Knowledge and Learning Leadership

Posted by Isra Anwar

July 11, 2014

Knowledge is associate typically undefined demand for learning leadership cited in attribute, situational, contingency, transactional, transformational and servant leadership approaches (Northouse, 2007).These theoretical constructs assume that learning leaders will have an appropriate body of knowledge, especially knowledge foundational to their fields. The intellectual stimulation that helps a team to develop knowledge and enhance abilities is an important aspect of transformational leadership (Bass & Riggio, 2010). Advocates of the skills approach leadership theory, as it has emerged in the last twenty years, repeatedly use the phrase “leadership and knowledge” (Connelly, Gilbert, Zaccaro, Threlfall, Marks, & Mumford, 2000; Mumford, 2011; Mumford, Friedrich, Caughron, & Byrne, 2007; Mumford, Zaccaro, Connelly, & Marks, 2000). Northouse (2007) notes that the ability to analyze environmental trends is an important leadership attribute. Connelly et al. (2000) list problem-solving skills, social skills and knowledge as the key leadership factors shaping performance outcomes. Mumford, in his 2011 farewell as the senior editor of The Leadership Quarterly, comments that wisdom accompanied by reasoning ability and knowledge are important leadership qualities to explore and delineate.

Knowledge and also the Learning Leader

Erson, Nemanich, Waldman, Galvin, and Helen Adams Keller (2006) note that leadership is influencing and teaching others the why and also the however of achieving company goals. They observe that the requirement for continual renewal compels organizations to be told new methods and exploit existing ones. in step with Clark and Gottfredson (2008) people who manage learning and structure coaching delivery square measure ideally settled to assume leadership roles during this method. “The ability to grow, modification or introduce on top of the speed of one’s own market” speaks to the aspiring learning leader (Clark & Gottfredson, 2008: 4). However, Clark and Gottfredson question whether or not people who aim to the Chief Learning Officer role square measure sufficiently ready to grasp the world market movements and monetary trends needed of learning leaders:

The gathering would like for learning nimbleness not to mention advancements therein direction offer associate unprecedented chance for learning leaders to take a seat at the company leadership table and contribute bigger strategic price than ever before. The question is, will they? several wish to, however they merely don’t possess the business acumen and strategic understanding of their organizations and markets that square measure needed to hold their own water at the senior leadership level (Clark & Gottfredson, 2008: 27).

The Call for Business Acumen

As early as 1995, woodlouse and Narver argued that market orientation could be a necessary attribute in an exceedingly learning organization. Ray Stata, Chairman of Analogue Devices, declared that structure modifications derive from understanding change within the external atmosphere and creating applicable variations in company beliefs and behaviors (1989). a writing by Davenport, David, and Beers (1998) notes that having a way of the client and also the quality of service could be a basic demand for a learning leader. In 2012, Kouzes and Posner entail leaders to be responsive to changes in political economy, demographics, technology and politics. pertaining to the building of sustainability-learning communities, Olson and Ceisel (2006) report rising analysis that showed that human performance training—when properly centered on desired business results—produced the best business impacts. Pat Crull, Vice-President and Chief Learning Officer at Time Warner Cable, points out that “Successful CLO’s perceive the business imperatives that drive performance and align learning to support our companies’ strategic objectives” (Elkeles & Phillips, 2007: 284). the foremost thriving firms, in an exceedingly study by O’Toole (2008: 56), “aligned around nimbleness.”

The Learning Gap

Slater and Narver (1995) indicate that there's a growing chance for learning leaders to become strategic leaders within the speedily dynamic world company world. educational designers, traditionally learning leaders and performance improvement consultants, square measure well positioned to maneuver into learning leader positions. However, there seems to be a niche within the education of educational designers United Nations agency aim to the role of Chief Learning Officer or like positions. whereas there's a powerful stress on business fundamentals in graduate school programs like Organization and Management, Human Resource Management, structure Development or Business Leadership, the basics of creating and leading strategic learning initiatives don't seem to be forever addressed in these business programs, exploit programs in educational style and performance improvement the chance to handle the progressively necessary role of Chief Learning Officer. The pressing would like for company learning nimbleness presents a pressing chance for marrying strategic learning initiatives and business acumen in university educational style programs.

In the educational style and performance improvement coaching standards there square measure few references to business skills (Academy of Human Resource Development, 1999; IBSTPI, 2012; Yarbrough, Shulha, Hopson & Caruthers, 2011). additionally, the course offerings for well-known educational style programs like Sunshine State State University, Young University, Capella University, The University of Southern American state and American state University scarcely mention courses necessary to grasp balance sheets, market trends, innovation and world business practices. If revealed course descriptions by these universities square measure comprehensive, the standard educational style information doesn't seem to supply business skills in core courses in the least. Moreover, a review of 3 leadership books used for graduate level educational style categories (Gallos, 2008; Hickman, 2010; Kouzes & Posner, 2012) conjointly reveal a scarcity of relevancy these topics, though Gallos (2008) and Kouzes and Posner (2012) do bit shortly on market performance.

Without the ability to understand the market forces that should shape training content, chief learning officers are one-eyed horses, dependent on guidance from others for an accurate response to organizational learning needs. This is scarcely the type of leadership called for at the corporate leadership table.

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