeping characterization of adult development feels both depressing and inadequately substantiated; it may reflect the specific corporate environments from which the authors drew their data.

The chapter then shifts to how organizations can motivate learning, including through the use of coaches (Sessa & London, 2006, p. 55). Self-directed learners — those who independently recognize that further learning benefits both themselves and their work — are highlighted as particularly valuable. Personal traits such as conscientiousness and goal orientation are discussed, along with the distinction between "learning goal orientation" and "performance goal orientation." The authors suggest that performance-oriented individuals tend to seek less feedback, which seems counterintuitive: a focus on performance would seem to make feedback all the more necessary. The chapter summary returns to an organizational focus, emphasizing that individuals need to know what they are expected to learn.

Chapter 4 opens with a statement that appears to contradict much of Chapter 3: "individuals by their nature are continuous learners" (Sessa & London, 2006, p. 73). The preceding chapter implied — if it did not directly state — that most individuals were stuck at a low level of development, unwilling or unable to learn unless directed to do so, uninterested in learning beyond performance-level requirements, and resistant to job-related feedback.

The organizational environment is here identified as the key determinant of what learning is available, encouraged, and permitted for the individual (Sessa & London, 2006, p. 73). This environment includes the structure of work, communities of practice, organizational systems and structures, training programs, management practices, information technology, and the external environment. Organizations vary considerably in their learning cultures, ranging from performance cultures to self-learning cultures (including support for self-directed learning) and feedback cultures. The authors devote considerable attention to appropriate and inappropriate feedback — which, as established in Chapter 2, tends to be ineffective in one-on-one settings unless accompanied by specific, actionable suggestions for improvement. Assessment methods for individuals within organizations are also discussed at length, with both effective and less effective approaches examined. Regardless of approach, assessment for continuous learning is identified as critically important, particularly in aiding retention long enough for learning to become truly effective (Sessa & London, 2006).